Grilled Swordfish and a White from Slovenia
Last night opened what I thought was a white wine from Italy, but after further examination of the bottle I realized it was actually from Slovenia. It is called Quattro Mani Tocai, and the varietal is Tocai Fruliano (a classic Italian varietal which actually just recently dropped the second half of the name). Quattro mani means 4 hands in Italian which represents the collaborative effort of the 4 winemakers from 4 different areas. At first, this wine really reminded me of a Gruner Veltliner with it’s peppery minerality. It was very smooth and easy drinking, lots of tropical fruit, lime, and melon flavors, and the nose had an almost herbal scent to it. I found it very enjoyable and it was perfect with our dinner, grilled swordfish. I made a roasted summer squash puree’ with tons of fresh basil and served it under a thick piece of fresh swordfish. Just to kick up the flavor of the fish, I grilled it over some sliced lemongrass and garnished it with grilled lemon wedges. This was only the second time I have worked with fresh lemongrass, but I find it very versitle and a great contribution to a dish in ways such as this. As it is grilled, it releases a great lemony aroma and all the essential oils start seeping out. It really gave the dish that acidic punch it needed, especially with the creamy, smooth puree on the side. The Tocai is a great wine on a hot summer day just on its own, and even better with a piece of grilled fish and seasonal vegetables.
I also made a little appetizer that I thought came out great and would be a new, funky salad or side dish to bring to your next cookout. I guarantee it will surprise alot of people. I simply grilled a 1/2 pound of shrimp, rendered out some thick cut bacon that was sliced into matchsticks, and sliced some fresh strawberries. I tossed the warm grilled shrimp hot off the grill in with the crispy bacon and then folded in the cold strawberries. Finish it with the juice of about half a lemon and some salt and pepper. The combo seems a little bit strange but trust me it works!
