Match of the week
Oxtail and oloroso
As last week was Sherry Week and I’m a MASSIVE fan my match of the week clearly had to involve sherry. But which to choose? It was hard given the number of standout pairings at the sherry dinner my local tapas bar, Bar 44 in Clifton put on but I’m going for the sherry by which I was most blown away - a limited edition of Gonzalez Byass Alfonso oloroso, one of six rare casks that are being bottled by the bodega under the name ‘Vinos Finitos’ (finite wines)
According to the immensely useful blog Sherry Notes “it would traditionally have been described as an oloroso fino because of its finesse and elegance.” The flavour was actually more like an old amontillado or palo cortado to me - really beautifully delicate and almost creamy, while exhibiting that typical oloroso richness and nuttiness.
You might have thought it wouldn't have been powerful enough to stand up to the dish of slow cooked oxtail in oloroso, salt aged sirloin and salsa verde the team at Bar 44 had paired with it but it worked incredibly well, neither detracting from or overwhelming the other.
Other favourite pairings were a Dos Palmas Fino with raw red prawns and an intense shellfish sauce and Apostoles palo cortado with a cheese course of whipped Manchego and beetroot.
If you're not into sherry already do experiment with the very good value half bottles you can find in most supermarkets. Even the normal bottling of Alfonso is only around £13-14.
For further inspiration download my e-book 101 great ways to enjoy sherry.
I attended the dinner as a guest of Bar 44.
Game terrine and London dry gin
I’ve already written about how well game terrine pairs with oloroso sherry. Now I’ve discovered an equally good, if not better pairing: London Dry Gin.
The pâté I tried the other day - again from Stephen Markwick of Culinaria - was a hare one which was stronger than the previous guineafowl and pheasant version. It worked with a rare dry oloroso but I suddenly thought it would be interesting to see if I could pick out the juniper notes with a gin. The one I had to hand was Beefeater but any traditional London dry gin would do. (I say traditional because some newer gins like Whitley Neill accentuate other aromatic notes such as citrus.) Mine was at room temperature but I think it would be even better served cold like a frozen vodka shot. You could try the same pairing with a cold game pie.
If you want to make your own terrine - and I predict we're all going to be getting into home-made charcuterie next year - there’s a great master recipe (see right) in the book I’ve written with Stephen called A Very Honest Cook. You can still get it in time for Christmas if you ring the restaurant in time for them to catch the post today (0117 973 7999). Otherwise there’s always after Christmas . . .
Cave aged gruyère and dry oloroso
If I were to tell you I was seriously excited about the pairing of a supermarket sherry with a supermarket cheese you'd probably think I'd totally lost it - but hang on a moment.
The cheese is a cave-matured gruyère from Sainsbury's that has somehow survived 5 weeks in the wildly fluctuating temperatures of my domestic fridge and the sherry a bottle of Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 12 year old Dry Oloroso sherry - far cheaper than it has any rate to be at £6.99 a 50cl bottle. Made by Lustau it's wonderfully dark and nutty, like grilled hazelnuts with a piercing acidity that harmonises beautifully with the sharp crystalline cheese.
You should be able to pull off the same trick with any comparable dry oloroso and mature hard cheese - a great way to round off a meal.
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