Wining and Dining

One of the great experiences of dining is to enjoy a delicious meal that has been matched with wine.

Through my travels over the years, I have had some of the best dining experiences eating a simple meal matched with local wines around Europe and beyond. The old saying is “it goes with what grows locally” rings true and I have had many a fantastic pairing such as spaghetti vongole with a glass of Falanghina in Naples; a plate of Iberico ham with a glass of sherry from Andalusia, or a cote de boeuf with a glass of red in Bordeaux. It always excites me to go to a new country and try their local dishes matched with a local beverage. Many of these combinations of local food and drink have been going for centuries and give a real insight into the culture and traditions of different countries.

Here in Cornwall, we really do have some fantastic wines. Although most of the vineyards are relative newcomers in terms of vine age in comparison to Europe, we produce some delicious and interesting wines that go so well with our local ingredients here too. I am already imagining a glass of Camel Valley Bacchus with our incredible Cornish shellfish, or a glass of Knightor Cuvée 2014 with a tranche of turbot with hollandaise and sea vegetables, or maybe a Trevibben Mill Cicero red with a BBQ butterflied leg of lamb from Warrens Butchers for example. There are other wineries in Cornwall too that produce brilliant wines such as Polgoon, Looe Valley, Polmassick, Bosue and the new kid on the block Atlantic Vineyard. Some of these vineyards have already put Cornwall on the world map of wines and I am continuously surprised by the consistent quality that they all produce.

At Kota restaurant, we match every course with wine. We are very excited about our pairings and it is great to have a team member who is as passionate about wine as my Bar Manager Dan Wright, whose palette I trust to come up with some great ideas. He is currently on his WSET 4 Diploma course which has become invaluable for us as a company to draw knowledge from. On his list will be wines from all around the world that will showcase our food. There is also a great full wine list to enjoy if you would like to do your own matching, although I think that it is nice for customers to come and enjoy wines they wouldn’t normally try and enjoy the reason why we pair them together. Once in a while, we have the pleasure of welcoming a winemaker from around the world and match six of their wines with food for a feast night. Each course is perfectly matched and we have the added bonus of the actual winemaker explaining how they made the wines, where they are from and what makes them tick. These tend to be an incredibly joyous occasion and it is great to see our customer’s enthusiasm. Look out for these nights later on this year.

I would also like to add how I love to match beer with food. We work closely with Sharp’s Brewery and have hosted various nights with them matching beer and food. We hosted a fun event, something we have done together a few times, called Grain Vs Grape. It’s a fabulous night where each course is matched with both a beer and a wine. Beer is brilliant with food and it’s often quite a surprise how close the vote is when our customers choose whether they enjoyed the beer or wine match the most. We’ll be holding another one of these nights later this autumn. It doesn’t stop there… We love spirit and food matching too, but I am going to save that for another time. For now, I hope you enjoy our special Kota cocktail and my celebratory hake recipe in honour of Cornwall Living’s 150th edition!

KOTA & Kota Kai
Harbour Head, Porthleven TR13 9JY
01326 562407 / 01326 727707
www.kotarestaurant.co.uk
www.kotakai.co.uk

KOTA ESPRESSO MARTINI

30ml vodka
(we like to use Reyka)
20ml Mr Black cold brew coffee liqueur
10ml rich syrup*
40ml Solo coffee concentrate
2 drops saline*

*rich syrup – two part’s sugar
to one part boiling water,
stir till dissolved (200g sugar, 100g water)
*saline – add 5g sea salt to 20g warm water stir till dissolved

Add all ingredients to a shaker. Fill with cubed ice. Shake until cold, (you want the shaker to be frosted on the outside). Double strain into a martini glass. Garnish with coffee beans.

HAKE WITH MUSSELS AND BRASSICA LEAVES

Hake has made a big comeback on British menus, partly due to its abundance in Cornish waters. It’s always on the menu in one of my restaurants, I simply love it. In this recipe, I team it with succulent and sweet mussels. Their juices make a delicious sauce – and the cider, leeks and saffron really lift the flavours.

My top tip is to season the fish about 20 minutes before cooking, as it draws out excess moisture and firms up its flesh. Use whatever brassicas you can get hold of: there are always plenty about! Personally, I love purple sprouting broccoli, black kale and green kale.

Serves 4

4 portions of hake, about 180g each
A little rapeseed oil for frying
50g unsalted butter
Salt for seasoning
½ lemon
Mixed brassicas, about 80g per person
40g butter
1 vegetable stock cube

For the Sauce:
500g mussels
50g unsalted butter
1 shallot, diced
½ leek, diced
225ml cider
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
½ pinch saffron
50ml double cream
Sea salt and pepper

METHOD
1. To make the sauce, sauté the shallot and leek in the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat until translucent. Then add the cider, bay leaf, thyme and saffron, and bring to a boil. Add the mussels and cook until they open. Strain off the mussels and pour the sauce back into the pan. Add the double cream and reduce on a medium heat, until it reaches a consistency you like. Pick half of the mussels from their shell and pop them all aside for plating. Remember to discard any mussels that haven’t opened fully.

2. Set the brassicas to cook in a pan with 100ml of water over a medium-high heat. Add the stock cube and 40 grams of butter. Cook for as long as you see fit, whether you like them little al dente or a touch softer.

3. 20 minutes before cooking the hake, season the portions with a little salt. When you’re ready, place them skin-side down in a pan with a little rapeseed oil on a medium heat. Cook until golden brown on the skin side then add in the butter. Once the butter has melted, turn the fish over and baste it with the butter.

4. Gently warm through the sauce to reheat the mussels and distribute evenly onto four rimmed plates. Add the brassicas and remaining mussels. Finish the fish with a squeeze of lemon and place on top.