recipes - ProWare Kitchen

Wine Pairing: Provencal Summer Recipes

August 21, 2019 10:02 am Comments Off

The recipes we brought to you by Mark Dodson and Great British Chefs for our summer feature have been so enthusiastically received that we thought we would ask the experts at Amathus Drinks to recommend three wines to accompany each of the dishes.

The wines have been carefully selected to compliment each of the dishes and also to fit any budget.

Polenta Chips with Baby Artichokes and Sauce Vierge

by Mark Dodson

This wine has a powerful smell with aromas of eucalyptus, black fruits and toased notes. It’s around and concentrated wine, with a nice balance of spice and fruit, a woody nuance and good length.

Fess Parker Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2016 – £20.80

Golden delicious apple, pear, pineapple, honey, graham cracker. biscotti. almond and vanilla with citrus, lemon cream, green apple, pear, mineral, toasty oak and vanilla.

Sea Bass, Red Mullet and Mussels with Bouillabaisse Sauce by Mark Dodson

De Gras Viognier Reserva 2018 – £9.95

Soft, plump peach and apricot fruit, with aromas of honeysuckle leading to a refreshing citrus finish.

Bodegas Monte Pío Alberiño 2018 – £15.15

Fresh and intense. Mineral aftertaste, vibrant acidity and salinity that, along with the carbonic remains, make the wine fresh and young without being aggressive.

Château De Chausse AOP Côtes De Provence Rosé 2017 – £19.95

Pale pink colour. This very beautiful cuvée reveals elegant aromas of white fruit, enhanced by pure minerality. Delicate and aromatic.

Basil and Buttermilk Pudding with Poached Figs by Mark Dodson

Mark Dodson Recipe Buttermilk Pudding

Bodegas Ochoa Moscatel 2016 – £14.55

Vintages with hotter conditions stand out for the honey-like, floral and muscatel aromas. However, in fresher vintages, the characteristics of the wine remind of tropical fruits, white flowers and high acidity.

Fuleky Tokaji Pallas Late Harvest 2016 – £15.30

This delicious sweet wine balances flavours of baked peach, vanilla and grapefruit with a delicate, lingering sweetness that never overpowers.

Château Hout-Mayne Sauternes 2011 – £38.80

The nose is mineral with a hint of citrus fruit. The mouth is rich but well- balanced with candied fruits and peach aromas. Long length with subtle spices flavours.

Wine Pairing: Three Simple Rules (Plus One Extra)

December 15, 2018 9:00 am Comments Off

We have all been there, standing in the wine aisle at your local supermarket, hundreds of different bottles staring expectantly back at you, beckoning for your attention. You glance in your basket for inspiration. ‘Prawns… a white then… that one is on offer… it’ll do’. You get home and find the juggernaut of a Californian chardonnay you bought because it was a quid cheaper than usual, stomps all over your fresh, fragrant bowl of prawn linguine. It’s too big; rich and creamy on the palate, with enough oak to build an ark it leaves your dinner crushed and cowering in it’s wake. Evening ruined.

This, however, needn’t happen. We have come up with a few simple rules to help you pick a wine that will compliment what you are eating and lift it to unprecedented heights. Take note and enjoy!

The Rules

Match the wine to the sauce, not the protein.
The protein in a dish is often the star of the show and is therefore important. However, when trying to pick a wine to compliment what you are eating, consider the sauce in which the protein is served. For example, with baked cod in tomato and chorizo sauce, try a juicy pinot noir. Soft, well rounded and not too heavy with medium levels of tannin. This will be able to stand up to the sauce without overshadowing the fish. Likewise, a juicy sirloin with a generous helping of béarnaise sauce can work wonderfully with a robust, layered white. A weighty chenin blanc with well-balanced minerality and a vibrant streak of acidity to cut through the richness of the sauce will work a treat.
Read the label
This sounds obvious but winemakers often provide tasting notes and pairing guidelines on the bottle (supermarkets are have begun to do this on price labels too). When browsing the supermarket shelves it can be easy to get sucked in to buying a marked down bottle or simply grabbing one with a pretty label but if you take a moment to read the information given to you it can often result in a better decision.
Match like with like
Put simply, match the characteristics of the food with that of the wine. With a light hors d’oeuvre such as salmon mousse blinis go for a delicate, crisp and dry sparkling rosé. Earthy foods like wild mushrooms work well with earthy wines such as cabernet franc. Rich, sweet foods like dark chocolate go beautifully with a rich, sweet crusted port. You get the idea.

Making a Start

To give you a rolling start, we have selected three recipes from our blog and paired them up with a great bottle of vino, any of which would make for the perfect night in.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Our choice – WM Morrison Nero D’Avola, £6, Morrisons

This little known grape has been hailed as “Sicily’s answer to Malbec” by The Guardian’s Fiona Beckett and this example is fresh and vibrant with a savoury kick of black pepper. A solid, fruity red that would work well with almost all tomato based dishes that represents outstanding value for money.

morrisons.co.uk

Chilean Bean Stew with Tomato Salad

ProWare's Chilean Bean Stew for Wine Pairing

Chilean Bean Stew with Tomato Salad

Our choice – Tannu Bianco, £9.50, Oddbins

Staying in Sicily, this time an organically cultivated blend of Grillo (70%) and Chardonnay (30%) that produces aromas of lemon and pineapple. The combination of grape varieties gives this wine a weight that allows it to handle a stew (albeit a light one) without loosing any of that clean acidity that marries so well with the fresh tomato salad.

