Beetroot-cured salmon and Godello

Despite the razmatazz surrounding the launch of Dom Perignon 2003 and a serious amount of wine and truffle action to which I’ll devote more space shortly I’m picking a more modest match from last week - the delicious beetroot-cured salmon, capers and egg yolk and 2010 Godelia Godello I had at José Pizarro’s new London restaurant Pizarro.

This is the kind of dish you could easily pull off at home. Beetroot gives a nice note of earthiness and sweetness which counteracts the slight oiliness and smokiness of the salmon. The crisp citrussy Godello, the newly fashionable Spanish white, adds the equivalent of a squeeze of lemon. You’d think the egg would have an impact on the pairing but it simply adds an extra layer of richness.

The Godello would obviously go with other fish and shellfish dishes too such as crab - see the link below.

Godello and seafood

I’m increasingly impressed by the new generation of Spanish wines that are arriving on the shelves. The other day I had a fabulously crisp, zesty white called Godello from the up and coming region of Bierzo, in the region of Castilla y Leon in the north-west of Spain, not far from Galicia.

You won’t of course find it on every restaurant list - I found it at a pub just outside Cambridge called The Three Horseshoes at Madingley (+44 (0)1954 210221) that has always been noted for its excellent by-the-glass list.

The particular bottle we ordered, a 2006 Vega Montan Godello from Bodegas Adria, is similar in style to the fashionable seafood white Albariño though with a fruity character (starfruit) you don’t typically find in that wine. It was really wonderful with a starter of white and brown crab crostini served with samphire and shaved fennel - the white meat served plain, the brown, spiced with chilli and dill - one of a number of enticing-sounding dishes from an Italian-inspired, Jamie Oliver-esque menu that I’d certainly be inclined to go back and explore when we're next in the area. Like Jamie, the chef/owner Richard Stokes worked for the River Café in London.

At the moment Godello is sufficiently obscure to be a bargain so I’d snap up a few bottles if you can lay your hands on some. In the UK it’s imported by Alliance Wine. Like Albariño it would be a versatile and stylish seafood white to have in your cellar.