Aug

Pistachio-crusted Elk with Wasabi Mash

Sean Sellers in Red Wines, Grenache, Carignan, Blow the Bank, Meat & Poultry 2005, Emporado, Espelt, Recipe, Spain

InterWined Food
Every Friday, InterWined.com pairs one great wine that exceeds its normal £10 ($20) threshold with one great meal, prepared following the instructions of some the Internet’s best food blogs.

This week’s ‘Blow the Bank’ comes courtesy of Lynette at Lex Culinaria and a tantalizing Pistachio-crusted Elk Roast with Wasabi Mash.

Alongside the recipe at Lex Culinaria is a post on a story that appeared in The Age, an Australian, Melbourne-based Newspaper, concerning fraud in the food industry and recipe theft in particular. In 2006, a Melbourne restaurateur, it seems, had begun copying other restaurants’ recipes and serving them in his restaurant. Given the shapelessness of the Web, Lynette pondered what, if any, lessons the article imparted to the food blogger. Her conclusion? The same as InterWined’s: few ideas and few recipes are truly original; and, whether copying or adapting, always give credit where credit’s due.

Bearing this sage advice in mind, InterWined decided to adapt Lynette’s excellent Pistachio-crusted Elk Roast with Wasabi Mash recipe, rather than copy it. And, instead, prepared a quicker ‘Blow the Bank’-friendly Pistachio-crusted Venison Steak with Wasabi Mash. (For those disinclined toward elk or venison, Lynette assures that beef works too.)

To accompany InterWined’s Lex Culinaira-inspired Pistachio-crusted Venison Steak, the 2005 Espelt Sauló, from Emporado along the Costa Brava in Catalonia, Spain, £12 from Philglas & Swiggot and widely available online in North America.

Sauló is Catalan for sand gravel and, oddly, an almost fitting description of the wine and the soil in which the grapes (Garnacha & Cariñena) were grown. There’s a dirt quality to the wine, but it’s also low in tannins, soft, and has a nice fruitiness. The wine’ earthiness makes it durable and helps it stand up against the Asian, sugary flavours of the dishes glaze, while the soft fruit pairs very nicely with the meat.

Lynette’s Recipe in Full

Pistachio-crusted Elk Roast with Wasabi Mash

Click on the post to view and download the recipe

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