Pale straw yellow in color with a very fine mousse, this Champagne from the sub-region on Montagne de Reims delivers floral, citrus and peach aromas and flavors. This fairly full-bodied wine has a nice touch of toasted brioche on the finish, which persists long enough to easily keep up with the earthy truffle flavors in Greg’s french fries. Quite dry with vibrant acidity, I like the way it cuts through the fatty texture of prosciutto, while the bubbles play off the crispiness of the fries. Is there a better way to start a party than with Champagne?
Champagne is a region of “threes.” There are three primary grape varietals allowed to be used in the production of Champagne: Chardonnay; Pinot Noir; and Pinot Meunier. There are also three major sub-regions of the Champagne region. The Chardonnay grape dominates the highly revered Cotes de Blancs sub-region, Montagne de Reims is planted with a high proportion of Pinot Noir, and the Vallee de Marne is planted with mostly Pinot Meunier. Finally, the Echelle de Crus system is a three-tier classification of vineyard quality (similar to Burgundy), with Grand Cru, Premier Cru, and A.O.C. Champagne, from highest to lowest. GRANT
Pairs With Small Plates Menu: Bottega’s Prosciutto-Wrapped Truffle Fries
Price $28
Also pairs well with appetizers, Asian food, egg dishes, fried food, lobster, oysters, popcorn, salmon, and sushi.
- Category Sparkling Wine
- Varietal Blend
- Region Champagne France
absolutely, positively, 100% this is going on my list to make!! i LOVE your Small Plates series Greg — it’s how we eat all. the. time. this looks fabulous!
You always come up with the most amazing dishes, Greg. What wonderful flavors!
Exotic,inspired and responsible. An amazing menu — this is my favorite! Bright citrus without the onion which is often overpowering in ceviche and emphasis on sustainable fish. Cheers!
But you used that four lettered f‑word as an ingredient;)
I had no idea there were so many varieties of aji chiles. I have aji panca at home and they have a mild heat and a deep rich almost chocolate like flavor. The amarillo look like they are much hotter than the panca based on their scoville rating (30–50k compared to panca’s 1k). What’s the amarillo taste like besides the heat, slightly fruity?
I’d say a milder habanero… The triple boil with water change softens the heat even further. GREG
Hi Greg — I need to look harder for the fresh aji amarillo here, I buy it in a paste and whole, in jars, but have not found the fresh. Good to know it is available in SoCal. Your dish sounds fabulous!
LL
This is such a beautiful picture and I absolutely love this recipe; I am going to make it this weekend; thank you so much for sharing!
A wonderful dish and a responsible post — warning about Chilean sea bass and offering up substitute for aji amarillo and where to find the choclo.
As they say in Peru, Feliz Año Nuevo!
Sorry for the political pun, but this looks incredible! Glad your seafood was sustainable. I had a crab cake last night that was only a “good alternative” and still feel ashamed.
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Raw fish, crudo, ceviche…whatever you want to call it, it sounds delicious! (Although raw fish doesn’t really sound so good…I’d go with one of the other names.)
I love the cultural mash-up you’ve got going on. Especially all of the bold flavors you’ve included here!
California and Mexico have opened new culinary horizons for me. While I enjoyed Steak Tartare in Europe, raw fish was not as popular (or if it was, I was ignorant:) But I have been converted and a ceviche makes an appearance once a month (I had to skip December — its continuous gloominess just got to me:)
So far I used scallops and shrimp. But your Peruvian take on ceviche (or crudo) with fish sounds really fantastic. I am sure that my tribe would accept the variation with enthusiasm:)
I love you. Don’t know that I could find it this time of year, so hominy will have to do, but you did crudo proud, darling, proud indeed. xo, l
Such a gorgeous and bright plate, Greg. The freshness of the crudo is beautifully captured!
Greg, I love the combinations of flavore in that dish! Could one substitute something more local, say, a cayenne chili for the special one mentioned there? Do you think it would ruin the flavor profile too much?
It’s just a touch of heat so cayenne is great too. GREG
we love ceviches and tiraditos, especially with the aji amarillo sauce!
This sounds terrific Greg and such a nice change from all the heavy food that typifies this time of year. Can’t wait to make this one!!
I like this one a lot, Greg. I don’t normally eat a lot of sashimi or ceviches but when they’re done right, I enjoy them very much. Maybe it’s because I like sea bass so much or maybe it’s because your tiradito sauce (new to me) sounds out of this world. It’s fresh, citrusy, clean and bright–what’s not to like? This may be my favorite, so far.