In celebration of the Tour de France, wine and food pairing expert Katinka van Niekerk devised a series of recipes to reflect cuisine and ingredients authentic to the regions through which the cyclists have been riding.
Each recipe in the culinary journey was presented with a matching wine from Nederburg – wine partner of Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka, Africa’s pro-cycling team which is again taking part in the iconic race.
This year’s Tour de France is contested over 3,351km, with the final two stages this weekend: Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle to Espelette on Saturday and Houilles to the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Sunday. In celebration of Espelette, situated in the French Basque Country, try this recipe:
Calamari with potatoes and piment d'espeletteIngredients:
250g potatoes, cut into small cubes
Salt to taste
200g pancetta or streaky bacon, cut into lardons
500g small, cleaned calamari, thinly sliced into rings
1 teaspoon piment d’Espelette (use hot Spanish paprika if you cannot find the real thing)¼ cup clam juice or fish stock
Method:
In a small saucepan, cover the potatoes with 3cm of cold water and bring to the boil.
Lightly salt and cook until just tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and put aside.
In a large skillet, cook pancetta over moderately high heat until almost crisp, about 7 minutes. Add potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add calamari and cook until it turns milky white, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in piment d’Espelette or paprika and clam juice, and cook for 30 seconds longer. Take care not to overcook. Season with salt and serve immediately.Enjoy this dish with Nederburg Heritage Heroes The Young Airhawk Sauvignon Blanc (partially wooded). The piment d’Espelette is not too spicy but has enough kick for you to know that it is there. Generally spices are not a problem for wines, whether in savoury or sweet dishes, as they (contrary to popular belief) do not alter the taste of wine.