We are all too fully aware of what we have lived through over the last 18 months or so and how our lives have changed. However, there are some positives to arise out of this ‘situation’ – I hope we can all bring these to mind… Relating this to food and drink is, for me, an easy one. For example, our local farm shop has thrived, expanding the range of what it offers, as many residents of the villages around where we live have been reluctant to shop in larger stores and supermarkets; as part of this I have enjoyed a range of local cheeses hitherto untried and in some cases unheard of.
On a different level, with a group of friends during lockdown, we expanded our knowledge of different spirits with some zoom blind tastings. The group comprises mainly whisky drinkers and we enjoyed ports, rums and brandies, but one of the most successful tastings was a set of three sherries. With all the tastings, we discussed how they would pair with food and the extent to which this might change the tasting experience.
So, recently, given the relaxation of rules governing meeting up, the group of 6 met up in a garden on a bright sunny evening to enjoy a flight of sherries with food. So excited was I that I forgot to take pictures of the food and I apologise for the poor quality of the pictures of the sherries – I leave you to work out why…. The evening started with some information about the different types of sherries and some history around their development – food and drinking panned out as follows:
Cold meats, pistachios, salted almonds, crostini and pimientos de padron served with chilled manzanilla La Gitana (very dry).
Sautéd garlic mushrooms served with chilled amontillado Barbadillo (off dry).
Slow-braised ox cheek stew with chorizo and red peppers served with oloroso Cuco (Barbadillo).
A selection of blue cheeses served with Lustau East India Solera Sherry (a sweetened oloroso).
Vanilla ice cream served with Noe Vinum optimum rare signatum Pedro Ximénez Jerez. We poured our over the ice cream rather than drinking it!
Safe to say we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The sherries opened up when drunk, the foods really complementing them and vice versa. I was certainly left feeling that perhaps too often I don’t think carefully enough about what we drink with the food that we eat and that we should be more adventurous more often – not just offering red, white or rosé.
Eating: Roasted pumpkin and blue cheese lasagne, a recipe sent to me by a friend, so not sure where it originates. I used squash instead of pumpkin. I was originally slightly ‘jury out’ on the recipe but it works really well – tasty, comforting food for a colder than expected summer evening.
Drinking: The above, Romanian cab sav, on which I got a good deal some time ago having tried some at a local ‘do’. Award winning, packed with flavour and a real find.
Listening to: Clifford Brown – chilled yet uptempo jazz, great in the background when cooking… and quality musicianship when you look at who is also on the recordings!
Cook.Eat.Blog.Repeat. 