I’m sitting in Rovi in London, one among Yotam Ottolenghi’s eating places, with a choice of small plates. The elements learn virtually like a gastronomic dictionary, a multi-textured, multicoloured assault on the senses. There’s vivid coal-roasted beetroot with dried shiso leaf of an virtually iridescent pink, many-hued pickles, celeriac shawarma with bkeila and fermented tomato.
Ottolenghi has in all probability completed greater than every other particular person to vary the best way we consider vegetarian and vegan meals – who doesn’t have one among his books on their bookshelf? However his modern dishes, with their spices, pickles and ferments, could also be tougher to match with wine than the hearty, bean-rich vegetarian fare of the Seventies.
Though she has prospects who favour traditional wines equivalent to Chardonnay, Rovi’s supervisor Jelena Prosevic leans in direction of fragrant whites, rosés and skin-contact orange wines, lots of which might be described as ‘pure’. She impressively brings out a darkish rosé with the beetroot, an orange wine with the signature celeriac shawarma and a pét-nat with the pickles.
Most – however not all – vegetable-focused eating places go down an identical natural-wine route. Sommelier David Havlik of Gauthier Soho, one of many UK’s longest-established vegan eating places, is among the many exceptions. ‘There’s an expectation that vegans are usually significantly eager on funky, pure wines, however in my expertise, the alternative is the case,’ he says. ‘Individuals merely need there to be no animals concerned; they don’t essentially need their complete culinary world to go loopy.’
It’s extra a query, he continues, of studying to take care of extra delicate flavours. ‘Vegan meals removes the apparent security blankets we’re all used to, the primary one being what we assume is “protein” however is definitely fats – the animal fats present in meat and dairy.’
The significance of umami
James Lowe of Lyle’s in Shoreditch, which has at all times supplied a vegetarian choice, acknowledges that there’s a problem. ‘We attempt to get the identical affect when it comes to flavours with greens as we do with dishes that include animal proteins,’ he says. ‘We do issues like focus juices or cut back water content material in greens to extend flavour. We ferment greens or make misos with them, each strategies that at all times appear to lend themselves effectively to pairing with each wines and ciders.’
‘A key ingredient in meat-and fish-based dishes is umami, that scrumptious, satisfying savouriness,’ says Carolyn Martin of Creation, a South African vineyard that has explored meals and wine pairing extra systematically than every other producer I can consider. She will get her cooks to play with umami-rich elements together with tomatoes, mushrooms and seaweeds equivalent to kombu. ‘Drying, fermentation and cooking processes, layering, sauces and marinades additionally improve umami.’
Time of yr additionally performs an necessary half in pairing plant-based dishes, as Nick Hand of the Sri Lankan restaurant Paradise in Soho factors out. ‘There’s a larger seasonality with greens than different elements,’ he says. ‘In summer season, wines with excessive acidity and minerality usually complement the lightness of seasonal greens, whereas in winter, a extra strong wine can add depth.’
In keeping with Josephine Williams, the sommelier at Vanderlyle in Cambridge, many greens have a pure sweetness that may jinx a pairing. ‘That’s to not say I gravitate in direction of wines with residual sugar essentially, but it surely does want acknowledging to verify the sweetness doesn’t throw the pairing out of steadiness. For me, dry pink wines with excessive ranges of drying or chewy tannins appear to conflict a little bit with the sweeter veg, so I are likely to go for wines with a softer construction.’
Revolutionary restaurant pairings for plant-based dishes
Grilled Hispi cabbage with chestnut & porcini butter with Babylonstoren, Chardonnay, Simonsberg-Paarl, South Africa 2023
Jelena Prosevic, Rovi: ‘A few of our prospects search for standard pairings and this wealthy Chardonnay works completely with these flavours.’
£23.50-£26.95 Cellar Door Wines, Harris & Co, Hedley Wright, Ok&L, Salusbury Winestore, Vinotopia, Wanderlust Wine. Alcohol 14%
Soy cream and dashi tortellini with black truffle with Domaine Luneau-Papin, Vera Cruz, Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, Loire, France 2022
David Havlik, Gauthier Soho: ‘We want one thing to each deal with the creaminess and tame the truffles, and the complexity and intensive ageing on the lees on this [biodynamic] wine does precisely that.’
£26.95 AG Wines, Vinvm. Alc 12%
Credit score: Hannah Warren
Cashew parfait with Denbies, Demi-Sec, Surrey, England NV
Josephine Williams, Vanderlyle: ‘The parfait is wealthy and unctuous with a severe savoury character – not in contrast to a foie gras or liver paté. The contact of sweetness the demi-sec is a nod to a traditional foie gras-Sauternes pairing whereas not leaping in on the deep finish of dessert wine.’
£19.95-£23.99 Denbies Wine Property, Grape Britannia. Alc 12%
Mung bean bobotie with turmeric, coconut and cashew nut custard, sundried tomato salsa with Creation, Syrah-Grenache, Walker Bay, South Africa 2022
Carolyn Martin, Creation Wines: ‘A well-endowed Rhône-style mix with intense flavours of ripe plum, black pepper and tapenade. The wine’s fruity and spicy flavours complement the mung bean bobotie’s nutty, spicy, creamy texture.’
£21.49-£25.90 All About Wine, Corking Wines, Nice Wines Direct, Strictly Wine. Alc 14%
