Find a match
Found 214 results
The best food pairings for Zinfandel
Like most wines made from red grapes Zinfandel comes in a number of styles from light and juicy to blockbuster ‘killer’ zins but they have a common thread of ripe brambly fruit and in most cases a richness that makes them a good match for red meat and other hearty dishes, especially those with a hit of smoked chilli.
What food to pair with Malbec
Malbec has become so popular it may have become one of your favourite red wines but what are the best kind of dishes to pair with it?
The best wine matches for fishcakes (updated)
Fishcakes are one of the ultimate comfort foods - but is there an equally comforting wine pairing?
The best wines to pair with crab
Crab is one of the most delicious kinds of shellfish and the perfect foil for a crisp white wine. But there are other crab dishes that pair better with a fuller-bodied white or even a red.
-1743588094-0.jpeg)
What wine - and other drinks - to pair with Korean food (NEW)
If you’ve developed a taste for Korean food - as so many of us now have - you may still be struggling with what drink to pair with it - and whether that should include wine.
Top wine (and other) pairings for sausages
There are very few occasions on which sausages don’t appeal but what’s the best pairing for them?
The best wine pairings with meatballs (updated)
Meatballs are essentially comfort food so you probably don’t want to drink anything too fancy with them.
Six of the best pairings for Cabernet Sauvignon
If you’re looking for the ideal food pairing for cabernet sauvignon you don’t have to look very far. Almost any red meat, especially served rare, is going to do the trick.
Best food pairings with sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon blanc is many people’s favourite wine but what type of food pairs with it best?
Can you match wine and chillies?
Who better to turn to than the Aussies for advice on pairing wines with a wide range of spicy Asian food? Here's another preview of the food and wine matching sessions at the Melbourne Food Festival - Solving the Eternal Chilli Dilemma. Answers from Neil Prentice of Moondarra Wines and chef Benjamin Cooper of Chin Chin.
Cheat’s Chilli for Chilli Dogs
As you'll see in the entertaining section today I've come up with the idea of throwing a hot dog party and here's a recipe for a basic chilli to go with it. You could of course use a more authentic recipe (without beans) but authenticity isn't the point of hot dogs. They're basically fun food.
6 of the best pairings for chilli con carne
Like many popular dishes chilli con carne has many different versions - some mild and child-friendly, others much more spicy and assertive and often a little smokey.
Clams Stir-fried with Roasted Chilli Paste
Though I long to recreate its singing flavours I've always been slightly daunted by Thai food. The recipes always seem so long and complex and contain so many ingredients.
Sesame and chilli oil noodles
Anna Jones has written so many great cookbooks you'd think she wouldn't have anything more to say but her new book, Easy Wins, which features 12 hero ingredients including the tahini in this recipe, may be her most inspiring yet. It's exactly the kind of easy, delicious food I want for a midweek meal.
Spaghetti with Almond Cream, Fresh Crab, Chilli and Marjoram
I've been pouring over the pages of Ben Tish's lovely book Sicilia - it has a really good selection of pasta recipes - and a friend and I decided to give this one a go. We didn't have whole almonds so we substituted ground almonds which made the sauce a bit gritty so follow Ben's recipe and don't make the same mistake!
Pork, chilli, coconut and gapi salad with Momo Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
I’ve been tasting a lot of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc this week but was also reminded how well it goes with Asian food at Peter Gordon’s new restaurant Kopapa.
Ginger and chilli marinated aubergine with Lacryma Christi
Recently I’ve had a bit of a thing about pairing aubergines with orange wine especially if they’re cooked in a middle-Eastern style but it was actually an unusual red that went with this dish at the Uruguayan tasting at 67 Pall Mall the other day.
-1741635308-0.jpeg)
Crab pasta with chilli and Mission (Pais)
The one thing you’d think you could be sure of is that white wine would be the best pairing for crab but a meal last week at Toklas in London proved that isn’t necessarily the case.
Toulouse sausage and prawn dumplings with sweet chilli sauce and Thierry Puzelat gamay
A pretty wild combination this week at a lovely wine bar, Magnum, we went to in Toulouse on Saturday night. The owner Jérôme’s wife, who originally came from Réunion, had made Chinese-style dumplings with the local Toulouse sausage and prawns served with a sweet chili sauce. Not the kind of thing I would normally go for but he sold it so persuasively we had to give it a go and it was fantastic.
Roast crown prince squash, ricotta and caramelised chilli sage butter
One of the most evocative cookbooks to have been published recently is Lori de Mori and Laura Jackson's Towpath, a series of recipes and reminiscences from the charmingly quirky Towpath Café. It's divided up month by month and this is in fact a September recipe but as squash is still in season and wonderful warming at this time of year it works equally well now.
Chocolate and chilli cheesecake and Merlot
You may be unconvinced about the wisdom of incorporating chilli into achocolate cheesecake, let alone accompanying it with Merlot but bear with me!
Rosemary and chilli panisse
I was thrilled to find this recipe in chef Claire Thomson's brilliant new book The Five o'clock Apron. It's an irresistible snack I always order in her restaurant Flinty Red.
Chilli con carne and American brown ale
If you’re lighting a few fireworks for the kids (or yourselves, of course . . . ) tonight and hanging round in the cold you’ll need some warming food and a good chilli hits the spot perfectly
Spinach & agushi curry
I recently chaired a panel on women in food at the Abergavenny Food Festival which included the wonderful Zoe Adjonyoh. I hadn't seen her book Zoe's Ghana Kitchen before but discovered it was full of the most delicious recipes, many of them vegan.
Sweetcorn, feta and green chilli waffles and pink grapefruit juice
Soft drinks don’t often feature in my weekly pairings but this combination of an inventive savoury breakfast waffle and some lovely fresh pink grapefruit juice at The Modern Pantry last week was spot on.
Roast Pumpkin with Savoury Sage & Pumpkin Seed Granola
Those of you who are sceptical about vegan food should try this delicious recipe from Mildreds Vegan Cookbook by Daniel Acevedo and Sarah Wasserman. Yes, it's vegan but omnivores would enjoy it too and the pumpkin seed granola is wonderfully versatile.
Crispy chilli lime squid with edamame bean and coriander salad and pinot gris
Having picked up a heavy cold a couple of days before flying to New Zealand last week I arrived unable to taste a thing but this delicately pretty wine from Brick Bay Winery in Matakana managed to penetrate the fog.
