Drinks advice · Wine and food

Fish and chips with Hambledon Vineyard Classic Cuvée Brut

Cod in a beer batter, deep-fried until it crackles, with thick chips and pea purée. An English dish calls for an English sparkling wine, and these days there are ones of excellent quality.

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Bottle of Hambledon Vineyard Classic Cuvée Brut, wine

From the shelf

The bottle

Hambledon Vineyard Classic Cuvée Brut comes from England and is made from chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, with a small proportion of reserve wine matured in tanks. The wine is at 12 volume percent and the bottle contains 75 centilitres. The aromas unfold in layers of floral notes and stone fruit; the wine is lively, with fresh sourdough, magnolia and lily alongside a core of red plum and apple, and a structured but ripe acidity.

Hambledon Vineyard Classic Cuvée Brut

The combination

Why this works together

Fried food and bubbles is one of the most reliable combinations there is. The carbonation lifts the fat off the tongue and the acidity finishes the job, so every bite feels crisp again instead of greasy. English sparkling wine has an advantage here: the country lies further north, the grapes ripen slowly and the acidity therefore stays high, even higher than in many champagnes. You need that high acidity here, next to frying fat and vinegar. The sourdough note from the lees ageing also matches the fried batter.

At the table

The dish

  • Before 4 people
  • Ready in 50 minutes
  • Type main course

What you need

  • 4 pieces of cod fillet of about 180 grams
  • 1.2 kilos of floury potatoes
  • 200 grams flour
  • 50 grams cornflour
  • 250 millilitres cold beer
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 400 grams frozen peas
  • 20 grams butter
  • 15 grams fresh mint
  • 2 litres of sunflower oil for deep-frying
  • 2 lemons
  • 2 tablespoons malt vinegar
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make it

  1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into thick fries of one and a half centimetres. Rinse them until the water runs clear and pat them dry.
  2. Heat the oil to 150 degrees and pre-fry the chips in portions for six minutes, without letting them colour. Let them drain and cool completely.
  3. Boil the peas for three minutes, drain them and crush them coarsely with the butter, the chopped mint, salt and pepper into a rough purée. Keep it warm.
  4. Mix 150 grams of flour with the cornflour, the baking powder and a teaspoon of salt. Just before using, whisk in the cold beer until you have a batter as thick as yoghurt. Do not whisk for too long; lumps are fine.
  5. Pat the cod dry, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and dredge it through the remaining 50 grams of flour.
  6. Bring the oil to 180 degrees. Draw the fish through the batter, let it drain and carefully slide it away from you into the oil. Deep-fry two pieces at a time for six to seven minutes until golden brown.
  7. Let the fish drain on a rack and keep it warm in the oven at 90 degrees.
  8. Fry the chips in portions at 180 degrees for another three minutes until golden brown, sprinkle them immediately with salt and serve everything with lemon and malt vinegar.

In the glass

Serving

Pour the wine at 8 to 10 degrees into a tulip-shaped glass. Not too cold: below 6 degrees little of the aroma is left. Open the bottle when the food comes to the table and keep it in a cooler afterwards.

Everything about Hambledon Vineyard Classic Cuvée BrutBack to Drinks advice from ’t Bockje

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