From Gusto's very own Jason Finney, head chef at The Crown in Hartest, comes a classic winter warmer. Indulge yourself with some beautiful comfort food and take a look at a few classic and surprising wine pairings, of course.
This recipe was originally featured in the East Anglian Daily Times in October, 2020.
Serves 2
Ingredients
12 good quality chipolatas
1 small celeriac (approx 500g)
2 pears
1 large red onion
4 tbs balsamic vinegar
4 tbs wholegrain mustard
4 tbs honey
100g butter
Method
Peel and dice the celeriac. Put it into a pan, cover with water and bring up to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes until soft. Mash the celeriac, add the butter, season and stir well. You can leave it in the pan with the lid on so that it stays hot for later.
The trick with the chipolatas is to make sure they're in strings. Wrap them up into a circle like a Catherine wheel and use skewers to keep them in place. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes at 200° (180° fan oven) until golden brown.
Peel and dice the red onion, add a little salt and fry in a pan until soft. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir to deglaze the pan for 30 seconds then add the honey and mustard. Cook for a few minutes until you've achieved a sticky sauce.
Lie your pears on their side. Trim the top and bottom of each pear. Use an apple corer (or a knife if you don’t have a corer) to cut through the middle (check out the photo) then slice each pear into three. Place them on a baking tray, sprinkle with a small amount of caster sugar and bake at 200° (180° fan oven) for 10 minutes.
Bring all of your elements together on warm plates to dish up.
Of course, we couldn't consider this a finished dish without weighing up a few vino pairing options.
A classic, go-to option for us would be an Austrian Gruner Veltliner. When we see a fatty, rich meat like pork, our first thoughts are to tackle that fat with acidity and freshness. Gruner certainly has that, but often with decent texture and complexity too. Another good rule of thumb is to pair food with wines of a similar origin. Whilst chipolatas specifically aren't Austrian, they do have a fairly sausage heavy diet (ahem). Try our house Gruner from Loimer as a really classic example of this style.
Whilst sticking with the idea of origin, another potential winning pairing could be Gewürztraminer. Whilst the grape would classically have a lower acidity, it would have a richer, more oily palate to match the fattiness of the meat. The added body and ripeness could also stand up to the big mustardy, onion flavours on the plate too. Staying in sausage land, we might suggest two classic styles to try. One from famous producers Tramin in Alto Adige, North Italy and one from Cave De Hunawihr in the classic French region of heavy germanic influence, Alsace.
A final, curveball option has to be a red wine of course. Honestly, you're safe to enjoy from a wide range of options here. You could choose to pair the meatiness of the dish with something full bodied and indulgent if that is your preference. You could also try something light with acidity and minerality to contrast the heavy flavours of the dish. For us personally, we'd drink a rustic, funky Malbec from our favourite producer, Matias Riccitelli. It has just the right level of rustic savouriness to be a foodie wine, but enough soft, juicy fruits to be a luscious, comforting tipple before, during and after the event of the meal.
However you enjoy your bangers and mash, eat well, drink well and be merry.
Jason Finney is head chef at our beautiful country pub, The Crown in Hartest. Perhaps the closest to a celebrity chef that we have on the books, you can find more of his hearty, heavenly recipes on his instagram account, Dude Sweet Food.
Leave a comment