Spaghetti Frisinsal & Seppelt Jaluka 2005 chardonnay

A Jewish-Italian dish from the Venice Ghetto, courtesy of Claudia Roden's outstanding The Book of Jewish Food, frisinsal is usually served with tagliatelle, but spaghetti also works. The dish manages to deliver against cravings for pasta and roast chicken, at the same time. It is also an excellent match for white wine with a bit of weight and drive: in this case served with an excellent bottle of Seppelt's 2005 Jaluka chardonnay from Henty.

To start, roast a whole chicken. While it is still quite hot, take the meat and skin off the bone and cut or shred into small pieces. Keep covered and warm. Take between 50 and 100g of sultanas and soak them in water for about half an hour (start this in the last 20 minutes or so of the roasting time). As a variation, use half dry marsala and half water.

Put on a big pot of water for the pasta. Toast in a pan about 100g of pine nuts and let cool on a plate. At about the same time you put the pasta (about 500g for six people) into the water, drain the juices and fat from the chicken roasting tray into a small saucepan. Combine that with 2-3 sprigs of finely chopped fresh rosemary, the soaked and drained sultanas and the toasted pinenuts. Gently simmer the sauce while the pasta cooks. You can add some fresh sage with the rosemary if you wish.

When the pasta is cooked, combine it with the warm chicken and the simmering sauce. Stretch with a little pasta water if needed and check seasoning. It often needs salt.

Enjoy with a good white wine, such as a chardonnay or perhaps a falanghina or viognier.