What Wine Where: African Spice
African Spice: A Multitude of Influences
This week, as part of our exploration of San Diego cuisine, we’re trying a selection of dishes from African Spice, an East African restaurant. African Spice is a part of this year’s International Rescue Committee’s “Taste of the IRC” event, where local refugee and immigrant-owned businesses showcase their global cuisines. Splash is honored to be part of this event as part of our effort to support other local businesses and explore the landscape of non-traditional food and wine pairings.
African Spice restaurant specializes in Somali/East African cuisine, a diverse food tradition that draws inspiration from the many cultures that have influenced the area through trade, commerce, immigration, or colonization. Mediterranean, Italian, Indian, and other African influences interplay in the cuisine of Somalia, as expressed through the spice combinations, protein choices, and the importance of flatbreads.
All of African Spice’s food is halal — a concept particularly associated with Islamic dietary laws, which forbids consuming intoxicants, the meat of prohibited animals, or animals not slaughtered through permitted methods. As consumption of alcohol is not halal, it isn’t surprising that Somalian and other Islamically-influenced African cuisines do not come with a tradition of wine pairings. We considered this fact while planning this guide, and intend to make these wine pairing suggestions for non-Islamic individuals who wish to enjoy and support this cuisine with respect to the existence of halal traditions within Somali culture.
What Did We Try?
This was the first time most of us had tried Somali/East African food, so we decided to order a variety of traditional favorites across a spectrum of proteins, heat levels, and carbohydrates to get the largest spectrum of flavors to play with. The diversity of flavor profiles was surprising, ranging from very mild to piquantly spicy heat. The dishes often featured bell peppers, onions, small green chilis, and red beans.
The aromatic spices used in the food had a familial similarity but their own unique characteristics in each dish. A search for Somali spice blends led us to “xawaash” (pronounced “hawaaj” in Somali) that contains a blend of cumin, coriander, peppercorns, fenugreek seeds, green cardamom, cloves, sage, ginger, turmeric, nutmeg, and cinnamon. We guessed that these spices and herbs were used in most of the cooking here.
We ordered through GrubHub and it seems as though different platforms present different menu options. We highly recommend searching out each one of these dishes in your visit to African Spice!
- Chapati and Bean Stew: A soft tender East African layered flatbread served with bean stew, mixed with African spices and coconut. This dish was mildly spiced and had an almost sweet-creamy flavor from the beans. The chapati was excellent, tender, and buttery.
- Ugali: Grits cooked perfections with African spices. Comes with spinach and sour cream. This dish was very mild, with the richness coming from the heavy grits. There was an herbaceous and spicy green sauce on the side that greatly enhanced the grits.
- Chicken Kaykay: Chopped chapatis cooked with onion, tomato, and African spices with chicken. This was our favorite dish, super-rich, delicious, and loaded with tender vegetables. The stewed chapatis soaked up juices from the chicken and the sauce, which makes for an incredibly tasty bite. This dish had the most heat of all, probably from the small, fresh green chilis mixed into the stew.
- Beef Suqaar: Barilla Pasta traditionally topped with suugo suqaar. This dish came with a generous portion of pasta, small bits of fried beef, and a mix of onion and bell peppers. Suqaar tastes like a hybrid of an Italian tomato sauce and an African spice mixture, displaying the deep influence of Italian culture in Somalia from its history of colonization in that area between the late 1880s–1942.
What About the Wine?
Since we were not very familiar with East African food, the line-up of wines we planned to try with this meal was a mix of best guesses and experimentation. As there was a pasta dish that appeared to have an Italian inspiration, as well as red meat, we chose three red wines that often pair with those things — Syrah, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Sauvignon. We wanted to have at least two lighter, chilled options to choose from in case any dishes turned out to be particularly spicy. For our white and rosé, we chose a Pinot Blanc and a rosé of Syrah.
- Selby Sangiovese 2016: This red wine is mild and savory, with notes of red berries and earth. Sangiovese is originally an Italian varietal, so we guessed (and were right!) that this wine would work with the tangy tomato and garlic/herb components in the Chapati and Bean Stew.
- Raft Wines Grist Vineyard Syrah 2018: Syrah is a bolder-flavored wine and this one is woody, smokey, with hints of bell pepper and just a touch of black fruit. We tried it with the Chicken Kaykay and though it gave a nice umami highlight to the chicken and buttery flatbread, the heat of the dish was somewhat intensified by the tannins present in the wine. If you enjoy spicy heat, this may be a combination to try as the pepperiness of the Syrah intensifies the warmth of the cinnamon as well as the chilis. A milder pairing for this wine is the Beef Suqaar, where the bell pepper notes in the wine mirror the ingredients in the pasta.
- Fableist Cabernet Sauvignon 2018: The Fableist Cabernet Sauvignon is one of our favorites because of its elegant flavors and versatility for food pairing. This Cabernet reminds us of raspberries and cream, cedar, and black currant, and presents moderate tannins at its finish. This wine goes great with Beef Suqaar, the heavier flavor of the beef, bell pepper, tomato, and onion in the pasta works with the Cabernet much as a traditional Italian dish would.
- Canihan Family Cellars Rosé of Syrah 2019: This rosé is slightly sweet, delicate, and fresh. We tasted white cherry, citrus zest, and a slightly tannic sparkle on the tongue. The sweetness in the Chapati and Bean Stew has an affinity with the sweetness of this wine and it's a good choice if you want to lighten up the heaviness of the bread and bean combination. The moderate acid in this rosé cleans the palate and livens up the softness of the dish. We also thought this was a good pairing for the Ugali for the same reason.
- CNagy Pinot Blanc 2018: This Pinot Blanc tasted very fruity and tropical to us — we found hints of mango and pineapple, sweet peach, and nectarine. This was the outstanding star of this pairing test with the Chicken Kaykay! The cool fruit in the wine helped tame the heat in the kaykay, while the chilis in that dish tamped down the Pinot Blanc’s residual sweetness and let the citrus flavors shine. The soaked flatbread in the kaykay enhanced an incredible, buttery note in the Pinot Blanc that was hiding behind the tropical flavors of the wine.
So, What Wine, Where?
This pairing was all about unexpected combinations and experimentation. We’re learning that each pairing adventure has at least one outstanding star — a combination that lights up our taste buds and sends both the dish and the wine to a new level. This time, that winner was the CNagy Pinot Blanc and the Chicken Kaykay. Each one delicious on its own, but together the combination had a sense of balance that made each component seem more nuanced and interesting.
We also learned that in this line-up the Chapati with Bean Stew and Canihan Rosé were the all-around easiest to pair items. The chapati and beans were so mild that they didn’t conflict with any of the wines we tried. The rosé had a similar crowd-pleasing aspect and could be paired with just about any of the food we tried. Surprisingly, the Ugali was the most difficult to find a truly good pairing for, despite being a very mellow flavor.
If you’re searching for wines from a cuisine you don’t know very well, start with what you know about the spices you’re already familiar with (like those in the Beef Suqaar) and take the pairing lead from other cuisines that use those flavors (such as the Cabernet).
We’re finding out that rosés and white wines with a full, fruit-forward profile are incredibly versatile and often bring out highlights in food that you never expected. The CNagy Pinot Blanc and Chicken Kaykay are a combination not to be missed and we think it is the perfect way to try out African Spice, whether you’re familiar with Somali food or trying it for the very first time.
