Salad chorizo

Vic Williams | 7th November 2009

Spain is hot property in the world of wine and food. El Bulli, on the Catalonian Coast, has been voted the best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine in the UK, and Spanish wines can be spotted on prestigious lists around the world.

The country's food has followed the trend. Spanish anchovies are considered the best available, and paprika, made from dried and powdered capsicum, is now as strongly identified with Spain as it is with its country of origin, Hungary.

It is paprika that gives Spanish chorizo sausages their character. In various permutations, from mild to fiery, these delicious morsels add real distinction to a salad.

This week, we partner them with Greek-style cheese and a dressing containing Chinese soy sauce. Globalisation on a plate! This is a salad you can make your own by adding whatever extra ingredients you fancy. Red or orange capsicum work well, as do thinly sliced radish or good, fully ripe tomatoes.

4 chorizo sausages, or similar type, cut into half-cm discs
2 Tbsps vegetable oil
2 slices grainy bread, crusts discarded, cut into 1 cm cubes
juice half a lime
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp light soy sauce
3 Tbsps grapeseed oil
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
pinch cracked black pepper
4 handfuls (3 loosely packed cups) rocket leaves
300g firm feta cheese, cut into 1cm cubes
3 anchovies, preferably salt-packed, rinsed and cut into chunks
salt if necessary

Cook chorizo discs in a frypan over a medium heat until they begin to brown. Add a little oil only if they begin to burn. Place on paper towels to drain.

Heat the vegetable oil in the same pan and toss the cubed breads to coat with oil. Cook, stirring frequently, or in a 180C oven until golden brown (the oven gives a more even result).

Combine lime juice, sugar, soy sauce, two remaining oils and pepper in a screwtop jar. Toss the rocket leaves, feta, anchovies, and chorizo in a bowl with a drizzle of dressing to coat well. Check seasoning and add salt if needed. Fold in the bread croutons just before serving, so they don't becoming soggy.

Serves 4 as a light lunch

Wine match

The saltiness of the feta cheese and anchovies in this salad call for a wine with assertive acids (acids love salt), and that leads us to a Marlborough sauvignon blanc. With two boom vintages in a row, there are plenty of choices. The Ibbotson family's Saint Clair vineyard has several on the theme, but one of the most popular is the big-production Saint Clair Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009, which has a fair whack of the region's classic "sweat'' characters on the nose and a fresh, clean, refreshingly crisp flavour.

An interesting alternative would be a rose, which ties in nicely with the sausage's paprikas. Look for Salvare Hawke's Bay Merlot Rose 2008, which has a raspberry-scented bouquet and plenty of clean-cut flavours in a smooth-textured frame-work. Both wines sell for under $20.