Pasta with mushrooms, kosho and toasted parmesan rind
This recipe is from a new book called Wasted by chef Conor Spacey which is published by the Irish publisher Blasta Books as part of a charmingly illustrated series of single subject books
Frying pan Turkish flatbreads
Today marks the start of Organic September and what better way to kick it off than this great recipe from much-acclaimed vegetarian cookery writer Anna Jones, author of A Modern Way to Cook
Spicy sesame ramen salad
I love the recipes in Tim Anderson's new book Your Home Izakaya which is subtitled 'fun and simple recipes inspired by the drinking-and-dining dens of Japan' but this ramen salad really stood out for me and I can't wait to make it.
Wine and spice
To mark National Curry Week here's an article I wrote for Decanter a while back about Indian food and wine matching at the Cinnamon Club which still contains some useful advice about wine and spice pairing:
Vivek Singh's butter chicken
In the run-up to National Curry Week TV chef Vivek Singh shares his favourite recipe for Old Delhi-style butter chicken from his enticing new book Spice at Home.
Two great prawn recipes to grill on the BBQ
Talking to food writers Helen Graves and Genevieve Taylor about recipes that might get beginners - particularly women - into barbecuing they both came up with one based on prawns, aka shrimp. Both are super-easy.
Pumpkin, coconut and lentil soup
If you're carving a pumpkin for Hallowe'en this weekend here's a gorgeous spicy soup from Jenny Chandler's excellent book Pulse to make with the discarded pulp.
Lizzie Mabbott's Chinese Fried Chicken
It's not that often a cookbook comes along that genuinely fulfils an unmet need but Lizzie Mabbott's (aka blogger Hollowlegs) Chinatown Kitchen is one.
Kid Rogan Josh
One of the most interesting cookbooks to come out in the past couple of years is James Whetlor's Goat - a book of recipes for using goat meat.
Where Bristol foodies eat
Bristol has more than its fair share of cookery writers (including yours truly) so who better to ask where to eat in the city - and what to order? (Well, local chefs, maybe, but I’ll come on to that …)
Spicy chicken salad
We normally think of lunchboxes in terms of kids' packed lunches but James Ramsden has come up with this a brilliant book of imaginative dishes you can take to work. Called - appropriately enough - Love your Lunchbox.
Fish in coconut milk (Macher Malaikari)
I don’t always think of using fish in a curry but it takes such a short time to cook it makes a brilliantly quick meal.
Easy Korean Kimchi Hotpot
Want to cook something authentically Korean to celebrate Korean New Year next week? Try this easy, traditional Korean kimchi hotpot suggests Nathalie Gardiner.
Andhra Curry-leaf Chicken
When I met Christine Manfield a while ago I gave her the impossible task of picking one recipe out of her stunning book Tasting India. This was the one she chose.
Pairing rosé champagne and dim sum
Is rosé champagne a good match with dim sum? Our roving correspondent Lucy Bridgers retains admirable control of her critical faculties while being plied with successive vintages of Bollinger's Grande Année . . .
What wine to pair with corn
Eating corn on the cob is one of the pleasures of high summer especially now there are so many different ways to cook it. But if you love corn or sweetcorn what wine should you pair with it?
How to throw a hot dog party
Given the runaway success of Big Apple Hot Dogs and Bubbledogs - London’s smash hit champagne and hot dog restaurant, it can only be a matter of time before you can pick up a dog on your local high street. But in the meantime you can throw your own hot dog party in if you follow these tips from my book Sausage and Mash
A Middle-Eastern inspired barbecue for eight
Here's a barbecue I've dug out of the archives - a middle-eastern inspired BBQ from my book Food, Wine and Friends.
The best wine pairings with beans
Pulses such as beans are a good friend to the vegetarian winelover - their rich, mealy texture provides a similar foil as meat to a hearty full-bodied red.
Spicy Sichuan noodles and sour plum tea
Although I think the difficulty of matching troublesome ingredients with wine is overrated that’s not true in the case of chilli which is an integral part of many Szechuan dishes. The tofu noodle hotpot I had at my local Chilli Daddy in Bristol at the weekend was definitely a case in point.
Fish tacos and Clare Valley riesling
Last week I pushed the envelope a bit further with wine and spice pairing with a Wine and Chilli dinner at The Spicery in Bristol
5 fun places to have breakfast in London (updated)
Have you noticed the number of restaurants which have started offering breakfast - and I don’t just mean a full English?
Scallop Ceviche
If you're looking for an impressive dish for Valentine's Day try this delicious scallop ceviche from Rick and Katie Toogood's Prawn on the Lawn: Fish and Seafood to Share. (It feeds 4 but I'm sure you can manage it between you!)
Prawn, lime, peanut and herb rice noodles
If you've always thought cooking for yourself is a bit dispiriting buy Signe Johansen's book Solo which is full of delicious and inspiring recipes like this zingy pad thai-ish dish of prawn noodles.
Moqueca baiana (Bahia-style fish stew)
If you're inspired to cook Brazilian with the Olympics kicking off this weekend try this classic fish stew from Thiago Castanho and Luciana Bianchi's Brazilian Food.
Chicken with pineapple and nduja
One of the most exciting cookbooks of recent years is Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage who worked with Yotam Ottolenghi for several years and shares his love of bold flavours. This is actually quite an easy recipe though nobody you cook it for will think that!
-david-loftus.jpg)
Burmese Mango Salad with Peanut and Lime
I've loved all of Meera Sodha's books but her new one, East, which includes vegetarian and vegan recipes from the Indian sub-continent to the far east may be the best yet. And I love the zingy fresh flavours of this mango salad.
What are the best wine matches for shellfish?
Shellfish and wine is one of the happiest of marriages: the one making the perfect foil for the other. Whether it’s a few oysters or an opulent lobster thermidor you need an accompanying glass to enjoy it fully.
Pairing wine and Indian seafood
Indian seafood dishes showcase a rich variety of flavors, from creamy coconut-based curries to smoky tandoori preparations and fiery regional specialties. Pairing wine with these dishes can be tricky due to the interplay of spice, acidity, and umami, but the right wine can elevate the experience. Here are 10 popular Indian seafood dishes with wine pairing suggestions to help you find the perfect match:
Matching sweet wine and Sichuanese food
Can Tokaji – the great dessert wine of Hungary, and one of the sweetest wines in the world – go with Chinese food, asks Margaret Rand? And if it can, would you want it to?
