Pairings | Peppers

The best wine pairings for peppers

Posted by Fiona Beckett on October 23 2023 at 09:06

Peppers or bell peppers, as they’re also known, crop up in so many dishes, that you may well have wondered what wine goes best with them - or even if they’re the element of the dish you need to match.

It depends partly on the colour and partly on whether or how you’ve cooked with them or served them raw. In general I tend to think raw peppers pair best with a white or rosé and cooked peppers with a red wine but that’s not a hard and fast rule

Of course there are also hot peppers which I’ve touched on here but which will be the subject of another post.

Wine with red peppers

Red peppers have the most distinctive flavours of the pepper family, developing a rich sweetness as they cook, especially if they’re grilled or roasted

Raw peppers as crudités or in a salad. A crisp dry white or a rosé

Grilled and roasted peppers

Much richer and sweeter. They could also be accompanied by other big flavours such as garlic and anchovies as in the classic Piedmontese peppers or this roasted red pepper and anchovy salad from chef José Pizarro. I’d be inclined to go for a young rioja or mencia or a juicy young grenache but a robust Spanish rosado would also work. If you’re drinking white wine I’d choose something with a bit of weight like a New Zealand sauvignon blanc or Rueda.

Stuffed peppers

Yes, the pepper element is important but it also depends on the stuffing. If it’s some kind of meat I’d go for a medium-bodied Italian red, a young rioja. zinfandel or a Côtes du Roussillon. Or a merlot. If you stuff them with grains like quinoa or fish as in this stuffed peppers with brandade (salt cod) which worked brilliantly well with a hunter valley sémillon, you might be more inclined to drink a crisp fruity white.

Red pepper soup

More likely to be red pepper and tomato soup like this one - it might even have a bit of a spicy kick. Dry whites normally pair well with soup so I’d probably go for something like a picpoul or an albarino but the other suggestions I’ve made for roast red peppers should work too.

Pasta with red pepper sauce

Similar ingredients and flavours to the above (as in this BBC Good Food recipe) but because it’s pasta you might feel inclined to go for a red - pretty well anything Italian and inexpensive (so not top Chianti or amarone) would work

Yellow and orange peppers

Usually milder than red peppers but I suggest following the suggestions above

Mixed peppers

Quite a few dishes such as chicken with peppers involve an assortment of peppers or, in the case of ratatouille other summer vegetables like courgettes and aubergines too. Both are quite robust so I’d go for a hearty southern French, Spanish or Italian red (Sicilian would be good) - the sort I recommend with grilled or roasted peppers.

Wine with green peppers

Green peppers are vegetal rather than sweet and I think generally better suited to a fruity white like a verdejo or a sauvignon blanc but there is also a green or bell pepper component in cabernet sauvignon that may make that work as well particularly if the peppers are stuffed with lamb. If you’re interested, here’s the science.

Wine with hot peppers

I’m not so much talking chillies here as spicy or potentially spicy peppers like the Spanish Pimientos de Padron or pickled guindillas, also Spanish. I think chilled dry fino or manzanilla sherry goes well with both but you could also drink a sharp white wine like a txacoli or a vinho verde with them especially as they’re likely to be part of a tapas line-up. Or a strong dry Spanish rosado.

Image © Bozena Fulawka at shutterstock.com

Tags: roast peppers ratatouille stuffed peppers green peppers red peppers bell peppers peppers food:veg & salads
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Some great food pairings for tequila

Posted by Fiona Beckett on July 24 2021 at 07:31

Despite the recent increase in interest in Mexican street food like tacos consumers in the UK still have to take to tequila (maybe because they’re too busy drinking gin) but in fact it’s an attractive and versatile spirit to pair with food

The style you’re most likely to come across is silver tequila, the type that’s most often used in a margarita, but you may also come across reposado tequilas which are aged in wood and anejo, older tequilas which are ideal for after-dinner drinking. (Think of them like rum: Silver is like white rum with a herbal twist, reposado like a golden rum and anejo like an aged sipping rum).

Obviously the natural starting point is Mexican food but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t drink tequila with other cuisines such as Latin American, Caribbean and newly fashionable African.

Here are the type of dishes that I think work best

Tacos
The street food of 2017, especially fish tacos which with a white or silver tequila. Try a reposado if you’re eating meatier tacos like pork

Raw fish
Particularly ceviche and punchily seasoned fish tartares but there's no reason why you shouldn’t try a silver tequila with sushi or sashimi

Grilled seafood like squid or prawns
Especially with garlic or a touch of chilli. Silver, again

A wide range of vegetables especially asparagus, green peppers and tomatillos (silver) and corn (reposado) Also avocado which of course is technically a fruit but counts as a veg in my book - guacamole being the obvious option

Recipes with fresh herbs especially coriander
Again this appears regularly in Mexican food but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t sip a silver tequila with Indian street food like samosas or puris and green chutney. It should go with middle eastern grills and salads too.

Recipes with citrus especially lime and orange
Citrus works particularly well with the flavour of agave (the plant from which tequila is made)

Pork
Pulled, grilled, served with corn (like posole) - all good with a reposado. Think also empanadas with a pork filling

Steak
You can partner a good steak or burger with a reposado or an anejo. Even fajitas though I probably wouldnt drink anything tooo fancy with them.

Chocolate
Like most aged spirits anejo tequila goes well with dark chocolate - or even milk chocolate if it’s Mexican which has a particularly delicious fudgy texture.

There's a useful longer article on pairing food with tequila here.

Six of the best drinks to pair with tacos

Image © anaumenko @fotolia.com

The best food pairings for Carmenère

Posted by Fiona Beckett on November 8 2016 at 07:07

You may not be familiar with Carmenère but it's a delicious red at this chilly time of year.

It has quite a bit in common with Cabernet Franc from which is apparently descended* though tends to be richer and more plummy like Merlot with which it was originally confused in Chile.

Its green, slightly herbaceous character (not always in evidence in more expensive wines) makes it a surprisingly good match for fish and dishes flavoured with herbs. These would be my top pairings

* Lamb, especially with herbs - salsa verde for example or herb-crusted rack of lamb. I once had a Peruvian dish of lamb with coriander which was sensational with Carmenère. Any lamb curry with herbs would also work well or try middle-eastern style meatballs or minced lamb kebabs with mint and coriander

* Bacon - there’s a smoky edge to Carmenère that works well with dishes that include smoked bacon (think spinach, bacon and blue cheese salad) or with a hearty smoked bacon chop or rib

* Empanadas, especially with green olives

* Dark leafy greens such as kale, chard, savoy cabbage or spring greens

* Roasted or grilled Mediterranean vegetables such as peppers (bell peppers), courgettes (zucchini) and aubergines (eggplant). Chicken or pork cooked with peppers

* Sides of asparagus or green beans

* Chillies - fresh chillies in particular. Try Carmenère with Mexican and, I’m told, Thai food

* Seared tuna - in fact seared seafood generally works.

*There’s a fascinating entry on Carmenère in Jancis Robinson’s Wine Grapes

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