When the temperature climbs above 80°F, appetites tend to take a hit—and forget about turning on an oven.
Our solution: Refresh with a bottle of bubbly, and take a page from the trend of food served in bowls, whether the grain bowls of LA or the customizable bowls of salad or poke served up at fast casual Midtown lunch counters in NYC. Add these recipes to your dog days’ repertoire. Less is more, or so they say.
Italian Bubbles & Artichokes
Katie Parla and Kristina Gill recently came out with Tasting Rome, a cookbook that dives deep into the cuisine of Italy’s capital. Some of their most interesting findings are the recipes from the old Jewish quarter, like the Insalata di Carciofi Crudi. In it, the artichokes aren’t even cooked—just sliced paper thin, dressed in olive oil, crushed black pepper and sea salt and showered with slivers of Parmigiano-Reggiano. It’s a terrific trick, and sparkling wines— especially super dry Italian ones with zero dosage—are some of the few that can manage it. Murgo’s 2008 Extra Brut Metodo Classico from Sicily is a favorite at W&S, as are Edi Kante’s sparklers, like the Metodo Classico Dosaggio Zero.
Spanish Sparkling & Poke
Restaurateurs across the US have recently caught onto the delicious possibilities of poke, Hawaii’s raw fish salad with seaweed, turning it into an updated tartare for the millennial set. One of our favorites comes from Noreetuh, where chef Chung Chow builds off of thick cubes of bigeye tuna loin, adding thin slices of red onion, crushed macadamia nuts, pickled jalapenos and dried seaweed in a soy dressing. Go with one of the sparkling wines from owner Jin Ahn’s list: He heads to Spain, with Raventós i Blanc 2013 Conca del Riu Anoia Brut Rosé since it has body enough to stand up to the bowl. But most any fruit-forward Cava will mirror the creaminess of rich fish, rosé or not.
Sparkling Chenin & Grains
I’ve thoroughly dog-eared my copy of Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty, and if there’s one recipe I return to most, it’s his quinoa salad. His involves avocado, breakfast radishes and fresh favas in a lemony dressing, but it’s easily adaptable to whatever is in season. I often trade out his cumin and Aleppo pepper for sumac, coriander, red pepper flakes or just extra cracked black pepper. Bitter baby greens like cress or kale are a welcome addition, too. When it comes to wine, sparkling chenin is the way to go, as it’s as earthy and crisp as the flavors in the bowl. You could go classic, with a wine like Domaine Carême’s 2013 Vouvray Ancestrale, or funky and beyond France—check out the Jauma 2014 Pét-Nat Chenin Blanc from Blewitt Springs in South Australia.
Iberian effervescence
Riffing off of caldo verde, Portugal’s kale-potato-sausage soup, Manuel Azevado gives the ubiquitous kale salad an inspired makeover at Tasca Tasca, his Portuguese restaurant just off Sonoma’s town square. He starts with an anchovy vinaigrette, rubbed into the dark green leaves so they’ll soften a little bit, then sautés chunks of potato and linguiça or chouriço in a little olive oil, and pours them on top. Sprinkled with some São Jorge cheese, it’s a meal in a bowl, and delicious with a glass of Portuguese sparkling, like the spicy, dry bruto from Luis Pato in Beiras or Aphros Loureiro Reserva Bruto from Vinho Verde.
Austrian Rosé & Roasted Grapes
I’ve long since forgotten the source of this juicy trick: Toss grapes with olive oil, or red pepper, or nothing at all) and roast at high heat until they turn into shriveled orbs, juice running every which way. I do this in the morning, and keep them in the fridge to add to any number of bowls, whether filled with granola, grains or ice cream. Sometimes I’ll roast caulifl ower fl orets at the same time, then, at dinner, toss them together in a bowl and top with salty crumbled clothbound cheddar (Cabot is easy to fi nd and excellent, Flory’s Truckle is delightful, too.) Add a handful of salty marcona almonds and you can skip the seasoning. To drink, I like to play o the red fruit flavors of a rosé; at $15, the biodynamic Biokult 2015 Rosé Secco from Austria is hard to beat.
