Goat's milk cheese with tamarid sorbet tartlet with De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc 2007
We make it the hallmark of our cellar that a wine only earns inclusion if it
reflects genuine authenticity, a distinctive personality and a true sense of
place or 'terroir'," says Jörg Pfützner, the sommelier at acclaimed
Cape Town restaurant Aubergine, where the De Grendel Koetshuis Sauvignon Blanc
2007 - a star performer in this month's WINE magazine Tops at Spar Sauvignon
Blanc Top 10 tasting - happens to be included on the winelist.
This may have suggested that chef-patron Harald Bresselschmidt would be the
ideal person to ask for a food match, but it wasn't all plain sailing. "To
be honest, the De Grendel is on our winelist as an aperitif; a warm-up drink!"
he revealed. "It's a very nice wine but it's made to be drunk young, and
young Sauvignon Blanc is generally not great with food."
Nonetheless, he was up for the challenge. "If the wine has high acidity,
then the food also has to have high acidity or else it will taste bitter. Meanwhile,
food and wine can complement each other if they have similar flavours, but contrast
often works better..."
On this occasion he opted for a classic combination - goat's cheese and Sauvignon
Blanc. "I'm not looking for a big surprise," he said. Instead, interest
would be provided by the contrasting flavours, textures and even temperatures
of his Tartlet of Phyllo Pastry and Goat's Milk Cheese with Tamarind Sorbet.
"The cheese is rich and dense, while the tomato-tamarind sorbet adds acidity.
There's a lovely contrast of texture - crunchy pastry and soft aubergine - as
well as the warmth of the baked goat's cheese followed by the sensation of the
cold sorbet hitting your palate."
A sip of the wine confirmed that its flavours were actually enhanced by this
dish, with a happy Bressel-schmidt concluding: "It would be an even better
match if the wine was a couple of months older."
Which of course it will be by the time you read this article...
Serves 4
Tartlet
2 sheets phyllo pastry
40g liquid butter
1 large aubergine, peeled and sliced into 1.5cm rounds
2 tomatoes, peeled, de-seeded and cut in 10 wedges
160g goat's milk cheese, plain
40g French goat's cheese, slightly matured
olive oil, pepper, lemon thyme
Tamarind Sorbet
2 T olive oil
1 onion, 30g ginger, 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 T tomato paste, 1 t brown sugar
1 tin whole peeled tomatoes
2 sprigs of lemon thyme, chopped
30g tamarind, soaked in 150ml boiling water
salt & pepper
1 t glucose
2 T Bulgarian yoghurt
Tarragon Vinaigrette
1 T tarragon vinegar,
preferably balsamic-style
4 T olive oil
10g tarragon, finely chopped
salt
Method
Start the preparation with the sorbet. Sweat the onions, ginger and garlic in
olive oil for a few minutes at low heat. Add the tomato paste and brown sugar
and sweat for a further 3 minutes to caramelize the sugar. Deglaze the pan with
a dash of Sauvignon Blanc before adding the whole, peeled tomatoes, herbs and
seasoning. Soak the tamarind and strain through a sieve, discarding the seeds.
Add the juice to the tomato sauce and boil at low heat for 10 minutes. Strain
through a coarse sieve and add the glucose, then leave to cool before adding
the yoghurt. If you don't have an ice cream maker, freeze it in the deep freeze
in a wide bowl, stirring occasionally.
For the tartlet, roast the 2 tomatoes and one sliced garlic clove with lemon
thyme and ground pepper at 200°C for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, marinate the cheese with the olive oil and herbs and work it to a
soft paste. Steam the aubergine in a bamboo steamer until soft and cut out the
centre part with a round cutter. Cut the phyllo pastry in 15cm squares using
three squares per portion. Brush the squares with the liquid butter and place
three on top of each other at a slight angle. Place the roast tomatoes on the
pastry and then the aubergine ring. Fill the middle with the goat's cheese mixture
and roll up the edges of the pastry to shape the tartlet.
Place in the fridge until ready to bake.
Make the vinaigrette and prepare the garnish.
To serve
15 minutes before serving, place the tartlet on a baking tray and bake it on
the lowest possible shelf for 12 - 15 minutes at 200°C until pastry is brown
and baked through. Dress up the plate with the garnish and the tartlet. Spoon
the vinaigrette on the plate and serve a quenelle of sorbet.
Chef's note: Although the dish looks workintensive, you could split preparation into two.
