Salmon ceviche and Soave

With its intense citrussy flavour ceviche - marinated raw fish - is a tricky dish to pair with wine.

One’s natural inclination might be to pick a white with a similar flavour profile such as a Sauvignon Blanc but the likelihood is that the more intense flavour of the marinade will strip the citrus flavours out of the wine.

At our local restaurant Culinaria at the weekend I picked a half bottle of Pieropan Soave to kick off our meal which held its own really well with a delicious starter of salmon marinated with lime served with guacamole (Mexican avocado dip). It didn’t interfere with the pure lime flavour but had enough personality to stand up to the zingy flavours of the dish. A decent Pinot Grigio, I suspect, would work equally well.

Image © karandaev - Fotolia

Fritto misto + vino bianco

One of the real treats of our trip to Venice is fritto misto which used to refer to the assorted small fish that were too small to be sold from the fishermens’ catch but nowadays takes all manner of shapes and forms including vegetables and polenta (usually to keep the price down).

I suppose it’s the Venetian version of fish and chips but it’s much lighter with a crisp thin batter and (generally) no chips. When the fish is fresh - as it usually is here - it’s utterly delicious. My husband is so addicted he orders it in virtually every restaurant we go to that has it on the menu.

I have to admit it’s hard to recreate anywhere else unless you live right on the sea and have access to the day’s catch but if you do go to Venice the two drinks to have with it are a simple, crisp, fruity house white (vino della casa) or - less traditionally - a class of Prosecco, the local fizz. The house whites are really very good here particularly in the top restaurants so don’t feel embarrassed to order them. The best seem to come from the Friuli region although I’ve had some excellent house Soave.