3 inspirational Indian food books
The British love affair with Indian food is longstanding but these three very personal books take our knowledge to another level. Ishita DasGupta takes a look at them.
Wines - and other drinks - to match recipes from the Ottolenghi Cookbook
The book I’ve been looking forward to most so far this year has just started being serialised in the Guardian today. It’s by Yotam Ottolenghi who founded two exceptional London restaurants and is simply called Ottolenghi: the Cookbook. l love Ottolenghi's food - it’s so generous and big-flavoured, piled high on bright, colourful platters - you can't fail to be tempted by it. It also lends itself perfectly to entertaining for large numbers at home.
Korean meatballs with mango, lime and ginger gin
Oooofff, Korean food is spicy! Even when I toned down the gochujang chilli paste in the meatballs I made on Saturday night they were a challenge for most of the wines I tried with them (a characterful Babylonstoren rosé powered through). But the best match by far was a gin and tonic made from Romy's Edition Mango, Ginger and Lime gin, a collaboration between Bristol-based Six O’Clock Gin and Indian food writer Romy Gill.
Tanqueray Mexican Collins
I don't often post branded cocktails but this is part of a collaboration between two writers I admire - Anna Jones and Abbie Moulton - who have put together a whole load of clever food and cocktail pairing ideas and recipes called The Modern Cocktail Guide. It's available here as a downloadable pdf
The best food pairings for Pinotage
Like any other red South Africa's Pinotage comes in different styles - some lighter and fruitier than others. When you're matching it with food you take a cue from the sort of ingredients and dishes that go with its two ancestors - Pinot Noir and Cinsault.
Wine and pepper
Like salt, pepper has a pronounced effect on wine, often making reds taste softer and lusher than they otherwise would. Unlike salt though, you also find peppery flavours in wines such as Northern Rhône Syrah and Austrian Grüner Veltliner.
Wines - and other drinks - to match Delia's new 'cheat' recipes
The papers are full of her. Despite her six year absence from our screens and and the rise of TV rivals such as Gordon, Jamie and Nigella, Delia (that’s veteran cookery writer Delia Smith for those of you who live on another planet) shows she can still bewitch the media.
What to eat with Cloudy Bay
For most people the New Zealand winery Cloudy Bay is synonymous with sauvignon blanc but their range now extends to sparkling, sweet and red wines, a message underlined by a dinner at Hix Mayfair (in Brown’s Hotel) the other day.
Pairing wine and spices
Author and food blogger Signe Johansen reports on a visit to spice blender Rolf Gast.
Where - and what - Bristol chefs eat
As there was so much interest in the post on where my fellow food writers eat out in Bristol I thought I'd do a follow-up with chefs.
.jpeg)
What makes Korean food distinctive
The first thing everyone asked me when I got back from Korea was what does the food taste like? Unless you live in London, or New Malden in Surrey, which, rather randomly, boasts the UK’s biggest concentration of Korean restaurants, then you probably won’t be familiar with Korean food.
Magnum and Le Tire Bouchon: two wine bars to discover in Toulouse
When I knew I was going to spend 24 hours in Toulouse recently I asked my followers on Twitter - as you do - what restaurants and wine bars they would recommend. Unusually they all suggested different places which didn’t help that much so I ended up trawling around online.
Thai tapas in Paris at Le Mary Celeste - updated March 2015
Eating Thai tapas in a city like Paris represents everything I dislike about eating out - a mish-mash of cooking styles, food you can eat anywhere - and yet I loved it. (Apparently the chef has moved on. See my update below from a subsequent visit in March 2015)
Rovi - Ottolenghi’s latest restaurant is perfect for flexitarians
I’m writing about Rovi in almost ideal circumstances. After two visits - one very shortly after opening, the other last week, two and a half months later. I could, of course, have reviewed it after the first visit. It was fully open not a discounted ‘soft’ opening yet there isn’t a restaurant that gets into its stride in the first month. American publications insist that their critics go three times before their review is published I believe. In an ideal world you would.
Radici - Islington's spicy Italian
It’s already a bone of contention between me and my Islington-based friend T that she has an unfairly large number of good restaurants on her doorstep.
Pigging out - literally - at Blackfoot, Exmouth Market
As soon as I heard that one of my favourite chefs (Allegra McEvedy) was involved in a restaurant dedicated to one of my favourite ingredients (pork) I knew I had to get down there pronto. And you can’t try out a restaurant much sooner than its first full day’s trading.
Tom Parker-Bowles Neapolitan Ragù
If you think you have the ultimate bolognese recipe, think again. Try this fantastic version from Tom Parker-Bowles book Let's Eat Meat. I love Tom's style of writing - do read the great introduction:
Spiced Paneer, Spinach and Pea Grain Bowl with Mint Yoghurt Sauce
The big trend for cookbooks this year is vegetarian food and no-one is better able to hold your hand and give you inspiration than my pal Elly Pear. This delicious weekday recipe, which can be rustled up in 20 minutes, comes from her new book Green.
Seftali
We tend to think of barbecue as American but of course many cuisines involve dishes that are cooked over coals such as these delicious kebabs from Selin Kiazim's fabulous book Oklava.
Rosemary and basil aubergines in za'atar
One of the books I'm most enjoying at the moment is Mark Diacono's Herb which is perfectly suited to a man who is a great gardener as well as a cook (and the most engaging writer as well as taking all his own photographs. Sickening, really!)
Roasted cod with a coriander crust
The cookbook I've probably cooked most from in the last couple of years is Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley's fabulous Falastin which is all about the food of Sami's Palestinian childhood together with some more contemporary recipes of which this is one.
Red wine spaghetti with olives and anchovies
I stumbled across a recipe for cooking spaghetti in red wine when I was researching my latest book Wine lover's kitchen. It sounded so bizarre I had to give it a try and can vouch for the fact that it’s delicious! It would be a bit expensive to make for a crowd so this quantity is designed to feed 2–3. And my version is dairy-free.
