Crescendo: Aleppo-Cocoa Pakora with Cherrywood Salt
Make it the LXV way
Spice blend
Crescendo Spice Blend
Wine pairing
2023 The Secret
76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot. 465 cases. Central Coast AVA. LXV's flagship Cabernet blend — focused, linear, and driven by vibrant acidity. A wine of precision, not power.
Wine pairing
2023 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
100% Cabernet Sauvignon from ONX Estate Vineyard, Templeton Gap District. 192 cases. A Bordeaux-inspired Cab — herbal, structured, and built for the cellar. Cedar, graphite, and firm drying tannins promise graceful evolution.
Fried vegetables and red wine sounds like a mismatch until you give the batter something to meet the tannin with. Crescendo — cocoa, honey, Aleppo pepper and cherrywood-smoked sea salt — does exactly that: the cocoa reads savory in a chickpea batter and the smoked salt bridges straight into a red. Sparkling water and a rest in the fridge keep the batter light. Pour The Secret, or the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon if you want the pairing to be a genuine argument.
Ingredients
- BATTER: 1 1/2 cups besan (chickpea flour)
- 3 tbsp rice flour, for crunch
- 1 1/2 tbsp LXV Crescendo Spice Blend
- 1/2 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- About 1 cup ice-cold sparkling water
- VEGETABLES: 1 large yellow onion, sliced into thin half-moons
- 1 small russet potato, sliced paper thin
- 1 cup cauliflower, broken into small florets
- 12 large spinach leaves, stems removed
- 2 green chilies, slit
- Neutral oil, for deep frying
- TO FINISH: cherrywood-smoked or flaky sea salt, lime wedges, cilantro-mint chutney
Method
- Whisk the besan, rice flour, LXV Crescendo Spice Blend, ajwain, baking soda and salt together.
- Whisk in the ice-cold sparkling water gradually until the batter is the thickness of heavy cream — it should coat a slice of onion without sliding off. Rest it in the refrigerator 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, salt the sliced onion lightly and let it sit 10 minutes, then pat it dry. Keep the other vegetables completely dry.
- Heat 3 inches of oil to 340°F. Test with a drop of batter: it should sink briefly, then rise and sizzle steadily.
- Working in small batches, dip the vegetables in the batter, let the excess drip off, and lower them into the oil. Fry 3-4 minutes until pale gold and set, then lift onto a rack.
- Once all the pakoras have had a first fry, raise the oil to 375°F and fry each batch a second time for 1-2 minutes until deep golden and audibly crisp. Double-frying is what keeps them crunchy long enough to reach the table.
- Drain on a rack and season immediately with cherrywood-smoked salt while they are still glistening.
- Serve with lime wedges and cilantro-mint chutney — and pour the red before they cool.
More like this
https://www.lxvwine.com/recipes/crescendo-aleppo-cocoa-pakora-with-cherrywood-salt/ · LXV Wine, Paso Robles