Pair This: Chop Salad with Corn, Snap Peas and Bacon & Abacela Albariño

Food and Wine Pairing Bliss

Here I go again, I’m writing about the Abacela 2010 Albariño…again. But, this food and wine pairing was so absolutely amazing, I just couldn’t resist.

I have a favorite cookbook: The Coastal Living Cookbook. It’s stained and has a few torn-and-taped-back-together pages, but of all my cookbooks (believe me, I have way too many), it’s the one I always pull out first.  I’ve had it for at least eight years, and I’ve made nearly every recipe in it. Not a single recipe has ever been a failure.

Earlier in the week, a friend came over for lunch – a friend that bought a case of the 2010 Abacela Albariño when we were visiting the Umpqua Valley a few months ago. Knowing she’d be bringing a chilled bottle of the crisp lemon-lime zesty delicious Albariño, on a day with 80 degree temperatures, I thought a salad would be the perfect accompaniment.

The ultimate cookbook

After browsing through the salad section of the cookbook, I came across a chop salad I had made once several years back.  Remembering the crispness of the veggies and the lemon and Dijon based dressing immediately convinced me to make the Chop Salad with Corn, Snap Peas and Bacon. A quick trip to the market and I had what I needed.

There’s quite a bit of chopping – probably why they call it a “chop” salad – but it’s worth it with the finished product. The crispy bacon, snap peas and fresh corn, along with all the other veggies, are flavor packed yet totally refreshing on a hot summer day. The Mustard Vinaigrette with it’s base of lemon juice pairs undeniably perfect with the lemony Albariño. They flowed together without overpowering one another, and every bite and sip was pure bliss.

My tasting notes from an earlier entry, actually from just last week, on the 2010 Albariño:

Abacela’s 2010 Albariño displayed gorgeous aromas of peach, apple and pineapple. On the palate, super crisp lime and lemon zest were accompanied by loads of juicy grapefruit with a hint of pineapple. Bright and lively acidity carries through to a medium length, deliciously tart finish.

For a link to the Chop Salad recipe, click here.