Rare seared sirloin steak slivers with feta, charred lettuce and charred cucumber
If you're thinking of going in for our Le Creuset competition this month you may have been tempted by the rather gorgeous-looking cast iron square grill.
Quinoa Fritters with Green Goddess Sauce
A new book from Claire Thomson (aka Five o'clock Apron) is always a treat and New Kitchen Basics is no exception. Like all Claire's books it manages to be both practical and inspirational with recipes you can fit in with daily life but which give your cooking a real lift. And they work too. This she describes as 'bombproof'!
Puttanesca-style salmon bake
A super-tasty, easy recipe from Ottolenghi’s fabulous new book Ottolenghi Comfort (which you can also find on his YouTube channel if you want to see it being made.
Lemons filled with tuna cream
It may feel far from summery in the UK but one can always hope so get yourself into the mood with this lovely recipe from Eleonora Galasso's As the Romans Do.
Grilled halloumi flatbreads with preserved lemon and barberry salsa
Like many of Sabrina Ghayour's fans I've been hugely looking forward to her new book Bazaar which brings her vibrant cooking style to vegetarian food. You'll need to get a copy of your own (unless you're a subscriber and stand to win one if you're lucky) but here's a taster.
Fromage fort
If you’ve been doing your duty by British cheesemakers you may well have a few odd pieces lurking in your fridge you couldn’t bring yourself to throw away and which are now past their best.
.jpeg)
Courgettes with Georgian Spices and Walnuts
I’m a huge fan of Caroline Eden’s writing and this is a recipe from her latest book Green Mountains, the final part of a trilogy on her travels through the Balkans and Central Asia.
Chicken schnitzel, burnt salsa, fennel slaw
I confess I love a schnitzel especially if it’s dressed up with a salsa and slaw as it is in Thomas Straker’s gorgeous-looking new book Food you want to eat.
Cavatelli with sausage, mint and tomato
This is one of the deceptively simple recipes in Rachel Roddy’s wonderful A-Z of Pasta.
Cauliflower curry, boiled eggs & coconut crumble
Cauliflower and eggs are two of my favourite things, here ingeniously combined by Dan Doherty of the Duck & Waffle in his brilliant book Toast, Hash, Roast, Mash.
Butternut squash with pistachio pesto, feta and pomegranate seeds
Finding a special occasion vegetarian dish is tough if you're not a veggie yourself but try this show-stopping recipe from Sabrina Ghayour's Persiana which won best new cookbook at this week's Observer Food Monthly awards.
Breadcrumbed Tomatoes Baked in Cream with Fried Chicken
There are so many recipes I want to make from Claire Thomson's brilliant new book Tomato but this decadent dish of breadcrumbed tomatoes baked in cream with fried chicken, as if you could make it any better, heads the list.
Tahini BBQ lamb chops with fresh plums and spiced plum sauce
Barbecue no longer automatically means burgers and ribs as Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich of Honey & Co's recent book Chasing Smoke amply demonstrates. This is a gorgeous way of grilling and serving lamb chops
Curry leaf mussels and fries
This is such a simple, clever and inspired way to cook mussels - an exotic version of moules marinières which I couldn't resist as I love curry leaves too.
Which BBQ book to buy this summer
Barbecue, as you may have observed, has become big business not only in terms of increasingly flashy bits of kit but a whole raft of books telling you how to up your grilling game. I got blogger and instagrammer Dan Vaux-Nobes, aka Essex Eating, to take a look at three of the titles that have been released his summer. Here's his verdict on which to choose.
What Food, What Wine? Indian: which type of wine pairs best with a curry
A lot of people still think that wine isn’t a good match with spicy food but our final session of What Food, What Wine? judging this week suggested that there’s no reason for winelovers to throw in the towel. The success (or otherwise) of the pairings did however depend on the heat of the curries and how ‘wet’ or dry they were.
What type of wine works best with a barbecue?
This week is National Barbecue Week in the UK and if you're planning a barbecue this weekend you might well be wondering what to drink. Here's an article I wrote for Decanter a few years ago which still holds good today, I think.
Pairing whisky with Indian food
Among the many invitations I get to food and drink matching events a recent one to attend a dinner at the Bombay Brasserie in London where each course was paired with whisky sounded the most intriguing. But pairing a high strength spirit with spicy food was surely a recipe for disaster?
Can any wine survive a Vindaloo?
The widely held belief that wine doesn’t pair with curry has largely been dispelled with the new and more subtly spiced curries on the market. But what of really hot curries like a Vindaloo?
Which wines to pair with calamari/squid
Calamari or squid is often served as a starter or appetiser with other dishes so you need to bear that in mind when you’re choosing a wine to pair with it. It also depends on the way you prepare it.
Wines to pair with fennel
Fennel is one of the handful of vegetables that can influence a main course pairing - almost always for the better. Its aniseed flavour seems to have a pronounced affinity with many wines, especially whites. Here are some suggested matches with recipes that two British chefs have published this weekend - Gordon Ramsay in the Times and Skye Gyngell in the Independent on Sunday.
Stir-fried pork with Thai basil and Australian riesling
This week’s match of the week doesn’t come as a big surprise but it’s sometimes good to be reminded of tried and tested pairings rather than ones that come totally out of the blue.
Prawn tagliolini and Poggio San Polo Rosso di Montalcino
If there’s one thing you might think you could be sure of it would be that you should drink white wine with a seafood pasta dish like this. But, you know what? It was this silkily delicious red that went swimmingly.
My 20 best wine (and other drink) pairings of 2015
As you may know if you visit the site regularly I do a regular match of the week - generally a less obvious pairing I’ve come across that has surprised me as much as it may have surprised you. So which were the best ones that would be worth looking out for or repeating? Here’s my top 20.
Ceviche and Pisco Soho
Last week was particularly good for off-the-wall pairings but I'm going to nominate this delicious cocktail as my match of the week.It was at the new Peruvian restaurant and bar, Ceviche and was a wonderfully refreshing mixture of limo aji chilli-infused pisco (limo aji chilli is a native Peruvian pepper) with elderflower liqueur, cucumber, lime, egg white and cracked black pepper.
