HB&B Blog — White wine

Natural Wine Killers - Ras El Hanout Spatchcocked Roast Chicken with Chickpea Pulao & Les Cadoles La Cadole à Marcel Mâcon Chardonnay 2021

Claire Bullen France Natural wine Natural Wine Killers White wine

Natural Wine Killers - Ras El Hanout Spatchcocked Roast Chicken with Chickpea Pulao & Les Cadoles La Cadole à Marcel Mâcon Chardonnay 2021

A Sunday roast is a special thing – or at least it is for a lot of people. Blame my US upbringing, but I never felt that attached to the tradition, especially since so many Sunday roasts (whisper it) just aren’t that good. For every gastropub that’s nailed the formula, there are a dozen who haven’t, churning out meals that simply aren’t delicious enough to justify the ensuing food comas. But there is something life-affirming about a weekend meal as a main event, about taking several hours to cook an ambitious dish with care, time in the kitchen as meditative...

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Wine & Food Killers: Fried Artichokes with Wild Garlic Pesto and Still Life Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Claire Bullen Natural wine Natural Wine Killers New Zealand White wine

Wine & Food Killers: Fried Artichokes with Wild Garlic Pesto and Still Life Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Recently, I’ve fallen for artichokes. I enjoy the appeal of their unyielding exteriors and thorn-tipped leaves, the knowledge that they need to be plucked and peeled and sliced, eviscerated of their fluffy chokes, before any eating can commence. This time of year, they start piling up in greengrocers, the globe artichokes big as softballs. For this recipe, though, I opted to use baby purple artichokes, drawn in by their hue and their bite-sized scale. Inspired by the Roman-Jewish dish carciofi alla giudia, in which artichokes are deep-fried, I did the same (after simmering them in lemon-infused water first), watching them bloom into...

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Wine & Food Killers: Tomato Curry with Roasted Paneer and Johannes Zillinger Revolution White Solera

Austria Claire Bullen Natural wine Natural Wine Killers White wine

Wine & Food Killers: Tomato Curry with Roasted Paneer and Johannes Zillinger Revolution White Solera

For many, January is a time of deprivation, of restoring a lost balance thrown off by those prior weeks of feasting and merrymaking. I, too, feel a pull towards asceticism at the start of the New Year. It’s understandable, but so often framed as punishment. Times are hard enough right now – our resolutions don’t need to be. Instead, I’ve found there’s more power in positive aspirations than framing my goals from a negative vantage. Yes, I want to find innovative, satisfying ways to eat more vegetables. Yes, I want to experiment with new flavours and recipes. Yes, I want to...

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Wine & Food Killers: Spiced Spinach and Wild Garlic Soup with Poached Haddock and Matthias Warnung Whitey Weisswein

Austria Claire Bullen Gruner Veltliner Natural Wine Killers White wine

Wine & Food Killers: Spiced Spinach and Wild Garlic Soup with Poached Haddock and Matthias Warnung Whitey Weisswein

“Y’all, I need to tell you about this soup I made last night.” My phone lit up with a message from my friend Jess, quickly followed by a photo of rustic ceramic bowls filled with an extravagantly green liquid. “First, I don’t get excited about soup! I certainly don't get excited about spinach,” she wrote. But this spinach soup was unexpected. “Not since spinach and artichoke dip has spinach ever been this irresistible.” It was honestly the best thing she’d made all year, she said. Spinach soup wasn’t exactly on my list of go-tos either, but like most, I find rave...

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Wine & Food Killers: Mackerel with Herb Salad and Crispy Sumac Potatoes and Constantina Sotelo Rosalía

Albarino Claire Bullen Natural Wine Killers Spain White wine

Wine & Food Killers: Mackerel with Herb Salad and Crispy Sumac Potatoes and Constantina Sotelo Rosalía

As I’m writing this, false spring has been and gone. You know the one: That tricksy week in February or March that’s so golden and sun-drenched it swindles us into believing that winter is well and truly over. This happens every year, and we should know better. But after months of confinement, what else is there to do but indulge in a bit of hope? The sun and warmth stuck around just long enough to convince me that it was right to open the windows, wear lighter layers than was probably advisable and linger over tubs of cut fruit in...

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