Comté cheese and Languedoc Syrah

We’ve been down in the Languedoc for the past week and two bottles - both Syrah - have impressed me for very different reasons. One was an inexpensive but characterful Ressac Vin de Pays d’Oc Syrah which we bought from the co-op at Florensac, Vinopolis, after eating at their showcase restaurant Bistrot d’Alex which I’ve mentioned on the site before. The other a much classier bottle called Clos du Fou (the 2004 vintage) from a local Faugères winemaker Château des Estanilles which bore comparison with a Côte Rôtie.

Both went extremely well with a chunk of Comté, an unpasteurised Gruyère-like cheese from the Jura we bought from the local supermarket (the lack of good cheese shops in this part of the world is really quite depressing.) I mention it not because the cheese was exceptional but because it didn’t detract from either of these wines - one relatively light, one complex and full-flavoured. A more mature Comté might have done them fewer favours (a Jura or Savoie white is the more usual pairing).

Clos du Fou is made in limited quantities and does not appear to be available from the main UK stockist The Wine Society though you do appear to be able to order it from 1855.com The current vintage is 2005 but it definitely repays keeping.

Image ©Awe inpiring images

Steak pie and strong ale

There’s a distinct nip in the air this week that makes makes me suddenly feel much less like eating summery food. Last night we went round to friends and shared some absolutely awesome steak pies they’d brought back from a butcher called Murray Mitchell in St Andrews in Scotland (they will send them by mail order in the UK apparently if you ring them on 01334 474465).

They’re incredibly plain (the pies, not our friends) - great chunks of beef, rich gravy and a crisp, flaky pastry made from lard rather than butter. (Classic heart-attack fodder, in other words but that's the Scots for you! I convince myself they're harmless as an occasional indulgence.)

We drank a bottle of Faugères, a hearty red wine from the Languedoc, with them which worked very well but I’ve also had them before with a good strong English ale such as Fuller’s ESB or Young’s Special London Ale which I think is probably the better match. Beer, gravy and pastry is always a sure-fire hit.

Rabbit (or chicken) with spring vegetables and Viognier

On Saturday I was in London’s Borough Market which was full of the most wonderful spring vegetables - artichokes, broad beans, peas and asparagus. It reminded me of a dish I normally make this time of year when we’re at our house in the Languedoc in southern France which is rabbit braised with spring vegetables and Viognier.

It was one of those serendipitous dishes that just came together from the ingredients to hand: Rabbit, as those of you who have been to a French butcher will know, is hugely popular in France (no sentimentality about the Easter Bunny among the frogs . . . ) but you could just as well use chicken.

What you can buy at this time of year is baby artichokes which require less extensive preparation than the full-size ones, just removing the outer leaves and cutting them in half to remove the hairy choke. I always start off the dish frying off a few cubes of bacon (lardons) then sweat off a couple of sliced cloves of wet (new season’s) garlic and some sliced sweet white onions (the local ones in France come from Lzignan which is famous for the quality of its onions).

I pour in a glass of Viognier and let it bubble up then add the artichokes and a strip of lemon peel. I lightly brown the rabbit pieces and add them to the pot together with a pinch of herbes de Provence, chuck in another glass of wine and a little water, cover the pan and let the whole thing burble away very slowly for 45 minutes to an hour until the rabbit is almost cooked. I blanch a few fresh broad beans and peas and some chopped, peeled asparagus stalks (leaving the spears for another recipe) then add them to the pot and continue to cook until the vegetables are tender. (I add the veg at the end so they stay a nice bright green rather than turning to khaki sludge). Finally I stir in a handful of fresh soft herbs - parsley and a bit of chervil and tarragon if I’ve got it.

Well, this wasn’t intended to be a recipe but a wine match but once I’d started I thought I’d better finish in case you fancied trying it out yourself. The point about the story is the Viognier which is what I had to hand. (Domaine du Météore, if I remember rightly, which comes from just up the road.) And it worked really perfectly, adding a richness and lusciousness to the dish you wouldn’t have got from chardonnay. We drank the same wine with the dish too.

Another possibility, as a food writer friend I met in the market reminded me, would be Arneis the gently aromatic white wine, originally from Piedmont but now being increasingly produced in Australia and California. It might also work with a Pinot Gris if it didn't have too much residual sugar (i.e. didn't taste too sweet)