Spiced whitebait with sriracha and Chinon rosé
As you’d expect many of the usual suspects featured in my pairings this weekend (chocolate, anyone*?) but the match I was most impressed by was nothing to do with Easter
Women on fire: top tips from two of the UK’s best BBQ chefs
In most households men are in charge of the barbecue but there’s a small but influential band of women moving onto their territory and transforming the way we think about grilling
A Hallowe’en supper for 4-6
With Hallowe’en coming up the track here’s a sophisticated supper for those of you who don’t have to go out trick or treating . . .
My top 20 books to give your friends for Christmas 2017
You might think the last thing you need is another list of this year’s cookery books. but indulge me in this slightly different take - who would you give them to and why would you find them useful.
Food villains - 9 awkward customers that could kill your wine
This weekend I’ve been down at my favourite food festival in Dartmouth where I’ve been giving a number of wine talks. One of them was a forum on food and wine matching with wine writer and TV presenter Susy Atkins and former sommelier and wine supplier Tim McLoughlin-Green of Sommelier’s Choice.
Steak and Trousseau
'Hmmm, steak and red wine - nothing particularly original about that' you might be thinking but bear with, as they say.
Scallop and mango ceviche with Montes Cherub Syrah Rosé
Given Chile’s proximity to the coast, this week’s match couldn’t be anything but seafood but I’m going to pass over the more obvious pairings with sauvignon blanc in favour of this wildly brilliant combination of scallops and rosé.
Gambas pil pil and albariño
Albariño is a well-established pairing for seafood but in fact it was the seasoning rather than the prawns that made this combination sing.
Currywurst and pils
What on earth do you drink with currywurst? Last week I was in Berlin so had the perfect opportunity to find out.
Cicheti and an Aperol Spritz
If anyone can make Aperol - the Venetian Campari drinkalike - fashionable it's Russell Norman of Polpo, Polpetto, Spuntino and now Da Polpo - four of the coolest (and smallest) restaurants in London. Admittedly bitters are not to everyone's taste - they are...well...bitter but I find Aperol fruitier and easier to drink than Campari. The traditional way to serve it as as an Aperol spritz topped up with Prosecco and a whoosh of soda water - the perfect way to recover when the Tube is at its hellish steamy worst.
Nduja and a super-Tuscan red
I don’t often get inspiration from chefs when it comes to food and wine pairing - you’d think they’d be into wine but they often aren’t - but Theo Randall’s suggestion of a super-Tuscan red with his dish of roast sausages with borlotti beans and nduja sauce was spot on.
Good bottles to celebrate Hallowe'en
If you’re looking for a bottle to celebrate Hallowe’en on Tuesday here’s couple that hit the spot perfectly.
Matching wine with fusion food
There seems to be quite a buzz around pairing wine with spicy food at the moment - detractors saying it’s a waste of time, people like me saying that on the contrary you can derive a good deal of pleasure from it.
Last minute tips for Hallowe'en
There are already some useful tips for Hallowe'en on the site but as the word Hallowe'en fails to come up with anything in the search engine for some unfathomable reason I thought I would draw your attention to them plus some fun ideas for a Hallowe'en cheeseboard I've posted on my blog The Cheeselover today.
Red wine and red meat - what could possibly go wrong?
Wine writer Stuart Walton casts a sceptical eye over accepted wisdom:
Pairing wine with Szechuan (or Sichuan) cuisine
Just as you think you might have got to grips with matching wine with Chinese food along comes a regional cuisine like Szechuan which is twice as challenging, as I discovered at a wine dinner at Flinty Red in Bristol. Flinty Red has closed since I originally wrote this post in 2012, but the wine pairing lessons remain.
Pairing cognac and cheese
Cognac pairs with chocolate, we all know but what about cheese? Surprisingly there are some standout matches as I discovered when I chaired the cheese workshop at the 2014 International Cognac Summit in France a couple of years ago.
How to pair wine with fish
Advertisement feature Fish can be cooked so many different ways these days that you may wonder what kind of wine you should pair with it.
The Swan at Lavenham
We Londoners are spoiled for choice when it comes to weekend breaks. A lot of people are drawn west to the Cotswolds or south to Sussex, Hampshire and the New Forest. For me, though, East Anglia takes some beating.
A week’s eating in Paris
Spending a whole week in Paris is any foodie’s idea of heaven but how do you choose from the vast amount of restaurants on offer without breaking the bank? If you’ve read about how we planned our recent Paris trip I thought you might like to know where we ended up eating . . .
The Colony Grill Room at the Beaumont: pure old-fashioned glamour
It has to be said that no-one knows how to do glamour like Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, the founders of the Ivy and the Caprice and, more recently, the Wolseley, the Delaunay and my current favourite, Fischer’s
The Barbary, Covent Garden
There are two good reasons for eating at The Barbary. One is the Jerusalem bagel, a wondrous piece of baking. Served warm from the oven, encrusted in spicy sesame seeds it must be the best bread roll in town.
Taberna do Mercado, Spitalfields, London
The hype that accompanies almost every new restaurant launch these days is crazy. We all swarm in, pronounce it the best opening this year then swarm off to the next hotspot.
Shop Eight Food and Wine, Christchurch, New Zealand
It must take guts to open a restaurant in Christchurch. Four years after the devastating earthquake that demolished much of the historic city centre it still looks like a war zone in places with yawning gaps where local landmarks once were.
Ristorante Cibreo, Florence
If you’re going to go to a restaurant in a tourist city like Florence it certainly helps to go with a couple of Italians. Especially if one of them is a well-known chef* and - better still - has been recommended by one of his mates at one of the poshest local hotels.
Islington lucks out with Oldroyd
We got two important things right on our first visit to Oldroyd. We went before most of the reviews came out and there were four of us which gave us an excuse to try practically everything on the menu.
Grainstore, Granary Square: where veggies take centre stage
If you want to understand where the London restaurant scene is heading you need to go to Grainstore. Sure, the capital is still in thrall to pork, barbecue and street food but Bruno Loubet’s exciting and ambitious new project is a clear pointer to the way things are going.
Does La Tupina live up to the hype?
Talk to anyone about the food scene in Bordeaux - and they’ll say in reverential tones - ‘Aaah, but have you been to La Tupina’. I have, twice now, and while I can understand why it stands out in a city that curiously doesn’t have the quality of restaurants to match its wine I’ve never been quite as blown away as my fellow customers seem to be.
