Five great food and wine pairings that work
Below are five great food and wine pairings that work incredibly well. These were originally published in the 2020 Summer Edition of World of Wine, where I matched these delicious dishes with some stunning wines from New Zealand. Enjoy!
Donna Hay every day fresh meals in minutes:
Pasta with garlic crumbs, lemon and ricotta
200g (7 oz) dried wholemeal (whole-wheat) spaghetti or linguine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 slices sourdough bread, torn into small pieces (crusts on)
1 tablespoon shredded lemon rind
4 white anchovy fillets, finely chopped (optional)
¼ cup (6g/¼ oz) torn flat-leaf parsley leaves
30g (1 oz) wild rocket (arugula) leaves
½ cup (120g/4¼ oz) fresh ricotta
finely grated parmesan and lemon wedges (optional), to serve
Method: Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Return saucepan to medium-low heat. Add the oil, garlic and bread and toss until golden. Add lemon rind, anchovy, pasta, parsley and rocket and toss to coat.
To serve, divide pasta between bowls and top with ricotta. Drizzle with extra oil, sprinkle with parmesan and serve with lemon wedges, if you like.
Serves 2
Wine Match: Pegasus Bay Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2017 - RRP $33.00 – This is an ideal wine match because it mirrors and emulates the key textures and intensity in the dish. The finished dish will have an al dente bite (just firm) from the pasta, zest moments from the lemon, salty and slightly oily flavour anchovies, spice from the arugula and acidity from the cheese. The immediately available protein from the fresh cheese and parmesan as well as the saline effect from the anchovies needs a wine that contrast the richness of the proteins and salt. The acidity in the wine does this expertly. The wine’s core of fruit and satin texture easily marries to the weight and intensity of the food. A second-choice wine is the Cloudy Bay Te Koko 2016 RRP $58.00
Sticky soy chicken with sesame noodles
1 tablespoon light-flavoured extra virgin olive oil
150g (5¼ oz) dried soba noodles, cooked
2 zucchini (courgettes), shredded using a julienne peeler
2 tablespoons white or black sesame seeds
coriander (cilantro) leaves, to serve
chicken meatballs
600g (1 lb ¼ oz) chicken mince
¼ cup (50g/1¾ oz) white chia seeds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons finely grated ginger
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 large green chilli, finely chopped
2 green onions (scallions), finely chopped
sticky soy sauce
½ cup (125ml/4¼ fl oz) soy sauce
1 tablespoon white miso paste (shiro)
¾ cup (180ml/6 fl oz) mirin (Japanese rice wine)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
¼ cup (90g/3 oz) honey
Method: Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
To make the chicken meatballs, place the chicken, chia seeds, garlic, ginger, hoisin, chilli and onion in a bowl and mix to combine. Roll heaped tablespoons of the mixture into balls, place on a tray lined with baking paper and set aside.
Pour the oil onto a large deep-sided baking tray. Bake for 5 minutes or until hot. Add the meatballs to the tray and bake for 5 minutes.
To make the sticky soy sauce, whisk together the soy, miso, mirin, sesame oil, vinegar and honey. Remove the meatballs from the oven and carefully pour the soy mixture over the meatballs. Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and the pan sauce is thickened.
To serve, place noodles and zucchini into serving bowls and sprinkle with sesame. Top with meatballs, sticky soy sauce and coriander.
Serves 4
Wine Match: Yealand’s Single Vineyard P.G.R. 2019, Awatere Valley, Marlborough RRP $25.00. This is a much more intensely flavoured dish than it might first appear. The sesame, soy, ginger, chilli and garlic combined add complexity, breadth and depth to the dish. The contrast in the dish is the honey. The wine’s role in this pairing is to match the weight, but not the intensity of the food, provide the sweetness to challenge the honey, but also contrast the chilli. This wine also does an excellent job of managing the saltiness from the soy and sesame. The chicken will be juicy and fleshy in texture and so is the wine. A second-choice wine is the Lawsons Dry Hills Pioneer Gewürztraminer 2019 RRP $30.00
Summer fruits with toasted honey marshmallow
4–5 mixed seasonal stone fruits
¼ cup (55g/2oz) raw caster (superfine) sugar
2 cups (250g/8¾ oz) frozen raspberries
honey marshmallow
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon honey
Method: Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
Cut stone fruits in half, remove and discard stones and place cut-side up on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Sprinkle the fruit with 1 tablespoon of the sugar.
Toss raspberries and remaining sugar together in a bowl and place around stone fruit on baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside.
Increase the oven temperature to 220°C (425°C).
Using a stand mixer or handheld mixer, whisk egg whites and vanilla until soft peaks form. Slowly add honey and continue to whisk until thick and glossy. Place spoonfuls of the honey marshmallow on top of the stone fruit. Return to the oven and bake for 3 minutes or until golden and toasted.
Wine match: Askerne Late Harvest Gewürztraminer 2019, Hawkes Bay RRP $24.00. A very sweet dish requires either a very sweet wine or a contrasting. I have chosen a sweet wine not only because of the overall sweetness in the dish, but also the marshmallow – its creamy soft yet sweet texture and the weight and core of sweetness from the baked stone fruits. The rule I am applying here is sweet with sweet – the wine has to be sweeter than the food to make the match work. Sugar in food makes the perception of sugar in sweet wine seem less. The acidity in the wine contrasts the intensity of fruit and overall sweetness of the dish. A second-choice wine and one of contrast and power is the Lustau PX Sherry from Spain. Glengarrys sell it for RRP $215.00