Fun at the Food Show

Posted: 26/06/2010 7:49:44 p.m.

It was great to be asked back to the Wellington Food Show. Having presented at these for about the last eight years, I have seen the success of each one (Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch) grow every year. So many things to see, taste, buy - wicked on the waistline and the wallet but good for the soul.

This year I co-presented with Peta Mathias on the Friday and with Lauraine Jacobs on the Saturday. Peta’s theme was Marrakesh, with spicy, flavoursome dishes. The first was Zaahlouk, a warm aubergine salad which I matched with Esk Valley Chardonnay 2009. Both the wine and the dish have a lovely richness to them in their textures and flavours. The oak on the chardonnay was lovely with the cumin in the dish and overall, the two went together hand in hand.

Peta’s second dish was Sardine Boulettes – fish balls. Whilst we can’t get fresh sardines here, any firm fish can be substituted (not tinned sardines though, warned Peta!). The dish is wonderfully fresh and flavoursome with the richness of cumin, paprika and saffron tempered by the cooling herbaceousness of fresh coriander. I chose the Wild South Sauvignon Blanc 2009 which worked a treat. Dishes with a tomato-based sauce tend to work very well with Marlborough Sav – both have a fair bit of acidity and in addition, the Sauvignon is wonderful with the herbs and doesn’t overpower the flavour of the fish. A perfect match.

You can find Peta’s recipes here http://bit.ly/9fpw36

Lauraine’s dishes were based on the practical with a lovely easy-to-make tart, wonderfully simple dessert ideas and a pork dish with an array of flavours that many a wine would find quite daunting!

The tart was simply some top quality puff pastry rolled out and placed on a baking tray with the wonderful Village Press olive oil (http://www.thevillagepress.co.nz), some finely sliced fennel, olives, preserved lemon and feta cheese, then baked in the oven. My choice of Te Whare Ra Pinot Gris 2009 was a good one! The wines hint of sweetness was a great foil for the salty tang of the feta and the preserved lemon, while its rich texture was just stunning. This dish is brilliant either for lunch, as an entree or just nibbles, pre dinner.

Next was the pork dish with beetroot, spinach, roasted chickpeas and horseradish cream. Yikes. I was delighted (and relieved) that the wine I chose was just perfect. Waiheke’s delicious Passage Rock Syrah 2008 was sublime. The layers of warm, ripe flavours, tannins and toasty, spicy oak were a joy with the cumin-roasted chickpeas and the texture of the dish. Tannins and meat always go very well together. The sweetness of the beetroot and the ripeness of the black fruit in the wine were spot on, so overall a rewarding if challenging match.

Finally Lauraine whipped out some pears and created a few versions on the pear theme, with the thread that after the tart and the pork dish, something a little lighter was called for. Pears sliced with limoncello ice-cream, or with thick creamy yoghurt and a dollop of manuka honey or maple syrup. So simple yet inspirational and imminently edible! As is often the case with fruit-based desserts or those with a creamy aspect, the excellent Forrest Botrytis Riesling 2009 was just the match. Its rich sweetness with flavours of orange zest, honey and apricot plus the fresh acidity that prevents it from being cloying all contributed to it being the perfect choice.

You can read Lauraine’s recipes here http://bit.ly/ddQbV9

So with mouth watering and wallet getting lighter by the minute, I did one more lap to make sure I’d got all the goodies I wanted and headed back to Blenheim on the Beech 1900D only narrowly avoiding penalty payments for having overweight luggage....