Not only am I typing on the keyboard of a kindly-loaned laptop (my elegant ballerina of a wife having knocked a glass of wine across the keyboard of our laptop, permanently killing it), but tonight's dish comes from Hugh's new book, River Cottage Veg Everyday!, which the Bolger's bought for my birthday, and Kiki recommended this recipe. Clearly they are the ace-est people in the world, and the quicker they move to SW14, the better!
She's right to recommend it, because it's alarmingly easy but really packed-full of flavours. Perhaps we could've done with slightly less-chilli, and I think my budget tahini-"sauce" didn't exactly have the promised Ottolenghi consistency, but it was still pretty darn tasty.
We would've been even more virtuous if we hadn't spent the hour or so leading up to dinner eating all of Milo's trick-or-treat sweets whilst he was asleep, and that huge packet of crisps I'd manage to save from Saturday...
Wine Time
So, given I now actually work in the wine trade I figured I'd best start trying to put some of my new-found knowledge to good use, by trying to match wine to our dinners. Obviously this isn't an exact science, particularly as I'm still at the stage of taking whatever is in the sample cupboard, but hopefully it'll get better as time goes by, and my liver hardens up. I'll be clear, most of the wines I suggest will be ones we sell, but that's more because I know them, rather than anything more sinister. Although if you do buy any, that will be amay-zing!
Okay, this is quite a power-packed meal with the chilli, smokey courgette, mint, and sun-dried tomatoes all competing with each other, but ultimately the dressing is the dominant flavour. It's an odd combination of very citrusy combined with the tahini's creamy-yet-gritty consistency, so you'd need something equally high in acidity to compliment the lemon and orange juice, and to cut through the creaminess. Something like a Sauvignon Blanc would work really well I think, either the L'escargot at a bargain £7.95, the Morton from New Zealand if you prefer something New World-y, or the Coteaux du Giennois 2010, if you want to push the boat out a bit.
Was that useful at all? We'll see how it goes I suppose...
sources
tahini-dressed courgette and green bean salad - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, River Cottage Veg Everyday!, p74
It's good to have you back!
ReplyDeleteAssuming Ana doesn't destroy this computer, it will be good to be back
ReplyDeleteDont let her near it!!
ReplyDeleteOooh, this looks good, will definitely try this one. I think it will go nicely with Temple Bruer's Chenin Blanc... cos that's what's open in the fridge :0)
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