Slow roasted seatrout and ‘pet nat’ perry

I’ve been on a cider weekend in Herefordshire this past couple of days so obviously trying lots of different ciders and perries. They included a new one from one of my favourite producers Tom Oliver called Almost a Pet Nat but Still a Tangy Perry (all his perries and ciders have quirky names)

It’s dry, gently fizzy and fresh-tasting.You can pick up the pears but there’s also a touch of citrus - the element that made it such a good match for a dish of slow-roasted sea trout that my mate Elly Curshen (aka Elly Pear) cooked for us. Even the accompanying hollandaise which was made with cider vinegar (by Dan Vaux-Nobes aka @essexeating) didn’t throw it.

Perry is a really useful drink when you’re looking for an alternative to dry white wine, especially with seafood. You can see other pairings here. 

If you want to try Tom’s it costs £12 for a full 75cl bottle from his website.

If you want to have a go at Elly’s recipe you can find a version here although the richer brown shrimp butter would suggest a white burgundy or other creamy chardonnay to me rather than a perry. Or a fuller, richer cider.

Roast chicken and Rioja (but not all riojas!)

Another great chicken pairing following last week’s ‘cos you can never have too many of them.

You might question whether Rioja was the ideal match for roast chicken but there’s rioja and rioja.

This one was admittedly a top notch one, the ‘San Vicente de la Sonsierra,’ from José Gil, from a recent vintage (2022) and made in a much lighter, brighter style than is typical of rioja. (The alcohol was only 13.5%). More like a Burgundy than an old school rioja or Bordeaux. Interestingly Gil trained in Burgundy.

It’s actually one of the most delicious reds I’ve tasted all year - as indeed it should be at a slightly painful £41 from North Norfolk Cellars and £45 from Chesters in Abergavenny. Still, why should one automatically expect Rioja to be cheap?

The chicken was roasted simply with roasties, runner beans, courgettes and bread sauce so it needed a lighter style of red. (Gil also eschews new oak.) And the Rioja very lightly chilled.

Also a reminder that when you have a good red to hand to keep the food simple!

For other roast chicken recipes see here

And for other rioja pairings here 

Tongdak (rice-stuffed chicken) and orange wine

Continuing in the spicy food vein of last week, this time I was eating at a Korean restaurant called Bokman in Bristol.

I started with a Korean lager called Cass and could happily have carried on drinking that but was tempted by the orange wine which was available by the glass.

It was a Vincent Stoeffler, Feu Follet from Alsace, a blend of muscat, gewürztraminer and pinot gris ‘aromatics dialled up to the max’ as the wine list nicely put it.

Aromatic varieties like this that work particularly well in orange wine (which is white wine made by leaving the juice in contact with the skins as you do with a red) and it really was delicious, full of tropical fruit flavours and a touch of sweetness that took the the hot/sweet dipping sauces with our Tongdak (rice stuffed roast chicken) in their stride.

It was, if anything, even better with the sensationally good Bokman salad which consists of Chinese leaves, toasted seaweed, pine nuts and a ‘house dressing’ which I’m guessing was based on kimchi or kimchi brine. Which suggests that orange wine would be good with kimchi provided it wasn’t too hot.

You can find the wine between £22 and £28 in the UK (e.g. £25 at Victor Indigo November which is a great name) though if you’re lucky enough to live in France you can buy it off the producer’s website for €13.60.

For other orange wine pairings see here

Satay and aromatic whites

What do you drink at those restaurants that have multiple small plates - I.e. most restaurants these days?

Well it depends on the dominant style of the food. Spanish tapas and middle eastern mezze being different from predominantly Asian-inspired dishes.

It was the latter I came across at Square Bistro in Lisburn in Northern Ireland last week: a couple of dishes in particular - the lobster with pickled cabbage, apple and ponzu and salt and chilli prawns with satay and charred lettuce with roast peanuts - hit the spot with a wine from Australian producer Peter Lehmann called Layers.

It was an off-dry a blend of semillon, muscat, gewürztraminer and pinot gris - a ’21 vintage but still tasting fresh. The advantage of having multiple grape varieties in the blend is that no one variety dominates (muscat and gewürztraminer being particularly prone to do that) so will rub along with anything a bit spicy. Not that these dishes were hot.

You can buy it for £12.75 from Define fine wines in Birmingham although the more current 2022 vintage is £16.50 (at Alexander Hadleigh). Serve well chilled.

If you like satay see also this recipe for Five Spiced Smoked Tofu nuggets