Match of the week

Satay and aromatic whites

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on August 13 2024 at 11:14

What do you drink at those restaurants that have multiple small plates - I.e. most restaurants these days?

Well it depends on the dominant style of the food. Spanish tapas and middle eastern mezze being different from predominantly Asian-inspired dishes.

It was the latter I came across at Square Bistro in Lisburn in Northern Ireland last week: a couple of dishes in particular - the lobster with pickled cabbage, apple and ponzu and salt and chilli prawns with satay and charred lettuce with roast peanuts - hit the spot with a wine from Australian producer Peter Lehmann called Layers.

It was an off-dry a blend of semillon, muscat, gewürztraminer and pinot gris - a ’21 vintage but still tasting fresh. The advantage of having multiple grape varieties in the blend is that no one variety dominates (muscat and gewürztraminer being particularly prone to do that) so will rub along with anything a bit spicy. Not that these dishes were hot.

You can buy it for £12.75 from Define fine wines in Birmingham although the more current 2022 vintage is £16.50 (at Alexander Hadleigh). Serve well chilled.

If you like satay see also this recipe for Five Spiced Smoked Tofu nuggets

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