Red or White, Sweet or Dry?
Red or white, sweet or dry, wine lovers are often entertainers at heart. When inviting guests to share your personal favourites, nothing enhances a tasting get-together quite like a complementary snack and wine pairings.
The next time you find a wine party on your schedule, consider these simple yet delicious recommendations from sommelier and founder of “Foyer London,” Paul Razey, who partnered with his team to create “Dips and Sips.” Aimed at reinventing wine and cheese parties, the movement focuses on simplistic recipes, easy dip pairings and suggested wines.
“When I entertain at home, I’m always looking for ways to impress my friends with fresh, creative bites I can pair with wine,” Paul said. “My favourite hack is finding great products with high-quality ingredients and then creating simple, elevated ways to serve them. The less time I spend in the kitchen, the more time I get to spend with my guests.”
Paul relies on the versatility of fresh, inventive arrays of dip options and crowd-pleasing, bold flavours worth celebrating. With authentic-tasting chilled salsas offering a vibrant alternative to soft, dull blends of jarred salsa and flavour-filled hummus made with premium ingredients like Chilean Virgin Olive Oil, these dips elevate both traditional and reinvented recipes.
For example, Paul's recipes for Polenta Rounds with Pico de Gallo Salsa and Crab, Spiced Butternut Squash Naan Flatbreads, and Cheesy Tortilla Cutouts with Salsa and Hummus-Stuffed Mushrooms offer flavourful, easy-to-make appetizers that can make entertaining easy and effortless. Plus, these crave-worthy morsels are just as tasty and approachable for guests choosing to skip the wine.
Hummus-Stuffed Mushrooms
Recipe courtesy of Paul Razey
Total time: 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Olive oil
400g Cremini Mushrooms, Stems Removed and Gills Scooped Out
Salt & Pepper
1 Pot Classic Hummus
1 Jar Green Olives Stuffed with Pimientos, cut in half
1 Jar Roasted Red Pepper Strips
1 Bottle of Pinot Noir
1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Prepare a baking tray with olive oil.
3.
Place mushroom caps on the tray, brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
4.
Roast for 7-8 minutes then let mushrooms cool to room temperature.
5.
Fill each mushroom cap with hummus and top each with one olive slice.
6.
Thinly slice roasted red pepper strips and arrange them around olive slices.
7.
Pair with a lighter bodied pinot noir with cherry tones..
Cheesy Tortilla Cutouts with Salsa
Recipe courtesy of Paul Razey
Total time: 20 minutes
Servings: 6
Olive oil
6 large flour tortillas
400g pepper jack cheese, grated
1 can (100g) green chiles, drained
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 Tub of Fresh Salsa
1 Bottle of
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
1. Preheat oven to 160C.
2. Prepare a baking tray with olive oil.
3. Place large flour tortilla on baking tray.
4. Top with handful of grated cheese.
5.
Sprinkle chiles on top of cheese layer. Add chopped cilantro. Sprinkle with additional cheese.
6.
Top with another tortilla. Bake until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Work in batches to make three sets of cheese-filled tortillas.
7.
Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters.
8.
Serve with salsa and pair with a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand with zest and zing.
Spiced Butternut Squash Naan Flatbreads
Recipe courtesy of Paul Razey
Total time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6
1 250g butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 Pot of Garlic Hummus
1 package mini naan dippers
1 bunch fresh rosemary, minced
La Veielle Ferme Rosé
Preheat oven to 200C.
Chop butternut squash into 1/2-inch chunks.
Toss squash with olive oil, maple syrup, cumin and chili powder.
Spread onbaking tray, with salt and pepper, to taste, and roast until tender, about 20 minutes.
Spread hummus on naan dippers and top each with squash and fresh rosemary.
Pair with deeper, savory and earthy rosé.
Polenta Rounds with Pico de Gallo Salsa and Crab
Recipe courtesy of Paul Razey
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
1 tube (400g) prepared polenta
Olive Oil
salt, to taste
200g jumbo lump crabmeat
1 Tub of Fresh Pico de Gallo Salsa, Mild
1 bunch of fresh mint, finely chopped
Mateus Rosé
Heat oven to 180C.
Slice polenta into 1/4-inch thick rounds.
Arrange on baking tray sprayed with olive oil and bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crispy, with salt, to taste, and let cool.
Combine jumbo lump crabmeat with salsa.
Top each polenta round with crab salsa mixture.
Garnish with finely chopped fresh mint and pair with vibrant, fruity rosé.
