Unexpectedly Great Food and Wine Pairings:  Champagne and...Salad?!?
By: Jameson Fink
Published: February 24, 2010

Sunday was an adventure.  I went to a farmers market looking for inspiration and found them in the form of sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem artichokes).  They look like ginger, very knobby and gnarled.  I also picked up some beautiful spinach; it's amazing how spinach that doesn't come out of a bag actually has distinct flavor and pleasing texture.  Radishes were on hand at home.  I peeled the sunchokes and thinly sliced them with my mandoline.  The radishes got a similar treatment.  Since the sunchokes oxidize and brown at an alarming rate, I  doused them (and the radishes) with a bit of white wine vinegar and blood orange juice.  Spices?  Yes, please.  A dash of cumin, thyme, and onion powder made an appearance.  Separately I whisked up a dijon mustard vinaigrette.  I tossed the spinach in the dijon dressing and drained the sunchoke/radish mixture and combined.  Delicious!  Sunchokes are definitely artichoke-y but (raw) have a great crunch to them.  And a bit of earthiness.  Maybe I would say they are a cross between an artichoke, jicama, and a mushroom...in the best way possible.
And, once again, Champagne proves to be on of the most versatile and food-friendly wines on the planet.  The Taittinger has a bit of richness that really compliments the earthy notes of the sunchokes, and its cleansing bubbles and refreshing acidity are practically a symphonic match with the peppery radish and vinegar elements in the vegetable marinade and vinaigrette.
Champagne: is there anything it can't do?

Jameson Fink is a wine buyer at a bustling grocery store in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.  He moved to Seattle from Chicago, where he dabbled in the restaurant and wine industries, five years ago to pursue a full-time career in wine.  He'd rather be drinking Champagne and eating popcorn right now.

Comments:
Richard Rogers
February 25, 2010

What a great combo indeed. Champagne goes with so many things. Love it.