5 ways to pair Champagne and sparkling wine with seafood

4. Violet potato, red shrimp and franciacorta, chef Stefano Cerveni, restaurant "Le Due Colombe"

Looking to Italy for inspiration, the website of the region of Franciacorta presents recipes from several local chefs. This one is designed to pair with the Franciacorta Satèn, a soft, creamy wine with a tingling crisp bubble.  

According to the site, Franciacorta is an ideal wine for any point in a meal, from an aperitif to main dishes, and from the simplest meal to the most complex. They recommend Extra Brut, Brut and Extra Dry for seafood and fish dishes.

In this dish, the Cerveni’s uses sweet and creamy potato with a vibrant splash of color, succulent and salty prawns, and a crisp topping of chips, to make a simple yet special dish.

Violet potato, red shrimp and Franciacorta (serves 4)

Ingredients 

• 800 g violet potato
• 8 fresh prawns from Sicily
• ½ L peanut oil
•  ½ L Franciacorta Brut
• 40 g butter
• 2 dl. of liquid cream
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Boil 600 grams of violet potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces, in salted water with the roughly chopped shallot.
2. When the potatoes are cooked, drain without drying too much.
3. Puree the vegetable mixture until the mixture is smooth and completely mixed.
4. Put the puree on low heat for a few moments, adding 20 grams of butter and 1 dl of cream; mix well, add salt and pepper.
5. Peel the potatoes not used for the purée, cut them into very thin chips, and leave them in cold water for 5 minutes (to remove the excess starch).
6. Drain them, dry them well and fry them in peanut oil, paying attention to the temperature to keep the bright violet colour.
7. Remove the chips from the oil, put them aside in a warm place on a clean paper towel.
8. Clean the prawns, keeping only the tail meat, cut into small cubes and marinate in a little olive oil, salt and pepper for 5 minutes.
9. Reduce the Franciacorta by half over high heat, add the remaining cream and a little pepper; boil for a few moments.
10. Remove from heat and beat with a whisk, incorporating the remaining butter.

Presentation

1. Spread a thin layer of Franciacorta sauce on a large shallow and hot dish. With the help of a pastry bag, make a 10 cm long strip of hot purée.
2. Lay the red shrimp on top of this, followed by the violet potato chips.
3. Serve immediately.