What Padma Lakshmi Pours
The Top Chef host talks global cuisine, wine and hosting tips
Padma Lakshmi is perhaps best known as the Emmy-nominated host and
judge of Bravo's Top Chef, but she's also an actress, model,
award-winning cookbook author and wine lover. Wine-based recipes make
appearances in her two cookbooks, Easy Exotic (Miramax Books, 1999), and
Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet (Weinstein Books, 2007), which feature
globally-inspired cuisine, including recipes from her native South
India. Lakshmi has strong opinions about what bottles to open with the
finished dishes on the table, and she recently teamed up with Napa's
Sterling Vineyards in a contest to find "the ultimate host" this fall.
She spoke with Wine Spectator about her go-to wines, how to pick the right wine for a crowd and perfect pairings.
Wine Spectator: Do you like to cook with wine?
Padma Lakshmi:
People don't use wine in food enough. I think it's great to cook with
the taste of the wine. A lot of people use leftover wine in their
dishes, and the alcohol burns off and that's fine. But when cooking at
lower temperature, the wine matters. My favorite dessert is to take
beautifully ripe peaches and poach them in some red wine with a couple
cinnamon sticks and cloves.
WS:Do you have a favorite food-and-wine pairing?
PL:
I make brisket wrapped in bacon a lot in the winter. I stick it in the
oven and let it go low and slow. It's so juicy and yummy, and I like to
serve it with a deep red wine, like a big Bordeaux.
WS: What is your strategy for pairing food and wine?
PL:
I believe it should be in this order: people first, food to fit the
people, and then the wine to fit the food. I always start any aspect of
planning with the guest list. I make sure it's a balance of interesting
people. I look at them and decide what to cook. Let's say Ralph doesn't
like spicy food, Jane eats red meat and Chloe is trying to lose those
last 10 pounds. Being a good host means catering to the guest list. That
person loves my kumquat chutney, so I'll put that on the scallops.
WS: Your recipes feature ingredients that some find difficult
to pair with wine, like curry and cilantro. How do you approach these
pairings?
PL: I think any good sommelier worth his salt would
tell you what I'm about to tell you: When pairing wines with food, you
want to complement the notes in the food, or contrast them.
WS: Do you collect wines, or buy them to enjoy right away?
PL:
Both. I don't buy wines to collect, although I have been given wine as
presents. Cheval-Blanc, Latour, Lafite—those kinds of high-end wines.
Those are treats, and I've certainly been the happy recipient of those.
WS:Do you have a go-to wine?
PL: I'd say Sancerre.
I gravitate toward everyday dry, crisp wines. In the winter, it would
be Chianti. But I try to be as exploratory as I can be.
The brisket wrapped in bacon sounds terrific. Is there a recipe, other ingredients, or special instructions?
Thanks