Kripta with Prawn Tempura
Kripta
Winery Agustí Torelló Mata
http://www.agustitorellomata.com
D.O.: Cava
Grapes: 45% Macabeo, 35% Parellada, 20% Xarel-lo
Ageing: 48 months in stacking
Price: 47€
Excerpt from the book “Pairings of spanish wines with exotic cuisines”.
Click to see the preparation of these dishes, in Asian recipes.
Pueden ver la versión en español pinchando en Cava Kripta
This is one of the greatest cavas in Spain, a “Gran Reserva” (over 48 months of ageing). It offers a diversity of flavours: long-ageing wines, vanilla, toasted, butter… together with the fresh aroma from refermentation in the bottle and those classic reminiscences of yeasts, bread dough, even fresh grass.
Its fine bubbles stand out since they can only be found in the best sparkling wines, but its most remarkable feature may be its character of classic cava, like those which surprised us during the eighties, most of which have gradually become more commercial, less important.
As it happens with most cavas, this one is an excellent table companion that allows pairing with any kind of dishes, from starters to meat, but its exceptional quality advises trying it by itself previously, as if it was a tasting, because there are nuances that can be lost when consumed with the food.
Prawns and vegetables tempura
Curiously enough, this dish has become one of the icons of Japanese cuisine but is has a Spanish origin (some used to say it was Portuguese, but the Jesuits from that country hardly ever reached this country, while St. Francis Xavier did). Its name comes from the ember days (“témporas” in Spanish), whose vigils those Jesuits observed.
It is like an Andalusian-style fried dish, but it is elaborated with very fine wheat flour, which enables us to get a crispy outside while the interior remains almost raw, a very pleasant finish -specially with vegetables.
Tempura is usually included among the starters, even at the same time as tsukemonos, those pickles that must be present on every protocol table -a very varied and enjoyable way of eating.
Pairing
If an Andalusian “fritura” (fried dish) tastes glorious with a cava, just imagine how this pairing can be, much more subtle and fine, with the tastes from the raw material almost intact and one of the most complex cavas in the country. The combination is really spectacular because each bite, either of prawn or carrot, green bean… will build a mosaic of tastes and aromas which will strengthen this cava thanks to the fine batter.
It is important to remark that Japanese cuisine is so varied, and if tempura is served, it is serious business and the pairing of the different dishes is difficult, so the best way to success is to resort to cava. In this case, as we have already said, there are a lot of long-ageing wine nuances, so no dish will overshadow it. Even a sukiyaki as a main course will combine perfectly.