Match of the week

Smoked haddock and leek risotto and Albarino

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on June 23 2014 at 08:45

If you were thinking of a wine pairing for risotto you’d probably reach for an Italian white such as a Pinot Grigio but Spain’s famous Galician white Albarino works equally well as I discovered the other day.

Mind you it wasn’t a conventional risotto, more like a creamy risotto-like kedgeree with smoked haddock - and fish is almost always a good pairing for Albarino. The saltiness of the fish in this case hit it off perfectly with the bright crisp wine - a 2012 Condes de Albaret. Although you might have thought that the deep fried egg (see the crisp little ball in the centre of the dish) might have affected the wine choice it was the haddock that was the key to the match.

It was a while since I’d been to the restaurant, Les Deux Salons, a modern brasserie just off Trafalgar Square and forgotten what a useful place it is for a quick lunch in that part of town. (They do a very reasonably priced two course prix fixe menu from 12 noon to 6.30pm) I also like the way they serve almost all their wines by the 250ml carafe as they do in their two other restaurants Arbutus and Wild Honey.

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