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Posts Tagged ‘white wine’

Linguine Vongole

Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 7 May 2025| Leave a Comment »

Linguine vongole – possibly the most perfect pasta dish. Lots of garlic and fresh salty clams – delicious!

Wine suggestion: working well with this dish is the under-rated grape from the south of Italy: Fiano. We’d highly recommend seeking it out as it has the beguiling fresh, almost crisp stonefruit character and some sort of citrus twist depending on where it comes from. While most is grown in Campagnia and the south of Italy it’s now being found successfully in Argentina and Australia, like Pikes “Luccio” from the Clare Valley … where the citrus twist is lime and delicious at that.

Linguine Vongole – serves 4

  • 1kg fresh clams
  • 400g linguine
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 cloves of garlic, sliced very thinly
  • 1 large red chilli, finely chopped
  • 100ml white wine
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • 20g flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 large lemon

Put the clams in a sinkful of water with a decent handful of salt, then discard any that don’t close.

Bring a large pan of salty water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the timings on the pack.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil, garlic and chilli into another large pan, then turn on the heat and allow them to cook gently for a few minutes but without taking on any colour. When it smells really good, add the wine and cover the pan. Turn the heat up high and when the wine is steaming, add the clams. Clamp the lid back on and give the pan a shake, then leave for a few minutes.

Reserve a large mug of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and add it to the pot of cooked clams. Add a good splash of pasta water, the butter and parsley. Mix and toss well to make a sauce that coats the pasta. Squeeze in the juice from half the lemon and grate in some lemon zest. Mix again, then season if needed. Serve with a drizzle of your best olive oil.

(Original recipe from The Farm Table by Julius Roberts, Ebury Press, 2023.)

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Moules à la crème

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on 17 March 2025| Leave a Comment »

Inspired by a recent trip to Paris by Jules where she had to take shelter in a random place to get out of the rain and they served a delicious moules à la crème. A little bit more effort than Moules Marinière but very much worth it.

Wine Suggestion: Overlooked within Muscadet are certain vineyards and wines that stand out as having something extraordinary to them. Les Clos du Montys Muscadet by Jérémie Huchet  is grown on a very special spot with unique soils that give this wine an extra fleshiness and body compared to other Muscadet which enables the wine to stand up to the extra level of richness of the Crème.

Moules à la crème – serves 2 or 4 as a starter

  • 1kg mussels (or more if you like), cleaned and debearded (chuck any that won’t close when you give them a sharp tap)
  • 20g butter
  • 3 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 bay leaves and a few sprigs of thyme tied together to make a bouquet garni
  • 300ml white wine
  • 200ml crème fraîche
  • 2 egg yolks
  • parsley, finely chopped

Warm the buttter in a large saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook gently for 5 minutes. Add the white wine, bouquet garni and some black pepper. Turn the heat up and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the mussels to the pan, stir and clamp on a tight fitting lid. Cook for 2 minutes, then stir, replace the lid and cook for another 2 minutes. The mussels are ready when they have all opened – chuck any that stay closed.

Remove the pan from the heat and scoop out the mussels with a slotted spoon into a bowl.

Return the pan to the heat and boil the stock for 5 minutes. Put a fine sieve over a clean bowl and strain the stock into the bowl. Rinse the saucepan, then pour in the strained stock. Heat to a gentle simmer.

Whisk the crème fraîche and egg yolks together in a bowl. Whisk in a couple of ladles of the stock and then pour into the simmer stock, stirring continuously.

Keep gently warming the sauce and stirring until the sauce thickens slightly, then return the mussels to the pan and warm through briefly. Add the parsley and serve in warm bowls with lots of crusty bread.

(Original recipe from Lickedspoon with Debora Robertson, Substack, 2 Feb 2025.)

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Herb-Stuffed Lamb Breast with Onion Gravy

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Lamb, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 30 July 2023| Leave a Comment »

Lamb breast is a favourite cut for slow-cooking. It is melt in the mouth by the time it’s done and the onion gravy with this dish makes itself. We served with boiled new potatoes, steamed asparagus and roasted carrots on a cool and rainy Spring evening. It has taken us a while to post this as we thought we missed the seasonal boat but actually the weather in Ireland has been so bad that this would be perfect right now!

Wine Suggestion: This dish suits a good Cabernet Sauvignon and without spending the earth (and you can) the bargain of the moment is Parker Coonawarra Estate’s Cool Climate Cab. It hits the spot so well. Genuinely fresh because of Coonawarra’s proximity to the cold Antarctic winds hitting the coast, which combines with the Terra Rossa Soils, this wine has power and poise in equal measure. Freshness to cut through little bit of fattiness and poise to carry through the whole meal.

Herb-stuffed lamb breast with onion gravy – serves 4

  • 800g lamb breast (we had to get two small ones which worked perfectly too)
  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • a handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • a handful of chives, finely chopped
  • a handful of mint, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 onions, finely sliced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
  • 250ml white wine
  • 250ml chicken stock

Heat the oven to 170C/fan 150C/gas 3.

Season the lamb all over, then lay it out flat on a large board, with the flesh side facing upwards. Brush all over with the mustard, then sprinkle over the herbs. Roll up tightly lengthways and tie with pieces of kitchen string to hold it together.

Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown the lamb all over until golden brown. Remove the lamb to a plate, then tip the onions and garlic into the casserole, and cook for 10 mintues until starting to soften. Pour in the white wine and chicken stock, then return the lamb, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 3 hours.

