Wine pairing: burrata, beetroot and Albarino

This week I was at Heathcotes Brasserie in Preston, Lancashire for a wine dinner for which I’d had to devise the wine matches. Paul Heathcote, the chef, is an old sparring partner and obviously thought he’d put me on the spot by coming up with some challenging dishes.

This actually sounded more difficult than it was - a starter salad of beetroot with burrata (a richer version of mozzarella) and pea-shoots dressed with rapeseed oil and - the killer ingredient - fiery horseradish which was incorporated into a whipped cream.

Now sometimes beetroot dominates a dish and tends to suggest a fruity red (like Dolcetto or Pinot Noir) rather than a white but here it was the accompanying cheese and spicy horseradish I was concerned with. And it was the start of a five course meal which needed to feature different wines so the first one couldn’t be too dominant.

I picked a crisp, clean 2011 Orballo Albarino from Bodegas la Val in Rias Baixas in northern Spain which Ironically I later found (for £8.79) at local wine merchants D. Byrne of Clitheroe* which I’ll be writing about in due course. Although it was only 12.5% it had the intensity to handle the beetroot and the horseradish and made a refreshing contrast to both.

Incidentally I love getting involved in wine events like this so if you’d like me to come and host one with you - or simply help devise the pairings - contact me about rates at fiona AT matchingfoodandwine DOT com

* Also available, at the time of writing, for £9.39 at Rannoch Scott, £9.99 at Booths and - rather cheekily - for £10.99 from Virgin Wines. Not sure how they justify that.

Smoked eel, beetroot and Malbec

This pretty dish was served the other night at what is still our favourite Bristol restaurant, Culinaria, even if we now live over the other side of town. It provided everything you want from a starter - light, appealing, appetite-stimulating.

It was constructed on a base of a warm blini, topped with beetroot, horseradish cream (made with fresh horseradish) eel, and a few lightly dressed leaves.

Normally I’d reach for a glass or a bottle of German Riesling with eel but we’d ordered the Malbec on the list - an Altos las Hormigas 2005 - to go with our main courses (boeuf bourguignon and roast loin of venison) and they have a limited by the glass selection. But the rich earthiness of the beetroot - always a good bridge to a red wine - and the spicy kick of the horseradish made the pairing a surprising success. Other fruity, and not overly oaky red wines would have worked equally well.