What to drink with an omelette (or frittata)

There aren’t many wine pairings that form the subject of a book title but Elizabeth David’s Omelette and a Glass of Wine immortalised the combination.

Unlike other egg dishes wine actually does go pretty well with omelettes but should it be red or white?

*David herself expressed a preference for an Alsace ‘Traminer’ or a glass of Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. I’m not sure I’d fancy the former (a bit too lush and aromatic) but the latter would certainly go with a light omelette fines herbes, an asparagus omelette or one with seafood or goats cheese - as would other crisp dry whites like Chablis and Italian dry whites like Soave and Gavi di Gavi.

*With other kinds of cheese omelettes I’d go for an Alsace Pinot Blanc or a lighter style of Chardonnay like a Mâcon-Villages.

*Sparkling wines like Cava - and, of course, Champagne - are always a popular choice with eggs. Blanc de blancs or other all-Chardonnay fizz seems to work best.

*Reds come into play if you have a more robust filling such as mushrooms or bacon - or even chorizo as you might in a frittata. A young Rhône red or Rioja - nothing too fancy - would do the trick.

*Belgian-style witbier or a bière blanche is a great match with lighter omelettes too.

See also Which Wines Pair Best with Eggs

Photo by Anshu A on Unsplash

The best wine - and other drinks - to pair with macaroni cheese

The best wine to pair with macaroni cheese, or mac’n’cheese as our friends across the pond have it, depends how fancy - and how cheesy - your mac and cheese is.

With a homely old-fashioned recipe you might just want a simple glass of white wine (in general I prefer white to red) whereas with one made with a fine strong artisan cheddar or with lashings of cream and lobster you might go for something more extravagant.

Here are my top seven picks.

Chardonnay
Probably the safest bet whichever recipe you’re looking at. A light unoaked chardonnay for a simple creamy macaroni cheese, a posh white burgundy if you’re eating a more extravagant one with lobster or crab. Smooth dry Chenin Blanc works on a similar basis.

Dry riesling
Counter-intuitive but good - like crunching into a refreshing apple with your cheese. Here’s why.

St Emilion or one of the St Emilion satellites
Merlot works surprisingly well with macaroni cheese, I’ve found, especially if it contains bacon. It needn’t be Bordeaux, obviously but a young(ish) St Emilion does work well

Dry cider
Particularly good with macaroni cheese and leeks

Beer
A classic English ale like Timothy Taylor Landlord or an American-style brown ale is perfect with a very cheesy macaroni cheese.

Champagne
Really? Yes, especially if there’s truffle involved. (I tried it the other day with Heston Blumenthal’s cauliflower and macaroni cheese with truffle and it was spot on.)

Sancerre or a similar Loire Sauvignon Blanc

Not my usual go-to but great with this crab macaroni cheese from my friend Fiona Sims Boat cookbook.

Macaroni cheese is also often served as a side in a steakhouse but I’d still match the steak rather than the mac’n’cheese

photo ©Stephanie Frey @fotolia.com

The best wine pairings with chicken Kyiv

Chicken Kyiv - or Kiev - as it used to be known - is a much loved version of fried chicken that you can also easily buy off the supermarket shelf but what sort of wine should you pair with it?

If you’re not familiar with the dish it’s a deep fried chicken breast stuffed with garlic butter so it’s more about the garlic than the chicken.

That pushes me towards a white wine or sparkling wine rather than a red. Here’s what I’d choose

A crisp dry white wine like a Chablis, aligoté, albarino or Picpoul de Pinet, even a pinot grigio (preferably one from the Trentino region of north-east Italy)

Sauvignon blanc, especially from the Loire e.g. Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé

A dry champagne or champagne-style sparkling wine, especially a blanc de blancs (100% chardonnay or other white grapes). Sparkling wine is always great with deep fried food.

If you fancy a red wine with chicken kyiv I’d be inclined to go for a Beaujolais or other gamay or an inexpensive red burgundy

A light lager or pils

Top image by Alexander Prokopenko at shutterstock.com

Which wines and beers pair best with mushrooms?

If you think of the ingredients that show off a great wine mushrooms would have to be near the top of the list.

Possessed of the sexy ingredient umami - the intensely savoury taste identified by the Japanese, they flatter and act as the perfect foil for wines as disparate as vintage Champagne, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Beers too can work well, particularly dark lagers and brown ales, less fashionable styles but ones which have a real affinity with earthy mushroom flavours.

Like any other ingredient it depends how you prepare and cook mushrooms, of course and what other ingredients there are in the dish. Delicate wild mushrooms in a creamy sauce are a different proposition from big flat Portabello mushrooms baked with garlic and parsley.

Here are some suggestions:

• Mushrooms in a creamy sauce - possibly the ultimate preparation so far as wine is concerned whether it’s the base of a tart, a pasta sauce or simply on toast. You can mirror the creamy texture with a like-meets-like pairing of a fine white burgundy or other oak-aged Chardonnay, lift the dish while echoing its umami flavours with vintage Champagne or pick up on the mushrooms’ earthiness with a red burgundy or other Pinot Noir. For a not-so-special occasion a simple unoaked Chardonnay will do the trick.

• Mushroom risotto - Smooth dry Italian whites such as Soave and Gavi work well. If the mushroom content is predominantly porcini try an aged Italian red such as Barolo or vintage rosé Champagne.

• Duxelles - an unfashionable but wonderful way of cooking mushrooms (chopping them very finely then sauteing them in butter with onion until the mixture is completely dry). A perfect match for a great Pinot Noir.

• Mushrooms in tomato sauce - a combination most likely to be found in Italian dishes especially pasta sauces. Sangiovese and Sangiovese blends (e.g. Chianti Classico) tend to be the best match but a Belgian dubbel beer or Viennese-style lager can work well.

• Baked or stuffed Portabello mushrooms - have the meaty quality of a steak so can be paired with almost any robust red such as Zinfandel, Syrah/Shiraz or, if the dish contains cheese, Cabernet Sauvignon.

• Steak and mushroom (or simply mushroom) pie - Depends on the base of the sauce. If it’s wine-based, a full-bodied red, as above (a good Côtes du Rhône Villages or Languedoc red like a Faugères would also work). If the sauce is more like a gravy or has a dark mushroom flavour try a full-flavoured ale such as a dark Belgian Trappist beer, a northern French bière de garde, a brown ale or a strong English ale.

• Mushroom soup - Depends how creamy it is. If it’s quite light I’d go for a Chardonnay (see mushrooms in creamy sauce above) If it’s more intensely mushroomy or includes mustard (there’s a good recipe in my book An Appetite for Ale!) I’d choose a dark beer like Westmalle Dubbel or even a stout or porter.

• Mushroom quiche - Again how mushroomy is the dish? If the predominant flavour is cream, eggs and cheese I’d probably pick a white burgundy or Pinot Blanc. If the mushroom flavour is more powerful I’d revert to Pinot Noir.

• Mushrooms à la grècque or preserved in oil - a classic Italian-style antipasto that will work with almost any crisp, dry Italian or Italian-style white or a dry rosé. You could drink a pilsner or Kolsch with it successfully too.

• Oyster/shitake mushrooms with soy - Unlikely to be served on its own unless it’s part of a vegetable stir-fry so you’re probably going to be looking for a wine that will perform well with a selection of Chinese or Chinese-style dishes. Ripe fruity reds such as new world Pinot Noir, Merlot or even young Rioja can work surprisingly well. For a lighter dish or selection of dishes try a dry (and I mean dry) Riesling from Alsace or Austria.