Prawns with ouzo, orzo and courgette and Greek rosé

I didn’t have plans to go to Greece this year but staying in the UK for the summer has given me itchy feet so I’m cooking my way round the Med instead.

This was a dish from Marianna Leivaditaki (of Morito)’s lovely new book Aegean (which I’ve posted here). I made it with friends last Friday and would definitely make it again. Orzo is a small, rice-shaped pasta and the dish is a bit like a prawn risotto.

We drank two wines with it - a delicious Greek rosé called Nautilus which Aldi rather cheekily has on sale for £6.99 (it’s over twice that elsewhere) and the Azores Wine Company’s wonderfully sharp, salty Verdelho which at £31.50 (from winebuyers.com) is considerably pricier but rare and thrilling. Both wines were samples.

Other pale dry rosés, particularly from Provence, would also be good as would other crisp whites such as Picpoul de Pinet and albarino.

You might wonder if you could pair ouzo with it as the recipe includes it and you would presumably have a bottle to hand. I think it’s a bit of an ask to drink it right through a meal - it’s better with meze - but you obviously could. If you didn't have ouzo you could use - and drink - dry white vermouth.

Polenta with roasted courgettes, tomatoes and basil and Bardolino

After months of lockdown it’s been such a pleasure to return to favourite restaurants like Elliott and Tessa Lidstone’s Box-E and I couldn’t have had a more perfect day to enjoy it. The food too - especially this quintessentially summery dish of courgettes, tomatoes and basil with the lightest, fluffiest polenta - was just perfect for sitting outside on a hot day.

We’d had a glass of orange wine (not on the list) with our starters so fancied moving onto a light red rather than back to a white and picked on the Raval Bardolino Classico, an Italian red that tends to get overlooked but actually hits the spot perfectly at this time of year. It was full of lovely fresh cherry fruit - we asked for it to be lightly chilled - and really matched our mood as much as the food. I’d also love it with cold meats and cheeses or with smoked duck

It’s not that easy to track down in the UK but you can buy it from a London deli and wineshop called 8 rocks for £13.75 (and, I've now discovered, from Box E themselves who have acquired an off-licence for £15).

The Raval family also has a rather glorious agriturismo if you fancy a trip to Lake Garda. Who wouldn't?

See also The best wines to pair with courgettes

Grilled monkfish with salsa verde and vermentino

Monkfish is regularly referenced as a meaty fish you can pair with red wine, especially when it’s wrapped in pancetta but suppose you serve it with salsa verde instead as they did at the Seahorse al Mare pop-up in Dartmouth last week?

Suddenly it becomes all about the herbs and points you in the direction of a white wine rather than a red especially when the sides - a salad of mixed leaves, tarragon and olive oil and braised green beans with white onion and agrodolce - also have vegetal notes

It turned out that the wine we had ordered - a richly textured 2018 Audarya Vermentino di Sardegna* had herby notes of its own but it was also weighty enough to cope with the fact that the fish had been cooked over open coals.

It went less well with the more delicate course of some very delicious fresh Dartmouth crab with fennel which was better with the glass of champagne they had offered us.

But then champagne by the water - what’s not to like?

I was a guest at Seahorse al Mare which is currently taking reservations for August

You can buy the Audarya Vermentino from Sommeliers Choice for £14.50 a bottle

See also the best wine pairings with monkfish.

Rainbow trout ceviche and Western Australia riesling

I can’t actually believe I’ve never tried it before but I made some ceviche as part of a Zoom masterclass organised by the Bristol Food Union, a collaboration of local restaurateurs and food producers to raise money for those who have been most affected by the COVID 19 crisis.

The fish was a super-fresh rainbow trout from my local Bristol fish restaurant Spiny Lobster which we marinated with lime juice, red onion and chilli in a brilliantly simple recipe from from Elliott Lidstone of Box E (though I did have to fillet it first!)

I paired it with a 2019 Rocky Gully riesling from the Franklin River region of Western Australia which produces a slightly softer, richer style than the Clare and Eden Valley. It’s relatively high in alcohol, for riesling, at 13.5% but you do want a dry riesling with this type of dish and it offset the freshness of the ceviche beautifully. You can buy it from Berry Bros & Rudd for £15.25.

For other riesling pairings see The best food pairings for dry (or off-dry) riesling