Prosecco & Green Papaya
The beauty of a Thai green-papaya salad is that it’s extremely flexible; even in Bangkok, the street hawkers will ask your opinion on contents and seasoning. If you can’t find green papaya, kohlrabi or cabbage work well, too. Start by smashing a clove of garlic in the bottom of a mortar along with a pinch of salt, another of sugar, some chopped bird pepper and a spoonful of roasted peanuts. Add a couple handfuls of shredded papaya (or any crisp vegetable) and a spoonful of dried shrimp (or small, salted blue crabs if you can find them), some lime quarters and several dashes of fish sauce, then pound it all together until the vegetables are bruised and everything is well mixed. Adjust the seasoning to your liking and add some extra vegetables if you like—cherry tomatoes and marble-sized Thai eggplant are traditional, but whatever’s in season works. With aside of sticky rice and a cold glass of bubbly, you’ve got dinner. If it’s particularly spicy, a fruity sparkler is the way to go—a Prosecco like Ca’ dei Zago’s Col Fondo or Bisol’s Crede work well.
Lambrusco & Lentils
There’s something about the deep, lively flavors of Lambrusco that combines especially well with an earthy bowl of lentils. Add extra texture with a handful of chickpeas crisped in a pan, and brightness with rough-chopped parsley or any fresh green. Top with toasted walnuts and cheese—chèvre and feta play well, but so do alpines and granas—and then it’s rich enough to stand up to a black-fruited, dry Lambrusco like Fattoria Moretto’s Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Monovitigno, an old-vine cuvée.
Moschofilero & Chirashi
Our NYC staff is lucky enough to work in the heart of Korea town, with Japanese and Chinese restaurants at its fringes, so chirashi is on constant rotation when we order in. It’s easy to re-create at home, too: Cook up some sushi rice and season with rice vinegar and mirin; while it cools, gather your toppings: julienned carrots, chopped umeboshi, sautéed mushrooms, crispy bean sprouts, dried or pickled seaweed, fresh shiso leaves, soft- or hard-boiled eggs, wilted greens, or whatever you have in the fridge. Array them over the rice artfully (or not) and add some protein, whether sushi-grade fish or firm tofu, and season with pickled ginger, wasabi, sesame seeds, ponzu and soy sauce. While the dish offers lots of different flavors and textures, it feels so fresh and clean that it needs a light hand in the wine department—maybe a sparkling moschofilero from Greece.
Crémant with Fennel
Pull out your trusty mandoline or super-sharp chef’s knife and get to slicing fennel bulbs into the thinnest pieces. Dressed only with green olive oil and fl eur de sel, a whisper of fronds as garnish, you’ve got a starter dish for steamy August nights on the back patio. It’s particularly good with the fresh-apple creaminess of a chardonnay-based Crémant de Bourgogne, like Domaine Perraud’s.
American Panzanella
The Tuscans are said to have invented panzanella to use up leftover bread, but I prefer to think of it as a vehicle to celebrate the juiciest tomatoes of the season. Tossed with cucumbers—preferably from a friend’s garden—shallots or red onion, a liberal glug of grassy olive oil, cubes of salami and a grana or pasta filata cheese, it’s summer in a bowl. Capers and bell peppers work well, too, or even cherries. The big flavors stand up to sunny, rich sparklers, like the Sonoma Coast chardonnay-based versions from Iron Horse or Roederer Estate from Anderson Valley. Rosé works, too.
Sekt & Potatoes
Seafood from a can is one of summer’s greatest food hacks: Open can, serve with crackers and a pile of parsley. Elevate this to a composed meal with only a modicum of additional effort: Dump contents of can into a bowl with bite-size boiled potatoes, a handful of peppery arugula and a dollop of crème fraîche. Serve with a bottle of full-bodied German Sekt, like the Hansen-Lauer 2013 Brut, and you’re set.
Caitlin Griffith knew her future career would entail food and drink when, at the age of six, she munched an anchovy from her father’s Caesar salad thinking it as a small strip of bacon—and was more than pleasantly surprised. While enrolled in New York University’s Food Studies program, she learned the secrets of affinage in the caves of Murray’s Cheese.
This story appears in the print issue of August 2016.
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