By Laura Pensiero
This year I’m celebrating spring in a
big way. Good-bye mountains of
snow, farewell freezing sleet, so long
broken limbs and branches strewn
across my lawn. It’s time to look for budding
crocus along the front walkway and or a faint
shimmer of pale green and pink on the tips of
the apple tree branches across the way. Spring
is here, I’m changing the way I cook and eat,
and we’re switching to a leaner and more
colorful menu at Gigi’s.
Wine choices shift too and I’ve been sipping
some wonderful local Chardonnays which
complement the spring pastas, soups and pan
roasts I’m starting to put together in the
kitchen.
A good match is the Palaia Vineyards 2008
Chardonnay. This is a bright Chardonnay with
the flavors of apple, citrus, and very faint
vanilla. It pairs nicely with spring pastas like
an arugula pesto with fresh favas, a classic basil
pesto, or even a full-flavored puttanesca sauce.
The unctuous richness of the pasta is perfectly
set off by this Chardonnay’s acidity.
Millbrook remains a local favorite of mine,
even more so after tasting the vineyard’s 2008
Proprietor’s Special Reserve Chardonnay.
It’s a well-crafted 100% Chardonnay by winemaker
John Graziano who, using malolactic
fermentation and aging the wine in oak for
eight months, has created a nuanced wine
with layers of tropical fruit, honey and citrus
flavors. This wine fits beautifully with the
Mediterranean-styled cuisine that I’ve championed
here in the Hudson Valley, especially one
of my favorite spring meals, Seared Salmon
with Spring Trifolati.
While many would naturally think trifolati
must be a pasta shape, in fact it’s a quick
pan roast typically made with mushrooms
and zucchini. This spring version swaps in
radicchio and asparagus. Sauteed quickly
in a good glug of olive oil with some
chopped shallots and a handful of cherry
tomatoes, this trifolati is a flavorful accompaniment
to a well-seared piece of salmon.
Wash it all down with some Hudson Valley
Chardonnay and suddenly you’ll feel that
life is just a bouquet of daffodils.
