Salsa verde and Chianti Classico

Wine pairing is much more about the way you cook a dish and the sauce you serve with it than it is about the basic ingredient and so it proved with this week’s match at the recently opened Brackenbury.

It was a dish of roast skrei cod with a potato, radicchio and sage bake and salsa verde, a punchy sauce of parsley, mint, olive oil, anchovy and capers* with which the elegant young Selvapiana Chianti Rufina we had chosen paired perfectly.

There was in fact quite a lot going on in the dish that assisted the match. The fact that the cod was roasted. The radicchio and sage - both slightly bitter - and the smoothing effect of the potato but it was the tangy salsa verde that clinched it.

Note: one of the reasons it worked was because the wine was both dry and lean. The salsa would have made a riper, more full-bodied red taste much sweeter, most likely unbalancing both the wine and the match.

Obviously the wine would work just as well, if not better, if the sauce had been served with lamb or veal.

* There’s a video of Danny Bohan of the River Cafe making a salsa verde here

For my full review of The Brackenbury click here.

Image © koss13 - Fotolia.com

Seville orange soufflé and Primo Franco prosecco

You may be used to drinking prosecco as an aperitif, maybe even with a nibble of parma ham or some other cichetti but last week was the first time I’ve been to a dinner where prosecco featured right throughout the meal.

It wasn’t just any old prosecco, mind you, but the top notch Nino Franco range which includes a range of styles that are designed to be drunk with food. I still have doubts about this sort of exercise of which the Champenois are also excessively fond but it threw up some particularly interesting pairings with chef Freddy Bird’s robustly flavoured food (at Lido, Bristol)

The first was that a splodge of harissa on some deep fried oysters (delicious!) didn’t phase the introductory Nino Franco Rustico at all - in fact given that prosecco is sweeter than champagne it’s probably an ideal way to serve them.

The Riva di San Floriano (probably my favourite wine of the tasting) also sailed through the starters, especially the fritti (fried baby squid) and croquetas. (Fried things are always good with bubbles, though)

The biggest surprise was that a rosé sparkling wine*, the Faive 2012, (a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc) went so well with a slow roast leg of lamb, providing a lovely fresh counterpoint to the rich meat though I suspect it’s a case of ‘don’t try this at home’. Most of your guests will still fancy a red.

But I’m giving the match of the week award to the last pairing: a spectacular Seville orange soufflé that was matched with the rich Primo Franco 2013, a wine that is often paired with desserts. (though the current vintage on sale is 2012 ). Although with the caveat that while the match with the soufflé was sublime, the accompanying dark chocolate sorbet and to a lesser extent the seville orange sauce killed the wine so serve it on its own or simply with cream.

* which can't be called prosecco as prosecco is only made from white grapes

I attended the dinner as a guest of Nino Franco Spumanti.

Crab paté and (bargain) champagne

One of the products I regularly have in the fridge is Tesco’s Orkney Crab paté, not least because it’s so low in calories (85 calories per 38g serving) it’s even compatible with the 5:2 diet*.

On non-fast days, of which I have to admit there are many, it’s also very good with a glass of wine: crab, particularly brown crab meat on which these patés tend to be based, is a versatile wine partner.

I tried it last night with The Wine Society’s champagne which is on special offer at the moment to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Gratien & Meyer who have been supplying the society for over 100 years.

I hadn’t tasted the champagne for a while and had forgotten just how good it is: incredibly rich and toasty, just like vintage fizz. (It’s aged for 4 years before release). Normally it costs £29 a bottle but is currently on offer until March 30th for £119 a case of six bringing it down to £19.83 a bottle - one of the best champagne bargains I’ve seen for a long time. Delicious with the rich sweet crab too.

The offer also applies to Gratien & Meyer’s two sparkling wines from the Loire - a light, creamy Saumur Brut which would make a good base for summer cocktails (currently £49 a case of six which is equivalent to £8.17 a bottle) or, better still, the delicious Saumur rosé which is delicious on its own (on offer at £51 a case, £8.50 a bottle. A good one for Mother’s Day or a summer party).

The only wine I wouldn’t go for on this offer is the Society’s Celebration Crémant de Loire which is just a bit lean, mean and underwhelming even at the special deal of £57 (£9.50 a bottle).

The Wine Society doesn't normally do offers like this so I would definitely take advantage if you’re a member.

Salt and pepper squid with Asian dressing and Fleur du Cap unfiltered chardonnay

One of the highlights of last week’s trip to South Africa was a salt pairing dinner with Fleur du Cap wines at the Bergkelder. The chef Craig Cormack was a real salt fanatic having hunted down dozens of different varieties and experimented with matching them with different wines.

The overall effect of salt on wine is to reduce acidity and fill the wine out which is certainly what happened with the Chardonnay. Tasted on its own before the dinner it was, despite its 14.3% ABV, pleasantly smooth and creamy. Combined with the squid and accompanying rice it tasted much richer, almost Burgundian, a wine of twice the price.

The interesting issue was whether that was due primarily to the salt or the umami-rich dressing which included black sesame seeds and the sweet Indonesian soy sauce kecap manis. Probably a bit of both.

Other cleverly judged pairings during the dinner included venison with smoked salt and a salted chocolate ganache with the Fleur du Cap unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon and flambéed bananas with cinnamon sugar, salted peanut chocolate mousse and tonka bean ice cream with the Noble Late Harvest.

Similar dinners are held on the last Thursday of each month for 290R (£16/$27 - check out the Fleur du Cap Facebook page for details ) but you can also try a selection of salt pairing canapés every weekday at the Bergkelder tasting room for an incredibly reasonable 75R (£4/$7)