Salade Nicoise is one of those deliciously varied French salads.
At its most basic it has tomatoes, anchovies, black olives, capers, green beans, hard-boiled egg and tuna. The fish is usually tinned, but it can also be seared or pan-fried fresh tuna. The anchovies provide a base of sea flavours and salt to bring all the ingredients together. It's light, healthy and satisfying. The best wine to serve with this dish needs mouth-filling texture and vibrancy; deliberately crisp wines will pair a lot better than, say, a chunky, oily viognier or fat-bellied chardonnay.
Pascal Jolivet Pouilly Fume 2007
Loire Valley, France
Wine lovers from New Zealand will probably think this is the strangest sauvignon blanc on the planet, when in fact it's one of the classiest. It's made from the finest, ripest fruit that's slowly transformed into a classic wine tasting of smoky minerals. Pascal Jolivet is perhaps too young and handsome to be taken seriously in the wine world, so he set out to let his wine do the talking. It's a perfect match with salade Nicoise: the olive oil-braised tuna richness and creamy dressing are enhanced by this stunning wine.
Available for HK$298 from Jebsen (tel: 2923 8777)
Pio Cesare Gavi 2006