Blunos - posh fish in Bath
One of the biggest problems hotels have is how to keep their guests in the building for meals. The solution is generally to employ a celebrity chef and that’s what the County Hotel in Bath has done with Martin Blunos. (Sadly this restaurant has unexpectedly closed.)
Soup for Syria: spiced red lentil soup
I don't often post commercial recipes but this delicious soup from London restaurant Arabica Bar & Kitchen is being promoted in a very good cause.
Smacked Cucumber and Crispy Green Salad with Zingy Ginger Dressing
Although Jenny's Chandler's new book is called Green Kids Cook there are plenty of recipes that would appeal to adults too including this deliciously crunchy salad which provides an answer as to what to do with kohlrabi (I never know).
Romy Gill's lamb harissa
One of the most beautiful and original books that has been published recently is Romy Gill's On the Himalayan Trail which focusses on the food of Kashmir and Ladakh. Here's her recipe for lamb harissa which - surely a bonus for meateaters - is commonly garnished with a sheekh kebab. I also like the idea it's a brunch dish!
Kimchi and Gochujang skillet eggs
If you're a kimchi addict you'll love this spicy way of serving eggs from Ed Smith's fabulous book Good Eggs. And if you're not it should convert you!
Khao Soi Noodles
After the carbfest that is Christmas I fancy clean spicy flavours in January so leapt on this easy, delicious dish from Claire Thomson’s The Art of the Larder.
Japanese ginger and garlic chicken with smashed cucumber
A simple but spectacular Japanese-style dish from Diana Henry's marvellous new book A Change of Appetite which I've also reviewed on the site here.
Devilled eggs
They may be retro but who doesn't secretly love a devilled egg? Here's how I make mine and some variations ...
Chicken and cucumber salad with pul biber and tahini lime dressing
Anyone who is a fan of Sabrina Ghayour will be thrilled that there's a successor to her best-selling book Persiana. Actually there have been several but this one relates back directly with a collection of easy, but supremely tasty family-friendly recipes.
Brown rice and potato pilaf
Brown food is a bit of a running joke on instagram but the fact is that monotone brown or beige dishes are often the most delicious. That's certainly the case with Sam and Sam Clark's brown rice and potato pilaf from their most recent book Moro Easy.
Barbecued Chicken with Yellow Mustard Sauce
If you fancy a proper US-style barbecue this weekend try this brilliantly easy recipe from chef Brad McDonald's book Deep South: New Southern Cooking
100 calorie monkfish chermoula
A main course for 100 calories? Yes, that's possible in Kalpna Woolf's inspiring and original new book Spice Yourself Slim which explores how spices can enhance your diet.
When to pair red wine with fish
Few people now throw up their hands in horror at the idea of matching red wine with fish. But how many realise just how often you can pair the two?
Is cider more food-friendly than wine?
Susanna Forbes of Drink Britain reports on a vigorously fought contest over dinner at The Thatchers Arms near Colchester last month
What wine would you drink with Pad Thai?
What’s the best wine for pad thai? Well, it’s a dish you might well not think of pairing with wine at all but according to a report on the blog Musings from Thailand, an adviser to the Thai government has suggested a campaign to link French wine and Pad Thai as a way to promote Thai food overseas.
The best wine pairings for a Chinese-style stir-fry
A stir-fry is a great option for a quick midweek supper but what kind of wine should you drink with it?
The best pairings for fino and manzanilla sherry
Manzanilla, as you probably know, is a fino sherry made in the port of Sanlucar de Barrameda rather than in the cities of Jerez or Puerto de Santa Maria which gives it its characteristic salty tang.
The best food matches with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
The flavours of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc - and this is why it is so popular - are powerful and aromatic: citrus, gooseberry and passionfruit in spades. So you if you're looking for a food match need big flavours on your plate to stand up to it.
Food pairings for wheat beer I: witbiers (bières blanches) and lighter wheat beers
Wheat beers are fabulously flexible when it comes to food matching - the beer world’s equivalent of a crisp white wine.
10 top Australian wines: a personal pick
Food and wine writer Natasha Hughes picks the 10 wines that appealed to her most at the recent Australia Day tasting in London and suggests the ideal food match
What wine to drink with cuttlefish
Cuttlefish is a pain to prepare as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall points out in the Guardian today but it is particularly delicious to eat. It’s often partnered with robust flavours so you need to think in terms of equally intense flavoured wines.
Wines to match the menu at Jamie's Italian
Yesterday Jamie Oliver opened the first branch of Jamie's Italian, his much heralded new chain of affordable Italian restaurants, in Oxford. (Others will follow later this year in Bath and Kingston. )
Wagyu beef steak and Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay
Last night was my first in a two week trip of Australia - an informal dinner with Vasse Felix at a Chinese restaurant in Perth (Grand Palace).
Teroldego and Tapas
Sometimes you get in a rut with a particular food and wine combination - maybe on a ‘if it ain’t broke, why fix it? basis. Such is the case for me with tapas which I tend to recommend pairing with something Spanish - usually manzanilla sherry or - depending on the amount of seafood - a crisp Rueda, dry Spanish rosado or a young Rioja or similar Spanish red.
Tandoori salmon and fino sherry
One of the more successful pairings from the otherwise rather challenging sherry lunch I attended at the Cinnamon Club last week was a dish of tandoori salmon with a Valdespino Innocente fino. I tend to overlook fino in favour of manzanilla but I’m not sure it’s not a more flexible match with food.
Dessert wine pairing: ‘Sweet Thai Green Curry’ with Lapeyre Jurancon
This wine pairing may sound difficult to get your head round - let’s face it, it is! - but it was a very clever dessert at the 3 star De Librije in Zwolle, Holland last week
Spicy paneer pancakes and a ginger-turmeric soda
Although I’m not doing Dry January I am trying to take a break from booze on at least a couple of days a week so when I went to Romy Gill’s pop-up at Carousel last week I opted for the alcohol free options.
Spicy beef and Barbera d'Asti
Barbera wouldn’t have been the wine I’d have generally turned to with a beef dish that came accompanied by a spicy Thai relish but it worked surprisingly well.
Spiced creme brulée tarts and Carthagène de Haut-Gléon
Last week was the London Wine Fair - the last place, to be honest, I expected to find a stellar wine match. (It doesn't feature food.)
