Combinations #3: Roundup

Combinations #3 matched middle eastern style chicken flatbreads with wine ... did we have any success?

First in was Haalo, from Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once. Haalo matched the flatbreads with Brown Brothers Moscato and seemed to have the best success. I really liked the idea of using the dish as finger food - something that would definitely work well.

Next, Benito, from Wines by Benito, chose a Traminette (apparently a gewurztraminer hybrid) from Huber Winery in Indiana. This also seemed a pretty good match, although Benito was definitely a lot more enthusiastic about the wine than the food!!!

I fluffed around a bit and got distracted and over-excited in the wine shop and ended up choosing a totally inappropriate verdelho ... though I suspect any one of my original ideas probably would have worked ...

And finally, Andrew at Spittoon paired the dish with not one but two wines (I'm sure that was Andy's idea!). Neither the Domaine Comte de Margon Sarabande Cabernet-Merlot nor the Jardins de Mailis Jurançon Sec was a great match with the food.

We've also had a late entry from Basic Juice who also got creative with the dish's execution. Beau also opted for trying out two wines - a Wolffer La Ferme Martin chardonnay and a Chateau La Roque Pic Saint Loup. The white seemed to enjoy the same car-crash of flavours that I experienced with the verdelho, but the shiraz-mourvedre was a hit.

To be honest, I think a big part of the problem this month was what turned out to be a very under-flavoured dish - we all had a good muck around with ingredients and quantities in an effort to spice it up a bit - with varying degrees of success. I was quite surprised and disappointed, as most Middle Eastern food (that I've eaten) is actually quite complex in its mix of flavours. However, Andy and I also think that the addition of some garlic probably wouldn't go astray - if we have another go we'll report back.

Oh - and full marks to Haalo's friend Paalo, who suggested Coopers Sparkling Ale as a match - it's my favourite beer!

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