Saturday, April 1, 2017

2017 Michigan Wine and Small Plates: Smoked Trout Salad on Pumpernickel Toasts

For the third year in a row, I hosted a Michigan wine and small plates pairing at church. There’s always a few points leading up to the event when I decide I’m completely crazy and need to stop volunteering to do things like this. But it is, in fact, related to what I do for a living, and it’s fun (in a sick, labor-intensive way). One of these years I’m going to get a bunch of great pictures and you can see it in process. This is not that year. So here’s the menu instead:

Smoked mackerel salad on pumpernickel toast paired with Domaine Berrien Cellars 2015 Polar Vortex White


Edamame wontons in a soy-ginger dipping sauce with Bel Lago Winery 2015 Riesling


Goat cheese, fig and arugula salad with 2 Lads Winery 2015 Polar Vortex Rose


Balsamic mushroom melange with Domaine Berrien Cellars 2013 Merlot


Camembert and olive-stuffed phyllo with ChateauAeronautique Winery 2012 Syrah


Blood orange, ricotta, and almond cake with ChateauAeronautique Winery 2012 Late Harvest Riesling


I’d love to pretend that I am some kind of food-and-wine genius and could figure out these pairings by myself, but as usual I’ve turned to Jill Silverman Hough’s 100 Perfect Pairings. I’ve made a huge number of recipes from this book over the last couple of years and she has never once steered me wrong; the food is fantastic and the pairings are spot-on. I found wines from the store I work at that fit the bill – oh, what a hardship! – and followed her excellent recipes and recruited some helpers, but I feel like she really did most of the work here.  As with previous events, I learned a lot, and I’m looking forward to being able to grab a recipe and instantly know an inspired wine pairing to amaze and impress my friends.

Smoked trout salad with pumpernickel toasts


Yes, I know I said mackerel. A funny thing happened on the way to the seafood store….. Both versions are excellent. Hough also recommends using smoked salmon, which would doubtless be completely delicious and also open the door to some other wine pairings. Don’t make this more than a couple of hours before you’re ready to serve it; it takes on a distinctly fishy flavor once it sits for bit. For the GF folks, this is also delicious on crackers or in cucumber cups.

1 oz. watercress (about 1 ½ cups)(you can substitute arugula as well)
1 lemon
4 oz. smoked trout (or mackerel or salmon), skin removed, flaked
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
¼ - ½ tsp prepared horseradish
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
16 thin slices of pumpernickel or dark rye bread, toasted


Chop half the watercress or arugula and put in a medium bowl. Set the rest aside for garnishing.

Zest and juice the lemon; you should have about 1 tsp of zest and 2 tbsp of juice. Add the zest and juice to bowl, then add the fish, cream cheese, horseradish, and pepper. Mix well and season to taste (when I made this with the trout, the lemon zest was a little overpowering. It’s always easier to add than take away!)


Taste with your wine and adjust the lemon or pepper if needed. Spread on the toasts and garnish with additional watercress. 

About the wine: Michigan had a couple of years of really terrible weather; the extreme cold from the polar vortex killed off a lot of vines and resulted in some very small harvests. This led to some creative blending of the smaller amounts of fruit - in this case, Viognier, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. This particular wine has been something of a rock star, particularly among the Sauvignon Blanc drinkers and those who think they don't like blends. It has floral and citrus notes with pear, peach, and melon notes, and the acidity really balances out the richness of the smoked fish and cream cheese. 

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