by Lisa Pretty
This month’s pairing comes from Fenomenal, my new favorite place to hang out in downtown Paso Robles.
Located at 835 12th Street across the street from the park, they have all my favorite things in one place: excellent service from friendly staff, an interesting wine list that changes frequently and a creative menu featuring dishes inspired from global cuisine.
My Fenomenal pairing this month is Chef Thomas’s Avocado Tartare with the 2010 Ranchero Cellars Viognier.
Here is the recipe for all of you avid foodies out there:
Avocado Tartar Appetizer - Thomas Drahos, Executive Chef at Fenomenal, recommends making these three components to serve with your favorite chips as an appetizer bursting with flavor.
Avocado Tartar
3 avocados (diced small)
1 tablespoon preserved Meyer lemon, chopped into a paste
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
Mix all ingredients in a bowl - take care not to bruise the avocado. Put plastic directly on top of mix and cover with air tight lid.
Cherry Tomato Confit
1 shallot, sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters
1 bunch fresh thyme
½ cup white wine vinegar
1 cup oil, blended
Put in a shallow pan. Place in oven preheated to 300F for ½ hour. Allow to cool prior to serving.
Serrano Chili Mousse
1 Serrano chili, deseeded and diced small
1 cup cream
1 small bunch cilantro
1 shallot
Place ingredients in a small pot and bring to a simmer. Blend on high speed. Pass through a chinoise. Pour mixture into ISI and charge one time. Shake vigorously.
As for the viognier, Ranchero Cellars Owner/Winemaker, Amy Butler, searched and found the perfect Westside Paso Robles vineyard called La Vista for her viognier fruit. “I wanted to show off the magnificent terroir, but I still wanted the freedom to blend. So I used three very old techniques borrowed from Condrieu: One third of the fruit was destemmed and fermented on its skins, much like a red wine, then pressed and aged in neutral oak barrels. One third was whole-cluster pressed directly to neutral oak barrels and fermented with native yeast. And the final third was whole-cluster pressed directly to a concrete pyramid that resembles a Martian ship, and fermented and aged there. Texture. Layers. Intense aromatics. Minerality. Brightness. Richness.”
The wine pairs beautifully with the avocado tartare. Cheers!
This week’s Friday giveaway is a $25 gift certificate to Fenomenal, so answer the following trivia question to be entered to win:
Q: Which publication, found in hotel rooms countywide, provides information on dining, lodging, events and sightseeing for Paso Robles and the surrounding areas and features an ad for Fenomenal on the back cover?
Winner will be chosen on Friday, good luck!
Lisa Pretty is owner/winemaker at Pretty-Smith Vineyards & Winery and author of the Eat This With Paso Robles wine recipe book.
And the winner is @PasoRhoneRanger, who entered via Twitter. Thank you for playing, stay tuned for next week's giveaway!
Posted by: Inside Paso Robles | June 22, 2012 at 03:10 PM
The answer to the trivia question is the Access Visitors Guide is the publication, found in hotel rooms countywide, that provides information on dining, lodging, events and sightseeing for Paso Robles and the surrounding areas.
http://www.facebook.com/AccessVisitorsGuide
Posted by: Inside Paso Robles | June 22, 2012 at 03:09 PM
Access Visitors Guide...
Posted by: Kim | June 22, 2012 at 12:10 PM
The Access Visitors Guide!
Posted by: Jenn | June 22, 2012 at 11:07 AM
The access visitors guide and the Destinations Guide!
Posted by: rachel eckert | June 21, 2012 at 12:12 PM
The Access Visitors Guide!
Posted by: Tim Brehmer | June 21, 2012 at 11:52 AM