Take your time to enjoy it, it’s meant to be a special…
The inspiration for this dish came from watching an episode of “Somebody Feed Phil” on Netflix.
He eats a “Fish a la Plancha” and my Mum casually mentions (without any wink or nudge) that it looks delicious. So like any dutiful son I set about figuring the best way to recreate it at home. I find a pack of whole, head on prawns in the freezer and some frozen plaice fillets.
I know that with a moderate amount of time I can bring together something enjoyable for her and try in my own way to make a special meal for the two of us and really that’s all I want from a dish – and for it to work with the wine I have ready to drink in the fridge.
I cook a pretty varied diet of foods although, I probably consume more than my fair share of pasta! BUT little dishes like this which take close to 2 hours of preparation, cooking and mise-en-place are not an everyday occurrence. I do however enjoy them tremendously because the way my mind works means that this dish & this experience will be intertwined in my memory forever.
It was a lovely way to spend 2 hours cooking and the 30 minutes spent at the table in almost perfect silence, eating and observing a smile of genuine contentment on my Mum’s face were worth it.
If I could, I would do it every week, simply for that look.
THE WINE
Tim Andrews
Clare Valley Riesling
2019
Kindly gifted by Toby Toller & Ola Olczak
MY NOTES
Colour: Pale Lemon
Nose: The first punch is Zesty – a beautiful amalgam of Fresh Lemon & Lemongrass. There is a little hint of Candied Lemon, it is permeating the other citrus notes but without a sweetening effect. The petrol / kerosene notes appear but as a pleasant background hum to a busy zesty forefront. The final touch is minerality, it is wet stones but in a precise and delicate finish.
Palate: Grapefruit presents as the strongest of the citrus notes with Lemongrass, Lemon Zest which is surprising but very enjoyable as it has an almost saline quality to it. The mineral nature in conjunction with high acidity gives the wine a bone-dry characteristic with crisp & refreshing hits that linger on the back of the palate.
Verdict: It’s a lovely New World Riesling that delivers in refreshing flavour profiles as well as being interesting enough to not feel totally one-dimensional. I am a big fan of Riesling so it is no surprise that I enjoy this wine but I’m surprise by the depth of the zesty flavours given its price point. It just goes to show what can be achieved in South Australia in the affordable drinking market is hard to beat.
THE PAIRING
Plaice Fillets en Croute de Pain w/ Shellfish Butter Sauce.
This is the perfect example of counterbalancing a wine with food – the fish, the butter, the sweetness of Prawns & the intensity of a roast & reduced shellfish stock would be enough to fill the palate and potentially even become overpowering.
Like a well applied hit of Lemon Juice - this wine cuts through the fats, the richness & umami with precision. It highlights why acidity is so necessary within a balance meal because although there is not a lot of physical weight to the dish all the flavours are dialed up high to really pack a punch.
The shellfish sauce – is a classic piece of cookery where a diced shallot and the shells & heads of prawns are roasted in a pan for 30 minutes in a hot oven until they turn from bright pink to a golden caster sugar colour. Deglazed with Pernod and then simmered with Water & a couple of fennel fronds only.
By the time you sieve out the Heads & Shells you have a stock that tastes sweet and full of dense seafood flavours …the addition of a large amount of butter only serves to reinforce my opinion that butter makes everything better!
Finished with Lemon Juice & Chives, it is elegant & delicious – with Crispy white bread adorning the place fillets and also fried in butter it felt like the only way to enjoy it was with Broccoli which made me feel slightly less fat & greedy about eating a lot of butter.
I hope you give it a try – it is well worth the effort!
All the best
Goose
NEXT WEEK'S WINE
It's a "Two-fer" next week as it will be my first Rosé and my first British Wine - step on up Welcombe Hills Vineyard!
I really can't wait!