What to eat with fine white wines

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Root vegetable dishes are delicious to eat alongside fine white wines. This watercolour illustration depicts three different kinds of squash, black, orange and green. It's the hero ingredient in Stewart Turner's seasonal recipe.
Illustration by Eleanor Crow

This Christmas, Michelin-trained chef Stewart Turner will be swapping his classic seafood starter for a seasonal vegetarian dish. He shares a decadent recipe for roasted squash with burrata and hazelnuts.  

I’m normally a big Chardonnay fan, but I like to use Christmas as an excuse to push the boat out and try something new. Last year, we opted for a brilliant blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Aligoté from iconic Californian producer Au Bon Climat. It was a real treat, despite not being something that I would normally go for. I’d usually go for a seafood starter with a white wine, but this year, I’ve settled for a seasonal veggie option.  

Roasted squash with charred cavolo, burrata, hazelnuts and truffle

Ingredients

1 medium squash – butternut, ironbark, delicata – peeled, seeded, and cut into wedges 

2 cloves of garlic, smashed 

4 sprigs of thyme  

100g black cabbage  

250g burrata  

8 grams of fresh truffle  

Olive oil  

Chardonnay vinegar  

Salt and freshly ground pepper 

Steps

Preheat the oven to 180C°. Place the squash into a roasting tray and season well, drizzle with a good splash of olive oil and mix to lightly coat the squash.  

Roast the squash for 30-35 minutes, until it’s tender and starting to brown. Once cooked, deglaze with the vinegar and allow to cool. 

While the squash is cooking, blanch the black cabbage in plenty of salted boiling water, drain and place in a bowl. Season and drizzle with a little oil, grill in a griddle pan, until it’s just starting to char. Keep moving it regularly, so it doesn’t burn.  

Arrange the squash on a large platter and drape over the black cabbage. Drain and tear the burrata, and place it on top. Finish the dish with the hazelnut praline and fresh truffle.  

Praline ingredients 

100g toasted hazelnuts  

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped  

15g maple syrup  

50ml hazelnut oil  

Salt and pepper  

For the praline, blitz the toasted nuts in a food processor until they’ve just broken up. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse to combine. 

Explore our selection of white wines here.