Lift the lamb onto a warm plate, cover tightly with foil and leave to rest for 20 minutes. Skim any excess fat of the gravy and keep warm, you can add a splash of warm water if looks too thick. Slice the lamb and serve with the onion gravy and some chopped mint.

(Original recipe by Janinie Ratcliffe and Adam Bush in Olive Magazine, May 2019.)

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Prawn Spaghetti with Tomato, Chilli & Basil

Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, Prawns, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 26 March 2022| Leave a Comment »

A nice treat for two and ready in minutes.

Wine Suggestion: Something red from Italy’s Adriatic coast, but nothing too big or complex as this is a fun, casual dish! For us Umani Ronchi’s Rosso Conero Serrano, a Montepulciano – Sangiovese blend that has a medium body, fresh and bright cherry fruits and a gentle, earthy tannins was the ticket.

Prawn spaghetti with tomato, chilli & basil – serves 2

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 150g baby plum tomatoes
  • 150ml white wine
  • 200g spaghetti
  • a handful of basil leaves
  • 225g raw peeled prawns
  • a generous knob of butter

Warm the oil in a large frying pan, then add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until starting to soften, then add the white wine and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions in lots of very salty water, then drain but reserve a cup of the cooking water.

Add the basil and prawns to the tomatoes, season well, and cook until the prawns turn pink. Stir in the butter and spaghetti and a splash of pasta cooking water if you need to loosen the sauce a bit. Toss it all together and serve.

(Original recipe by Janine Ratcliffe in Olive Magazine, March 2020.)

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Ditaloni, mussels & white wine

Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , , on 19 January 2015| 5 Comments »

Ditaloni, mussels & white wine

A scrumptious and deliciously rich pasta dish that works perfectly as a starter.

Wine Suggestion: A textured white works best here; old-world minerality rather than bright fruit-forward styles. The Casal di Serra Verdicchio from Umani Ronchi in the Marche (central Italy) combines stonefruit flavours, hints of wild-flowers on the nose and a crisp yellow apple finish and goes with the richness and depth of the pasta.

Ditaloni, mussels & white wine – serves 4

  • 1kg small mussels, scrubbed
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 4 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
  • 200g unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin oil
  • 125ml white wine
  • 165ml double cream
  • 300g ditaloni (or similar) pasta

Heat half the butter with the oil, then add the garlic and mussels. Pour in the wine; season, then cover and cook over a high heat until the mussels have opened. Drain the mussels and reserve the cooking liquid. Remove the mussels from the shells; discard the shells and any mussels that haven’t opened.

Heat the rest of the butter in a pan and add the mussel juices and the cream. Cook gently to reduce to a rich and creamy sauce. Then add the mussels and parsley.

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, then drain and add to the sauce. Toss together over a low heat, and serve.

(Original recipe from Italian Two Easy by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, Clarkson Potter, 2006.)

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Braised Chicken & Flageolet Beans

Posted in Chicken, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , on 23 March 2011| Leave a Comment »

Yes it’s another chicken recipe but we’ve made a pact not to cook anymore chicken for a while. We got all over-excited when we realised M&S had skinless, boneless chicken thighs and bought tonnes of them and now we’re sick of chicken. Still, this was quite nice with a nice tang from the wine and as we’d opened the bottle we felt we had to have a glass to drink too. Another healthy one and quick to make after work.

The healthy mid-week recipes are going to be non-chicken for the forseeable future.

Braised chicken & flageolet beans – serves 2, but easily doubled

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 300ml white wine
  • 400g can flageolet beans, rinsed & drained
  • handful of flat parsley

Heat the oil in a wide pan with a lid, add the chicken and brown it all over. Tip in the onion, garlic and thyme, then fry for 2 minutes.

Pour in the wine, 150ml water and season with salt & pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, covering half way through, until the chicken is cooked.

Stir in the beans and warm through briefly. Roughly chop the parsley and stir it in to serve.

Wine suggestion: We used a Chilean Chardonnay in the dish which tasted good to drink with it too. Chardonnay and chicken are nice together.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Jono and Jules’ Wine of the Week

Posted in Chardonnay, France, Wine, tagged , , , on 9 January 2011| Leave a Comment »

From The Corkscrew on Chatham Street (off Grafton St in Dublin): three guys who are passionate about their wines!

This is one they import themselves and I can see why: it has a fullness and roundness to the body and fruit while balancing a real easiness of drinking. The flavours and aromas of grapefruit and apple meld well with the fullness and juiciness to give a delightful wine that works very well with winter dishes of chicken and turkey, but equally on its own too. €14.95 and well worth it .

Jono

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Roussanne / Marsanne from the Rhône

Posted in Rhône, Wine, tagged , , , , on 31 October 2010| Leave a Comment »

Kindly shared by Julie’s Dad, who had been kindly donated this bottle by our friend David 🙂

2007 Bernard Gripa, Saint -Péray “les Figuiers”

This is incredibly rare, from a shrinking appellation in the northern Rhône and made from 60% Roussanne and 40% marsanne. Quite full-bodied this wine plays a slightly lower acidity against full fruit and a savoury texture that gives a minerality and freshness that begs for food. It’s beauty lies in the wonderful aromas of yellow plums, wax and camomile. These aromas are really haunting and seem to capture the late summer sun.

It is these aromas that really make this something special; it lifts the wine out of the humdrum that the fruit weight gives it. These aromas developed the more we tasted the wine and made this really interesting.

Well worth looking out for.

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