Thursday, July 08, 2010

You be the Sommelier

Spanish mackerel are in season and the Blue Moon fish people are bringing them to market. Spanish mackerel are not as pungently "fishy" as other mackerel, but they are certainly of that type. Their flesh is more of a cream color than the oily gray of Boston mackerel, for example, and they have beautiful silvery skin that is flecked with distinctive yellow dots.

This is a fish that children will eat, assuming it is very fresh and simply prepared. Last weekend at the market I saw Spanish mackerel for the first time this summer. Bill Maxwell, the farmer whose produce is far and away the best at the market (he has no website so this will have to do), had corn for the first time too. A simple summer meal came into focus, things that we love to eat, and that we hoped our little daughters would enjoy too.

Broiled Spanish mackerel - nothing but a slight brushing with good quality soy sauce, a sprinkle of salt after it comes out of the oven. You can blend mirin with the soy too, perhaps some grated ginger, and so on.

Boiled corn - I read somewhere that the best way to boil corn is to drop the corn in the boiling water and turn off the heat immediately, cover, and let the corn sit for a couple minutes, that's it. Based on these results, I'm a fan.

Kirby cucumbers with a bit of vinegar - thin slices, toss with a little salt, a small glug of white or rice vinegar, a little thinly sliced red onion. Toss again and let sit for at least a half hour.

That's the dish - an early summer dinner of broiled Spanish mackerel with corn and vinegary cucumbers. You be the sommelier - what wine would you serve with this meal? I'll let you know what we drank and how it worked out at the end of the comments.

Oh, by the way - the little daughters devoured their fish, and the vegetables too. And I hadn't even starved them for two days prior, or anything like that.

14 comments:

Jeff and Mandy said...

2008 Van Volxem Wiltinger Gottesfuss Riesling Alte Reben...can't think of anything better.

rhit said...

Maybe a nice, light Kabinett-trocken Riesling?

michelecolline said...

A nice fresh falanghina...

Sophieb. said...

I like the idea of dry Riesling- something like '08 Knebel Von den Terrasen.

Your Spanish Mackerel made me think of one of the best meals and pairings I've had in the past year, I think. It was a meal Clarke and I made of Spanish Mackerel I had sourced from the Blue Moon folks. I pan fried the mackerel and served them with roasted potatoes. We drank an '01 Bitouzet Prieur Beaune Cent Vignes, as I recall. It's a strange pairing, Burg and fish, but Bitouzet is so savory and totally unspoofilated. The wine really shone next to the fish, big time. Just a thought for another time...

jseeds said...

Good Albarino (Do Ferriero, Aforado, etc). Maybe LdH Gravonia Blanco?

TWG said...

CRB SB2

Wicker Parker said...

Dang, this is tough. Boiled corn, a somewhat fishy fish, and vinegary cukes with red onion? I think certain Muscadets could do the trick, maybe some 2004 Macon, but my thoughts stray toward "Le Russeghine" from Bruna, a delicate Ligurian wine made from pigato from which I get a bit of a corn and anise profile.

Anonymous said...

Txakoli!

A Bald Man Drinks... said...

Terre di Paolo Falanghina...it seems like Italian whites always have the best luck with combination plates like this, especially when fish is involved. This wine has a touch of sweet fruit along with the minerality, which will play nicely with the corn and the cukes too.

Nicola said...

I sparkling rose that has a hint of residual sugar

Brooklynguy said...

Such interesting suggestions! I thought of Riesling but then decided it would be too delicate. Falanghina i never thought of, and it sounds great. Never heard of Le Russeghine, but that sounds interesting too. I came very close to opening a LdH white, and then a Manzanilla Sherry, but my wife is not as fond of them as I am, and in the end I opened a Chablis, the 2007 Picq 1er Cru Vaucoupin. It was a lovely and classic Chablis, and it stood up very well to the assertive flavors of the mackerel.

so many ideas for next time...

Weston said...

Champagne. Spanish Mackerel makes good sushi too mmm

Jon O said...

The 2007 Can Feixes Penedès Blanc Selecció from northeast Spain near Barcelona .Made from 40% Parellada, 30% Macabeo, 20% Chardonnay and 10% Malvasía de Sitges. Great acidity to help with the vinegar in the cukes and enoght fruit to help with oily mach!! Yummy http://vawino.blogspot.com

Jesse Becker, MS said...

Just tried this with Chenin Blanc. Awesome!