South-east Asian seafood dishes and salads and aged Eden Valley riesling
It was a tough call to find a match of the week this week - there have been so many but I'm picking three dishes from a meal I had at a brilliant south-east Asian (mainly Vietnamese) restaurant in Tanunda in the Barossa Valley called Ferment Asian which has just picked up an award for the best Asian restaurant in South Australia
Smoked trout and a Tricycle
My problem this week is that I have a terrific wine pairing but I can't tell you about it because it's the result of a tasting I was running for Decanter magazine. So you'll have to hang on till December for that. Sorry.
Sesame prawn toasts and Ortega
English wine might not be the first thing you’d think of pairing with prawn toasts - more likely something like a riesling but at the Caravel restaurant in London the other night it just hit the spot.
-1723544955-0.jpeg)
Satay and aromatic whites
What do you drink at those restaurants that have multiple small plates - I.e. most restaurants these days?
Rainbow trout ceviche and Western Australia riesling
I can’t actually believe I’ve never tried it before but I made some ceviche as part of a Zoom masterclass organised by the Bristol Food Union, a collaboration of local restaurateurs and food producers to raise money for those who have been most affected by the COVID 19 crisis.
Pizza and Valpolicella
With time stretching like an aching chasm from one end of the week to another I've no idea how it’s possible to miss out my regular match of the week post but there you go. (Last week’s should have been chilli con carne and Robert Oatley Shiraz which I can heartily recommend)
Pasta with pesto and Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
This past week has reminded me yet again what a great match Italian whites are for food. Their lack of obvious character means they tend not to stand out in a tasting but they explode into life with a dish.
Montlouis Sec and crab
This great pairing arose as a result of a new interest my husband has in natural wines. Actually no-one has come up with a watertight definition of ‘natural’ but it’s generally agreed that the vines are treated organically and/or biodynamically and the wines made with as little sulphur and chemical additives as possible (in some cases none).
Lobster and sweetcorn with Allende Rioja Blanco
I came across this pairing at a dinner to launch the London Restaurant Festival. It was held at Nuno Mendes Loft Project, a permanent East London pop-up - if there is such a thing - where he normally hosts visiting chefs of a similarly experimental bent. Mendes is one of the most talented chefs in London at the moment and normally cooks at nearby Viajante in Bethnal Green which I reviewed here.
-1741039971-0.jpeg)
Langoustine with calamansi and a Greek white
This week’s match of the week is the perfect illustration of the fact that the flavours of a dish that should suggest a wine pairing as much as the main ingredient.
Lamb tagine with a chorizo-infused beer
It’s unusual for me to have two consecutive beer pairings as my match of the week but not surprising given that this week’s comes from an excellent beer dinner at The Bull, Highgate to mark the launch of Canadian beer and food expert Stephen Beaumont’s Beer and Food Companion
Korean Bulgogi and Mencia
Given the overall punchiness of Korean food, you might think pairing it with red wine was a lost cause but as it’s often beef you’re dealing with, especially in a Korean barbecue restaurant, don’t let that put you off.
Hainanese chicken and green tea
Alcohol-free drinks are sometimes overlooked as an accompaniment to food but tea, in particular, can be a good pairing and may be an unexpectedly good option for those of you who are doing dry January.
Guacamole and dry riesling
Alsace riesling isn’t the first drink I’d have reached for with guacamole but it makes perfect sense.
Grosset off-dry riesling with a Chinese New Year’s Eve feast
We had a great feast with friends on Saturday night to celebrate the Chinese New Year, cooking a range of dishes from Fuchsia Dunlop’s fabulous Every Grain of Rice about which I was raving last week.
Godello and seafood
I’m increasingly impressed by the new generation of Spanish wines that are arriving on the shelves. The other day I had a fabulously crisp, zesty white called Godello from the up and coming region of Bierzo, in the region of Castilla y Leon in the north-west of Spain, not far from Galicia.
Gazpacho and Rueda
Just squeaking in in time for this week’s match of the week is a great gazpacho and Rueda combo I had at lunch today at a new London winebar 28-50.
Foxlow's 10 hour beef shortrib and Pierre Gonon's Saint-Joseph
I can’t pretend to be wholly impartial about this wine match which comes from Foxlow, the latest restaurant from my son Will and his business partner Huw Gott (who also own Hawksmoor).
Courgette, seed and curry leaf cake and dry German riesling
The more I taste authentic Indian food the less I think it causes problems for wine. A group of us cooked up a whole load of recipes on Saturday night including this savoury cake called handvo from Anjum Anand’s I love India.
.jpeg)
Condrieu and Cornish Brill salan
The idea still persists that wine doesn’t go with Indian food but when the flavours are subtle and the dishes presented individually you can pair some of the best wines in the world with it.
Coffee-infused pale ale and jalapeno cornbread
I’ve been making a policy recently of ordering good craft beer when it’s on offer instead of wine which is how I came across this stellar pairing at the newly opened Caravan restaurant in Kings Cross. (Terrific - I’ll tell you more shortly.)
Chicken with pomegranate molasses and orange iced tea
One of the areas of food and drink pairing I’m always trying to crack is soft drinks - so it’s good to find an inspired match that really hits the spot - not too sweet as most soft drinks are for me.
Cauliflower tortellini with hazelnuts and 10 year old Muscadet
I agonised over which match to highlight this week - there were so many good ones, especially from my trip to the Jura which I’ll report on in the next couple of days but I’ve gone for this intriguing and off the wall pairing from a seasonal wine dinner at Lido in Bristol on Saturday night.
Cauliflower popcorn and a Seedlip and pineapple cocktail
Most pairings focus on alcoholic drinks but it’s equally intriguing to see how a similar synergy can be achieved with an alcohol-free one.
23 year old Chablis and crispy chicken wings
There were a couple of contenders for match of the week this week. I particularly enjoyed a gin and tonic with my king prawn coconut curry for a start but I’m going for this pairing as it’s always tricky to know what to drink with an very old wine.
Pistachio pesto and solaris
One of the best food pairing experiences I’ve come across in a winery is the one laid on by Hebron vineyard in West Wales.
My top food and wine pairings of 2020
Back in March when Covid first hit I remember thinking ‘no-one’s going to want to think about food and wine pairing’ and put my match of the week feature on hold.
