CLEAN MONDAY WINES
The wines of Clean Monday
Raise your hand if you don't want to see meat again for the rest of the month and feel that the fat and the charcoal smoke have soaked the skin! Calm down, Clean Monday is coming and the most delicious seafood appetizers, with traditional but also new technology recipes come to revive the taste, as long as they are paired with the best wines!
1. Raw Fish Spread or Tarama salad
Kyriaki's tarama salad is the most delicious in the Cyclades, but unfortunately, years of friendship failed to reveal the recipe, so every time the tarama salad is simply "very nice, but not like Kyriaki's". The classic white and lemony, with its characteristic aroma and rich creamy texture, needs acidity but also balance. It wants juicy fruit and elegant notes of retsina, accompanied by high acidity, which is all that Vorias and Helios Orange Ritinitis by Markogianni Winery has. The tarama salad must be handmade, so pinch it in the salt shaker, and you won't regret it, if you want something more daring, try Debina from the Glinavos Estate.
2. Crab salad
The crab has a special and very delicate flavor profile, which changes slightly when the mayonnaise salt and pepper are added. The taste is subtly sweet, with a greasy kiss from the mayonnaise that a Chardonnay will be needed, with a slightly buttery character and fruity freshness, but also a little barrel-aged like the Olive Grove 2022 from the d'Arenberg winery.
3. Grape leaf rice rolls or Ntolmadakia
Ntolmadakia and Aidani bites! A food pairing that never loses, since it's like they were made for each other. The dish is rich in herbs, has a strong herbal flavor, but also a pinch of lemon and will pair uniquely with the delicious and very special Amuse white 2024, from Muses Estate.
4. Fried squid
The pan screams oiliness and the squid rich texture and salty taste. Its crunchy element in combination with the rest needs crisp acidity and nerve, which will give a refreshing breath between bites and leave a citrus freshness. Kydonitsa Ageli 2023 from the Lykos winery in Evia and the sea breeze of the area are just what you need.
5. Grilled shrimp
Here are the simple things. Salt and pepper, grill, lemon. And you don't need anything else since the shrimp has all the deliciousness in its skin. An ideal choice is the Roz 2023 from Petrakopoulos Winery, but if you want something white, go to Italy and specifically to the Otto Soave Classico 2022 Agricola Pra, with its oily feel and salty and mineral notes, adding extra stars to the combination.
6. Mussels steamed with wine
Juicy, richly flavored dish with a naturally salty taste and intense vegetality that usually comes from parsley in most recipes. In the most exotic version, coriander is added, and here comes the magic. Freshness calls for a wine with good acidity, fruit intensity, and nice vegetality. Hey, what's Meow Meow doing on the tiles? The Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc 2023 from Astrolabe Wines.
7. Oysters
A little wine, a little sea, and my oysters, and just leave me in Vlyhada beach Santorini, forgotten, like Vougiouklaki in the Astero role or Tom Hanks in Cast Away. Assyrtiko of Santorini is heard from the loudspeakers for the ultimate Rumble in the Jungle. The acidity, minerality, lemony flavors, and salty dimension of Assyrtiko, squeeze in the corner and mercilessly hit the umami and the lemony taste of the shells creating the ultimate taste feast. Santorini 2023 by Basaltis Winery, without a second thought.
8. Octopus
If it is grilled with olive oil and lemon, it has the characteristic smoke from the charcoal and the special texture, which will go perfectly with Kydonitsa 2023 from MikroBio Winery. If it is cooked in a pot, with a little tomato and short spaghetti, Ekato 2023 from Troupi Winery is ideal.
9. Halva
Halvas (referring to desserts) are my favorite. I have never understood why this concoction must be consumed only on Clean Monday. It may seem a bit tasteless to some, but if you add 2-3 drops of fresh lemon to the simple, white one with a little almond, you have the ultimate gourmet. Pair it with the slightly sparkling and musky Tyrnavos Sparkling Muscat. The mixed chocolate halva will pair nicely with Euphoria 2021 from Dourakis Winery.
Happy Koulouma and don't be afraid to experiment with flavors, The Koulouma menu is the best opportunity!
Christina Tsogka
