Boo-yah! Sunday night is here and it's hotter than a prostitute in church! What can save me from this volcanic turmoil? What kind of food can I make which will taste great and leave my well-rounded gut and palate satisfied?
Shall I brave the ungodly weather and grill something? That very thought leaves me uneasy knowing uncomfortable perspiration would surely befall me standing over a hot grill in the 100+ degree heat. Sweaty grilled food is not going to cut it tonight. Nay, I'm looking for something lighter, cooler, and perhaps more refined. But It's got to be simple- no fuss.
My wife makes a killer mushroom salad with Parmigiano-Reggiano, lemon, and some really good olive oil. It sounded particularly awesome on such a sweltering day. In order to fully enjoy this summer meal, I needed a suitable beverage to pair with it. Eureka, I've got it! Why not Prosecco? After all, it embodies all I'm looking for this warm late Spring night. It's light, refreshing and super easy to drink! It also happens to be May's Wine of the Month here at Sunday Gravy. That's right friends, every month I'll feature a new wine with suggested pairings, zany tasting reports, and other random thoughts about the varietal.
OK, so now that you're up to date with the latest and greatest here at SG...back to the food stuff.
A salad and Prosecco can hardly be called dinner. I required more than that unfortunately (any normal human would, right?). A lighter dinner did seem in order given the triple digit weather. With that in mind, a Jamie Oliver recipe came to me. The dish is fast and really good, which I'm all about. It involves 3 main ingredients: asparagus, egg and cheese. Basically, I threw some of the freshest asparagus I could find on the grill and gave them a bit of a char. When the asparagus is nearly ready, I fried up an egg or two (I suggest 1 egg per 4 asparagus spears). Transfered the hot asparagus to a warm plate and immediately shaved some fresh Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano. Lastly, I added the egg atop the spears and seasoned with salt and pepper. Trust me, it's a nice little treat-almost a deconstructed omelet, but let's not get too crazy with the foodie speak. Siege and I found it to be a nice addition to the fantastic mushroom salad .
So the food was pretty money, but what of the wine?
I must confess that Prosecco is uncharted territory for me as I've only had it on one other occasion several years ago. Now seemed as good a time as any to get to know this sparkling wonder, especially since I keep seeing this wine pop up in various columns and other wine publications. My introduction to this bubbly world begins this evening with Zardetto Prosecco di Conegliano. To be honest, I didn't expect a whole lot from this budget wine, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a little too easy to drink!
This wine was just what the doctor ordered (editor's note: I was not prescribed Prosecco by my physician, it's just a figure of speech) on this blistering May evening. The very pale greenish bubbly had aromas of apple and pear and was, at the same time steely and slightly floral. The vino was bright, crisp and refreshingly dry-tasting with a bitterness most akin to grapefruit and citrus fruit. It complimented the acid in our salad and certainly didn't clash with the asparagus, egg and cheese concoction. I'm totally on board with the prickly mouthfeel sensation this wine provides. It's a brilliant and tasty way to cleanse and refresh your palate. Prosecco is hailed for it's versatility, so I've read, goes very nicely with seafood. Well we'll just see about that.
Stay tuned.
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