Match of the week

Sticky chicken ‘tulips’ with vintage Sercial madeira

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on September 22 2020 at 11:02

It’s not often you get eight pairings in a single session, any one of which could have been a match of the week which makes this week’s choice particularly difficult but I’m going for a combination that surprised me as much as, I suspect, it will amaze you.

It was one of the mini courses in a tasting to launch a spectacular new book on food and wine pairing - Wine and Food: the perfect Match from Master Sommelier Ronan Sayburn and chef Marcus Verbene of the wine-themed members club 67 Pall Mall.

I’ll post the rest when I have a moment.

I would certainly never have thought of pairing chicken with madeira but neither was in the slightest way ordinary. The chicken ‘tulips’ (basically chicken wings turned inside out) were coated in a sticky glaze flavoured with smoky bacon, prunes, cinnamon and star anise and sprinkled with honey-roasted pecans to which the wine, a 1989 D’Oliveiras Sercial was the perfect nutty, smoky counterpoint with madeira’s typical acidity cutting through the richness and sweetness of the glaze (which also includes madeira but a more humble one).

At 67 Pall Mall it’s served as a bar snack or ‘pre-dinner nibble’ and theoretically serves four* but I would treat yourself and a madeira-loving pal to a whole pile of them at home!

*the recipe is in the book.

I attended the event as a guest of 67 Pall Mall.

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