Thursday, October 21, 2010

You be the Sommelier

Pretty soon it's going to be all root vegetables and winter squash at the farmer's market. There are still greens, however, even if they are of the sturdy and bitter variety. One of my favorites is escarole. Escarole is a bitter green, technically a kind of endive, and in the chicory family.

I've eaten escarole many times, but always passively, if served to me at a restaurant, for example. My favorite local farmer Bill Maxwell started growing escarole last year and I discovered that it's great in soups. He had escarole on Saturday, for the first time this fall, and I pounced.

I wanted to do something simple with this specimen, as it is so lovely. So I finely minced a third of a garlic clove, cooked it in a little neutral oil, added a few drops of fish sauce (we're all out of anchovies), some salt, and then the escarole, which I chopped into large pieces. Add a small glug of stock, stir, stir, taste, a little more salt, and that's it. Perfect with some bread or rice as a light dinner, or as a side dish. I ate this as the main course, and then had some cheese afterward.

So that's it, that's the dish. Please, you be the sommelier. What would you drink with this quickly braised escarole? Share your pairing ideas in the comments and I'll tell you what I drank and how it worked out soon after.

22 comments:

Leif Erik Sundstrom said...

Gruner Veltliner...preferably a bolder Erste Lage from the Kamptal.

If you couldn't get this I would say a mineralic Pinot Blanc.

MT said...

How about a bottle of Fie Gris by Eric Chevalier?

Anonymous said...

Muscadet de sevre et maine.

rhit said...

Total guess here, but what about a Jasnières?

Brooklynguy said...

What's going on here - has this game become boring, or is braised escarole not a compelling enough dish to suggest wine pairings? Why are y'all being so quiet? tell me the truth...

Nicola said...

This is a tough one, but maybe a Riesling from the Mosel or a Jurancon Sec.

Peter Liem said...

You already know that I would drink fino, so it's redundant for me to say it.

TWG said...

Orange wine, like the COS version.

Ben Wood said...

Brooklyn,
I would go for either a mazanilla or a bottle of melon q rouge from puffney?
Ben

Bryon Adams-Harford said...

Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi.

michelecolline said...

Okay, okay, it's not compelling enough for me though I have some ideas...

Anonymous said...

To my taste, Grosjean Petite Arvine.

Brooklynguy said...

Every single one of these ideas sounds better than what i came up with, which to be honest, was not a very good pairing. i thought i would counter the bitter escarole and the savory way that i cooked it by pairing with something with lots of fruit and lift, and the earthy lifted fruit of Provence rose sounded good. I went with the 2009 Château de Peyrassol Côtes de Provence Rosé. it is good wine, but it didn't do well with the dish, to the point where i thought it wasn't good wine. the left over half the next day was much better. i'll be making this dish again this fall because it's awesome, but next time trying one of these suggestions (or perhaps a savory blanc de blancs, which was my other idea).

Ith said...

collecapretta 2008

Cliff said...

Slowed down by the flu. A bunch of good suggestions already. Something a little bitter, a little rustic and earthy: maybe a Stein Riesling, I love the Blauschiefer; or the entry wine by Knebel.

Anonymous said...

BG-

This is completely off topic. But I'd really appreciate a discussion of Thanksgiving wines, acknowledging that they will vary enormously on turkey preparation and especially on idiosyncratic (and often absurd) traditional accompaniments.

Cliff said...

Pinon Pétillant, rosé if you can
Rinaldi Grignolino
CRB Sauvignon
Riesling from e.g. Lauer, Nigl, Alzinger, Nikolaihof, Boxler, etc.
Téxier Pergault
Occhipinti Il Frappato
something jurassic sous-voile (Macle, Puffeney, Montbourgeau)

Depending on your family, you may require something like Bulleit Bourbon.

Anonymous said...

Ripple!!!
OK, I like the first suggestion of a Gruner Veltiner.

Dusty Tannins said...

Ribolla Gialla, Antico Broilo '06

... a little orange zest and salinity on this wine and the hint of toasted almond would play nicely here. The ripeness of fruit, I think, would balance the bitter in the greens and bite of the garlic and would harmonize...theoretically.

Anonymous said...

I just had an Alsatian Riesling that went well with Swiss chard.

Clayton said...

I like the idea of a dry Sherry like the manzanilla, (probably because it's cheap). This also sounds like an appropriate occasion to drink a Viognier. Am I crazy? Does anyone have a particular bottle they love?

Anonymous said...

Riesling and gruner ..... very creative all.

Try a Fleurie, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.