Some dishes seem to go naturally with wine but can you serve wine with a salad?
When it comes to wine pairing, salads can be tricky. A salad that’s dressed with something tart can knock out the flavour of the wine faster than you can say lettuce.
It helps to know a few tricks. When built with the right ingredients, a salad can be the perfect partner for a full range of wines, like this crisp and low-in-alcohol Chenin Blanc from Fleur du Cap Wines.
The new screw cap closure of the 2014 Fleur du Cap Natural Light Chenin Blanc will go a long way in preserving the inherent tropical fruit character of this ever popular, health-friendly wine, with an alcohol level of just 9,7%.
The vibrant pear and pineapple aromas complemented the flavours of this Beetroot, baby spinach and feta cheese salad.
Ingredients
2 bunches Red Beetroots, trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stems intact
zest of 1 Orange
1/2 cup Orange Juice
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1/2 tsp Fresh Thyme, finely chopped
3 tbsp Extra-virgin Olive Oil
150 g Feta Cheese, crumbled
Method
Cook the beetroot in a large saucepan of simmering salted water for about 25-30 minutes or until tender.
Remove saucepan from the heat and allow beetroots to cool in the water at room temperature for 10 minutes, then drain.
Once the beetroots have cooled enough to handle but are still warm, put on a pair of plastic gloves and peel the beetroots.
Using a large sharp knife cut the beetroots lengthwise into 8 wedges and place them into a large mixing bowl.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the orange zest, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic and thyme.
Slowly drizzle in the oil and whisk to blend well. Season the vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.
While the beetroots are still warm toss with the vinaigrette and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon the beetroots onto a large serving platter and spoon any remaining vinaigrette over the beetroots.
Crumble the goat’s cheese over the warm beetroots.
Enjoy with a glass of Fleur du Cap Natural Light Chenin Blanc 2014.
The wine is available at leading wine outlets country-wide or the Fleur du Cap cellar door at Die Bergkelder in Stellenbosch from around R42 per bottle.
