Recommendations

Smoked salmon on rye bread with Graham’s Port White

On the plate is a slice of dark rye bread with crème fraîche, smoked salmon, finely chopped beetroot, red onion, gherkin and capers. Opposite it, the port is a chilled glass with residual sugar, which softens the saltiness of the salmon and the sharpness of the gherkin at the same time.

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From the shelf

The bottle

Graham’s is a port house from the Douro, founded in 1820, with vineyards around Quinta dos Malvedos. This is the white port from the permanent range. The house makes its white port from Codega, Malvasia Fina, Rabigato and Viosinho, without the must coming into contact with the skins, so that the wine stays pale and fresh. This bottle is at 19.5 percent alcohol and comes in 75 centilitres. The house serves it chilled, as an aperitif or with a light dessert; the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto uses 6 to 10 degrees for white port.

Graham’s Port White

The combination

Why this works together

This plate has four things revolving around each other: the salt of the smoked salmon, the acidity of lemon, gherkin and capers, the earthy sweetness of the beetroot and the full fat of the crème fraîche. Sweetness is the strongest suppressor of the other tastes in the mouth: Green and colleagues saw salt perception in a mixture with sucrose come out well over eighty percent lower. The residual sugar of this white port does the same to the salt of the salmon and the sharpness of the capers, so the plate comes together instead of falling apart. The beetroot brings its own sweetness that reaches out to the glass, and the fruit acidity of the port runs alongside the lemon. And because the port is served cold, it holds its own against the rich crème fraîche.

At the table

The dish

For 4 people
Ready in 15 minutes
Type starter

What you need

4 tablespoons crème fraîche
2 tablespoons finely chopped dill
juice and zest of 1 small lemon
sea salt and ground black pepper
4 slices of rye bread
4 slices of smoked salmon
2 cooked beetroots, cut into small cubes
half a red onion, in thin rings
4 small sweet-and-sour gherkins, cut lengthways into thin strips
1 teaspoon capers, drained
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

How to make it

Mix the crème fraîche with the dill and the lemon zest in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Place each slice of rye bread on a plate and spread it with the crème fraîche mixture.
Lay a slice of smoked salmon on each slice of bread and spread the beetroot, red onion, gherkin and capers over it.
Drizzle the lemon juice over it, sprinkle with chives, season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

In the glass

Serving

Serve this white port at 6 to 10 degrees; an hour in the fridge is enough. Use a tulip-shaped glass and fill it no more than a third. Decanting is not necessary. An opened bottle of white port of the modern style stays good for eight to ten days according to the institute; for the traditional style fifteen to twenty days. Store the bottle upright in the fridge with the cork in.

All about Graham’s Port White Back to Recommendations from ’t Bockje

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