Match of the week

Mushrooms, hoba miso and brut natur Cava

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on August 25 2025 at 10:57

It’s hard to think of a more sparkling wine-friendly pairing than this umami-rich dish of mushrooms with hoba miso (miso grilled on a dried magnolia leaf).

It’s a dish that comes from the Hida Takayama region of Japan according to this post and recipe.

I ordered it at the excellent Blue Pelican in Deal, Kent which has some really great Japanese dishes on the menu including a first rate selection of pickles

Given the deep, smoky savouriness of the dish I thought it might go well with a sparkling wine so ordered the Vinicola Nulles ‘Ardenats’ Cava Brut Natur from Tarragona - in other words a cava without added sugar. And it was perfect.

It was also - more predictably - spot on with the fried chicken special. Fizz almost always goes well with fried food.

It’s essentially a natural wine, made from organically grown grapes and reasonably priced at £14.05 at Parched and other independent wine merchants

Not the greatest pictures but brown food, as we know, is often the tastiest!

See 10 other foods you wouldn’t expect to pair with Cava

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