Saturday Kitchen 27.8.11

(by susie)

Peter and I have been lucky enough to have had some great breaks in the sun this summer, enjoying more than our fair share of rose wine (as any of our regular readers will have been very aware…)

So it didn’t really like too much of a hardship to be sent to the seaside town of Ramsgate to find wines to partner some very special dishes by Sat Baines and Francesco Mazzei.

Francesco was rustling up lagane in a borlotti bean and guanciale soup (Peter had to ask for the translation on this one…lagane being a kind of pasta and guanciale a rather delicious type of pork – think Italian comfort food in a bowl). Given this was an everyday dish, I chose a lovely rustic Italian red (but you could have equally gone for a full-flavoured white), the Saluti Vino Rosso NV (£5.99, Waitrose).

It was no surprise to hear that this particular wine had proved challenging to taste during the show’s rehearsals at 8am that morning – it being a fairly gutsy style – but clearly everyone warmed to it eventually, and it went down very well with the dish.

Sat was making belly pork with piccalilli puree – a deceptively simple title for a dish that also involved teriyaki sauce, granny smith apple, balsamic vinegar and raw cauliflower. Lots of options for this one sprang to mind but when we cooked this dish up, the tangy flavours of the apple, piccalilli and lemon needed a white with the same kind of zestiness, but nothing too lean – a bit of honeyed richness also served the flavours well.

Step forward Tesco’s Finest Awatere Pinot Grigio (£7.79) made by Yealands – a stunning winery we popped into early last year during our whirlwind tour of New Zealand. This wine also went down a treat, which was great to see: it’s not often you’ll see me recommending Pinot Grigio, but this characterful example, currently on offer and great value as a result, is well worth trying.

You can find all the recipe details plus see the show for the next week on bbc iplayer by clicking on this link.

Saluti!