Asparagus Season is beginning |
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Asparagus season is just beginning and we’ve put together some recipes to brighten your spring table! This delicious season is short, so take advantage of the bounty by roasting the skinny ones and drizzling with EVOO and sea salt, or thinly slicing the thicker ones to sauté and put in an eggy frittata or creamy risotto. Quickly blanched till they’re bright green, they’re fabulous in a spring salad of greens, fresh fennel, peas and mint leaves, all tossed with a balsamic mustard vinaigrette. See below for recipes.
A couple of weeks ago we conducted a tasting of Puglian wines in Dallas, which included one of the world's rarest grapes, susumaniello. A recently resurrected grape in southern Puglia, it is making quite a splash in the wine world. We first discovered susumaniello wine on our group tours to Puglia a few years ago and drinking it is even more fun than saying the name! There’s additional information below.
Everyone is starting to travel and as I’m sure you’ve seen, prices of airfares are higher now than before the pandemic. A good idea is considering travel insurance so we’ve included some suggestions there too.
We hope you enjoy the changing season, whether you’re getting out into the garden or still scraping snow off the car in the morning. Spring is the cruelest of seasons, always yanking us back into winter, but this too shall pass!
Buon appetito!
Gina and Mary
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Roasted asparagus dressed with olive oil |
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Risotto con asparagi
(Risotto with asparagus)
2 cups asparagus, sliced thinly on a diagonal
1/2 white onion, minced
1/2 stick butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice (1/4 cup per person)
2 cups dry white wine
6-8 cups light chicken or vegetable stock*
2 thyme sprigs
dash white pepper
1/4 cup butter
1 cup parmigiano reggiano
Heat the broth and keep it at a simmer. Slice the asparagus into thin diagonal slices, keeping the tips to garnish. In a large, wide pot, melt the butter together with the olive oil and saute the onion until soft. Add the asparagus, thyme sprigs and white pepper and saute until the asparagus is a bright green. Remove the thyme sprigs before adding the rice. Stir the rice to coat with oil, keep cooking it until the kernels get hot. Add the white wine and stir until the wine cooks off. At this point you could stop the process, set the pan off the heat and continue finishing the risotto 15 minutes before you want to serve it.
Add hot broth to the pot until the kernels are just covered, continue stirring on a medium high heat until the broth cooks off, then add more. Continue this process until the rice is cooked but still al dente, not raw to the tooth but still has texture. Remove from heat and vigorously beat in the 1/4 cup butter and parmigiano. Serve topped with blanched asparagus tips.
*Note: it's super easy and delicious to make your own broth and really makes a difference. Simmer a piece of chicken with a chopped carrot, 1/2 onion, celery, parsley sprig and 6 peppercorns.
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Roasted Asparagus
Put asparagus on a baking sheet and roast, dry, in a hot oven 400 until they're bright green. Remove from oven and drizzle with great extra virgin olive oil and crunchy sea salt. Serve hot or at room temp!
Balsamic Mustard Vinegarette
Put ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, 1 whole garlic clove, 1 ½ teas sea salt, 2 tsp mustard, 1 tsp black pepper and 1 cup olive oil in a jar with a lid and shake it vigorously. Allow to sit for a few hours to meld the flavors, toss with greens.
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Susumaniello from Puglia
For an unfamiliar grape with a strange name, grown only in a small area on the southern end of the heel of Italy’s boot and little known to the general wine-loving public, susumaniello is surprisingly easy to find in US wine stores!
A grape with small berries that were difficult to grow and harvest, susumaniello had almost been lost to Puglia’s Salento region. In the early 21st century, a few wine makers searching to focus on the richness of Puglia’s wine heritage, resurrected susumaniello, and varietal wines began to be produced with much success. As with most wines from the Salento, the wines are rich, full-bodied and jammy with notes of blackberry, plums, and dark chocolate. It is often blended with negroamaro and can be either red or rose.
We did a lecture on wines of Puglia for the Dallas chapter of Women for Wine Sense earlier this month and the susumaniello we tasted was a huge favorite. It was Li Veli producer, one of our favorites. Susumaniello wines are so widely distributed now that even Trader Joe’s carries one! Check it out, and enjoy this delicious with roasted or grilled lamb this spring!
Salute! Cin-Cin! Cheers!
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Because of the pandemic, travel insurance is more popular and important than ever. Most people want to protect the investment in their vacation. Insuring a trip can be pricey, usually running from 5-10% of the total trip, so it’s important to find the right policy that will benefit you the most. Travel insurance packages usually include trip cancellation and/or interruption, medical, baggage loss or delay, and flight costs. Keeping up with the times, there are now special provisions for Covid-19 in policies related to travel disruptions and medical treatments should you come down with Covid while abroad. In these uncertain times, it’s a good idea to have a plan.
Before you purchase any travel insurance, check with your credit card company; you might find you already have the insurance you need. Many travel card issuers expanded insurance offerings as a result of the pandemic. Read the fine print. Also, check with your medical insurer. You might be covered for some emergencies abroad.
Ecco La Cucina has partnered with Yonder Travel to help you search, compare and purchase the best travel insurance policy for your needs. You can contact our partners at Yonder Travel with questions regarding the best policy for you. They are a wealth of knowledge!
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We are excited about our return to Italy this spring! Our small group tours are perfect to be with like minded people to explore the culture and history of Italy through its foods and wines. Join us for a week filled with delicious foods and regional wines. You'll learn a lot and have a great time, just leave the details to us!
Check out our website for tours and availability for travel this year as we have a couple of spots open for our spring Piedmont tours and for Puglia in September. There's a spot in Tuscany's October 8-15 tour that just opened up too.
Call or email Mary with questions or to get registered.
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Plus learn a thing or two! |
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Gina Stipo and Mary Stipo Potter | Ecco La Cucina | 1-972-342-8308| Email | Website
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