Pairing with White Riesling, Anderson Valley

About a year ago one of our customers, Nancy O'Rode, was visiting the winery with her friends and sampled some of our Alsatian style white wines. She exclaimed with pleasure that she had a recipe which would really pair well with a wine which had body, complexity and acidity to match a bold spice mix from the other side of the world. We had to wait a while until we could narrow down to the perfect pairing but we finally found it with the Anderson Valley White Riesling. Nancy brings this recipe to us all the way from Kenya, where she worked for several years with her friends Ben O'Rode and Carol Noble at the International School. This recipe is from her friend Omari, from the village of Matandoni on the island of Lamu off the Kenyan coast. She has kindly shared this unique recipe which calls for coconut vinegar, which can be found at local Asian markets, and usually is located in the Filipino section. Go out and buy some or use the handy substitute Nancy has provided. Journey to Africa with this stellar chicken dish.

• 2 lbs. chicken, cut into pieces, skin removed
• 1 yellow onion, coarsely diced
• 3/4 16oz. can coconut milk
• 1 cup coconut vinegar (for substitution, see below)
• 2 tomatoes, or 2/3 can of canned whole tomatoes, seeded
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. turmeric
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• dash of oil to brown onions

Coconut Vinegar Substitute:

• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup sherry
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

Use a large crock pot or braising pan to cook this dish to perfection. At medium heat, add the oil to the pan and sweat the onion slightly, then add the dry spices and stir. Add the chicken and brown lightly. Reduce the heat and add the liquid and the tomatoes and simmer until the chicken is done, about 15-20 minutes or so. Serve over rice cooked with water and 1/4 of the can of coconut milk.

Serves 4