Oddbins.com

Salted Chocolate Tart

Salted Chocolate Vegan Tart

Our choice – Apothic Red Winemaker’s Blend, £7.19 (usually £9.69), Waitrose

This Californian red is a blend of four grape varieties; Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Velvety on the pallet with ripe dark fruit and hints of vanilla giving a touch of sweetness make it a perfect tipple with chocolate.

waitrose.com

One more thing…

You don’t have to spend a lot for quality
This is not specific to paring wine with food but it’s good to know. A common approach to buying wine is that you get what you pay for. Sometimes true. I once had the pleasure of tasting a 2006 Krug Brut (to save you from asking, around £200) and the only way I can describe it was like walking in to a Parisian bakery on a sunny Saturday morning and hitting a wall of toasty brioche gorgeousness. That said, you can often find good solid wines without breaking the bank. With supermarkets really upping their game in recent years it is easily achievable to get something really special for less than a tenner (£8 if you look hard enough).

A Return to Home Cooking

April 16, 2018 2:00 pm Comments Off

Our lives are getting busier and our diaries are getting fuller. We are now contactable at all hours, information is being thrown at us on an increasing number of platforms and there never seems to be enough hours in a day. But as people are become less willing to set aside what little free time they do have to the pursuit of cooking, perhaps that is exactly what they need.

Research suggests that those who regularly eat home cooked meals tend to be happier and healthier. They consume less sugar and processed foods and as a result have higher energy levels and better mental health[1]. Children also stand to benefit from cooking at home with a link emerging between regularly eating home-cooked food as a family and healthier, happier kids who are less likely to use alcohol, drugs or cigarettes later in life[2].

Our recipe for pan-roasted bream with fennel is a simple but impressive dinner.

They may be quick, convenient and (let’s be frank) tasty but takeaways have their issues. Perhaps the most significant of these is expense. Ordering a meal for two from your local Chinese, Indian or pizzeria is unlikely to leave you much change out of £20. There are also several health concerns surrounding takeaway food, with it being generally much less nutritious than home cooked food. It is also typically higher in energy, fat and salt. This disparity is amplified further by reduced likelihood of exercising portion control when eating out or ordering in.

How to Get Back in the Habit

If you find yourself tempted by takeaways but are struggling to motivate yourself, we have put together some great tips to not only help get back to cooking but to enjoy it as well!

Get Your Kitchen Sorted

You are far more likely to want to cook at home if your kitchen is a nice place to be. Keep it clean, organise it in a way that works for you and (if you aren’t blessed with a dishwasher) don’t leave the washing until tomorrow, it will put you off going back in.

Keep it Simple

Home cooking doesn’t have to be complex or elaborate, leave that to the professionals. The simple things are often the quickest and most delicious. Cook what you like to eat but don’t be afraid to try something new.

Stay Stocked

You are more likely to give a recipe a whirl if you already have most, if not all, the ingredients already in. Make sure you always have stock of those ingredients you find yourself using regularly. If it is something with a long shelf life and you have the space, consider buying in bulk as you can often save quite a few quid. Find out some of our favourite cupboard staples here.

Plan Ahead

Write. A. List. Decide what you are going to make on each day in advance and write a shopping list accordingly. Remember to take stock of what you already have in to make sure you are using things up before buying more. If you stick to your plan you will find yourself not only spending less on impulse buys but also throwing less away at the end of the week.

One-Pot Wonders

Sometimes it isn’t the cooking that has you reaching for a takeaway menu, it’s the thought of washing up. A great way to keep clean-up to a minimum is going for a one pot recipe. Don’t think this just mean things like soups and stews. Instead think pasta, risotto or even a pilaf. Find loads of great one-pot recipes here.

Make Extra

Things like chilli, casseroles and curry are easy to make in batches. Cook more than you need and freeze leftovers for an other day. It is much easier to get in and just do a bit of rice than it is to start from scratch everyday.

Slow Down

If you can, cook up some slow-cooking recipes in your stock pot. These kinds of dishes are perfect for feeding the whole family and have left overs for the rest of the week. Once you start doing it, you’ll never stop. Just throw everything in and get on with other things while it simmers away. The internet is full of great recipes if you’re unsure about what to make and this medthod is excellent for cooking joints of meat. Simply plonk a joint of beef on a bed of onions and carrots, add 750ml of water and cook on low heat. An absolute fail-safe Sunday roast (be sure to use the cooking juices to make a top notch gravy).

It is always nice to get back to the classics like rhubarb crumble.

Get in Touch

If you have any comments, tips or questions we would love to hear from you! You can contact us here. Alternatively you can tweet us or email us at info@proware-kitchen.co.uk

Tag Archive: recipes

Wine Pairing: Provencal Summer Recipes

Polenta Chips with Baby Artichokes and Sauce Vierge

by Mark Dodson

Amastuola Primitivo IGT 2016 Organic – £13.15

Château De Manissy Lirac Traditionnel Red Organic 2016 – £17.70

Fess Parker Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2016 – £20.80

Sea Bass, Red Mullet and Mussels with Bouillabaisse Sauce by Mark Dodson

De Gras Viognier Reserva 2018 – £9.95

Bodegas Monte Pío Alberiño 2018 – £15.15

Château De Chausse AOP Côtes De Provence Rosé 2017 – £19.95

Basil and Buttermilk Pudding with Poached Figs by Mark Dodson

Bodegas Ochoa Moscatel 2016 – £14.55

Fuleky Tokaji Pallas Late Harvest 2016 – £15.30

Château Hout-Mayne Sauternes 2011 – £38.80

Wine Pairing: Three Simple Rules (Plus One Extra)

The Rules

Making a Start

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Chilean Bean Stew with Tomato Salad

Salted Chocolate Tart

One more thing…

A Return to Home Cooking

How to Get Back in the Habit

Get Your Kitchen Sorted

Keep it Simple

Stay Stocked

Plan Ahead

One-Pot Wonders

Make Extra

Slow Down

Get in Touch

Here to help.

Contact

Collections

Support

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