What food to pair with Ribera del Duero
Advertising feature: As one of Spain’s most highly regarded red wines you want to pair Ribera del Duero with food that will fully show it off but as it comes at a number of different price points and styles what type of ingredients and dishes work best?
Summer ideas for cheese plates
Despite my passion for cheese I’ve long been a believer that you don’t need to lay on a massive cheese board to enjoy it. You can just as easily (and more cheaply) serve a cheese plate.
How to host a tamalada (Mexican tamale-making party)
If you’ve never before heard of a tamalada then get ready for what could be the next best invention in food-based entertaining. A tamalada is is a traditional Mexican event where groups of family and friends gather together to make tamales, often around Christmastime. What’s a tamale? Let’s start there…
An alternative New Year's Eve menu for four
Tired of turkey? Bored with goose? Try Signe Johansen's fresh-tasting suggestions for a simple New Year's supper with friends.
.jpeg)
A summer barbecue with Corlea and Bertus Fourie
If you want inspiration for a barbecue ask a Saffer. Braais are an integral part of South African culture bringing together the vibrant flavours of Cape Malay cuisine with their passion for cooking over coals.
Win a terrific Tracklements food box!
We’re spreading the love this February with a chance for three of you to win one of these fabulous food boxes from the family owned Tracklements which we hope will provide much needed cheer and pzazz to your food during lockdown.
Win a Harvey Nichols Garden Party Hamper!
We know you love hampers so we've gone back to our friends at luxury retailer Harvey Nichols and persuaded them to donate another great seasonal hamper to our subscribers!
Win a Harvey Nichols 'Crowd Pleaser' hamper worth £300!
Have you ever given someone a hamper and wished someone would send you one for a change? Well now’s your chance to win one. THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.
Win a hamper of award-winning ingredients from Belazu
I always feel bad that only one of you gets to win our prize is much so I was particularly happy when the Belazu Ingredient Company offered no less than FIVE of these wonderful hampers as our prize this month. THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.
Win a bumper bundle of Belazu's most popular products
Those of you who have followed the site for a while will know I’m a HUGE fan of the ingredient company Belazu which specialises in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food (in fact I have a whole load of their products in my own kitchen). THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.
Wine of the week: Zarper malbec
I was going to recommend a rosé this week having got the misguided impression from the heatwave last weekend that summer was on its way. But today in my home town of Bristol it’s cold, windy and about to rain so I think malbec is more the order of the day.
Wine of the Week: Asda Extra Special Fiano
Finding drinkable wines under a fiver these days is a tough call but Asda’s Extra Special Fiano is worth anyone’s money
Nero Oro Grillo Appassimento
Appassimento - letting wine ferment on semi-dried grapes - is a technique normally used to give extra sweetness and richness to red wines but it has been used in this highly unusual Sicilian white called Nero Oro (which means black gold)
Gundog Estate Wild Semillon 2015
As I pointed out in my Guardian column this week Australian wines are fetching some pretty steep prices but to drink a Hunter Valley semillon of this quality it’s absolutely worth it.
10 good wine buys from Lidl
Lidl has released its latest limited edition batch of wines including 2 at under £5 - if you can still find them on the shelves. Here are the 10 I think represent best value.
8 bottles to buy from Lidl's Spring 2021 wine tour
It’s good to find that Lidl hasn’t given up its regular ‘wine tours’ which liven up the range every couple of months. Prices aren’t as keen as they once were, admittedly but if you’re in search of something more interesting than the general supermarket offering (or their own standard range) they’re still good value.
The 2020 Matching Food & Wine cookbook giftlist
Thanks - or rather no thanks - to Covid I’ve spent more time cooking from cookbooks this year than any other I can remember. And actually cooking from a book really separates the wheat from the chaff. Or the the sheep from the goats or whatever.
Ryn and Cordie - in search of the perfect partner (the food & wine matching formula)
Leafing through Ryn and Cordie’s new book I realised how untypical it was. You get the impression most wine books - even ones about food and wine matching - are written for middle-aged men. The few for women tend to be of the fluffy Chicklit variety with cartoons indicating that wine isn’t really a subject they need overly bother their pretty heads with.
How to make your own sophisticated soft drinks
Good to see that Susy Atkins excellent 'How to make your own drinks' has been reissued in paperback - maybe even more of the moment now than it was two years ago.
Ginger Pig Meat Book: good recipes for great meat
I remember going up to Lincolnshire write a piece on The Ginger Pig back in the early 90s well before artisan food producers were in vogue. It was a small farm turning out some excellent pork from the strangest pigs I’d ever seen, wiry ginger-haired Tamworths.
Flavour matching with Niki Segnit
The surprise publishing hit among food books last year was not the record selling Jamie’s 30-minute meals or even the new Nigella but an unillustrated book called The Flavour Thesaurus by an unknown author, Niki Segnit. The book catalogues nearly 1000 flavour combinations which are described in an endearingly quirky way. It’s erudite, original and funny
A Change of Appetite - but what if your beloved doesn't want to change?
I can’t tell you how excited I was about A Change of Appetite. To the extent that, impatient with the review copy not having arrived I dragged myself on a fruitless visit to Waitrose to buy it then drove down to Bristol City centre. On a Saturday afternoon. (Locals will know this how insane this is.)
.jpg)
Why I’ve become a fully blown flexitarian
It should, I admit, have happened before now but a working weekend away with an overnight stay a chain hotel and a couple of long train journeys has finally convinced me I can no longer eat cheap meat.
Recipes that don’t work. The unspoken problem with cookery books
Cookery books may still be selling like hotcakes but I sometimes wonder why given that so many of the recipes don’t actually work. Unsurprisingly it’s not a subject the publishing industry cares to dwell on but it’s a more widespread problem than you’d think.
Pulled pork and pinot
The problem about discovering your match of the week at someone’s else's house is that you can’t really take a photo of the food if you don’t know them that well.
Chronic Cellars Sofa King Bueno 2013
I’m surprised there aren’t more wine brands and labels dedicated to Hallowe’en but yesterday I found a perfect one at the Majestic press tasting.
Search again
Latest post
-1750669559-0.jpg)
Pomerol and gravyMost popular
.jpg)
9 great wine pairings for duck (updated)
My latest book
How to Drink without DrinkingNews and views
.jpg)
Fine Wine and Fast Food
About Fiona
About Matching Food & Wine
Work with me
