VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3
APRIL 2010
IN THIS ISSUE:
SPRING IS FINALLY HERE – CELEBRATE WITH RIOJA
RIOJA – A GREAT VALUE
@RIOJAWINE TWITTER SURPASSES 1,000
RIOJA RETAURANT WEEK IN NEW YORK AND CHICAGO
RESPONDING TO READERS' COMMENTS
FROM JILL’S COOKBOOK
TALK TO US
Do you have a favorite recipe and Rioja wine you’d like us to try? Have a great story about wine or Rioja that you’d like us to print? Or a question you’ve been wanting to ask about food and wine pairing, travel to Spain or other Rioja topics? Talk to us! Send us your ideas, recipes or stories. Simply contact newsletter@VibrantRioja.com
Salud!
The Vibrant Rioja Wine Team
SPRING IS FINALLY HERE – CELEBRATE WITH RIOJA
While spring-mode is in effect, you should be changing things up a bit – from your daily routines, to the clothes you’re wearing, and even what’s listed on your drink menu. As the days get warmer, we tend to turn towards fruitier, lighter-bodied wines with crisp acidity. But don’t let this new season scare your wine budget because there are some really wonderful wines at any price-point. Great examples are wines coming from Rioja. With the presence of grapes such as tempranillo, and garnacha you will get your perfect dosage of fresh fruit and good acidity. And all for a great price – who could ask for more?
This week, The New York Times published an article on its Dining & Wine section detailing the great taste and value Rioja crianzas have to offer. Eric Asimov, accompanied with the wine panel, tasted twenty different Rioja crianzas to find out why they’re one of the world’s great wine values. What they found were usually two major styles with crianzas: lighter, silkier and elegant or denser, darker, heavier and more powerful. Regardless of their preference, everyone agreed that “what’s important is to understand that no other category of Spanish red wine is as consistently satisfying and as good a value as Rioja crianza.”
You can read the full article here.
This is an exciting and proud moment for us Rioja wine lovers; we finally surpassed our goal of 1000 twitter followers, and it’s all because of you! Your wonderful support has made the Rioja word spread at high speed, and soon enough we will surpass yet another goal. We are all about using social media tools in order to create interaction and involvement and so far, we have gotten some great feedback from everyone, this keeps us working hard. Your following allows us to update you with the latest news and information on Rioja and every time the word spreads it encourages us to work even harder, so keep up the great work and stay tuned for more Rioja coming your way!
And Facebook is almost there with close to 900 fans! So keep recommending your friends to follow us and keep talking to us!
Rioja Restaurant Week is coming back to New York City and Chicago. From May 13 – 27, you can experience some of these cities best restaurants featuring some of the best wines in the world. Promotions include prix-fixe lunches and dinners with a glass of Rioja.
For more information on participating restaurants and promotions, please visit www.riojarestaurantweek.com.
Unfortunately, we were too into the Irish spirit (and the Guinnesses and Rioja wine) and we made a terrible mistake, which you readers promptly told us about: the correct way to say it is ST. PADDY’S and not St. Patty’s. So we apologize for our mistake and we can assure you, we were all Irish that day.
Remember that if you have a question or want to share anything with us – including recipes, trips to Spain, interesting stories, etc… - you can email us at newsletter@vibrantrioja.com.
FROM JILL’S COOKBOOK – Pappardelle with Peas
Jill Paradiso is a classically trained chef that has worked in the kitchens of Mario Batali and Jean-Georges Vongerichten – you might recognize them. She has also done recipe development for Martha Stewart, Whole Foods Markets, and Dean and Deluca and she’s been kind enough to share some of her recipes with us.
PAPPARDELLE WITH PEAS
Spring has sprung and nothing says Spring like fresh peas! The following recipe is an adaptation of a recipe I learned while working in one of the kitchens of Mario Batali. I have made it for countless friends, and it is easily one of my favorite recipes.
This recipe pairs fantastically with a barrel fermented white Rioja. Enjoy! And if you have any questions or comments regarding the recipes, you can email me at jill@vibrantrioja.com.
Note: Pappardelle are fresh pasta ribbons about 3/4 inch wide. They marry well with this sauce because they hold onto it so well. If you can't find pappardelle, do not fear...fettuccine or tagliatelle are perfectly good substitutes.
Serves 8 as an appetizer or 4 as a main course
Ingredients
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
3 cups peas (freshly shucked are best, but frozen will work as well)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound fresh pappardelle
1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated, if possible
1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, torn in half
sea salt
red pepper flakes (peperoncino), optional
1 tablespoon honey, for garnish
Directions
1.Bring 6 quarts of well salted water to a boil
2. While water is coming to a boil heat the oil in a large saute pan until it is just smoking. Add the onion and a pinch of sea salt. Cook 2 minutes over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Add in 2 cups of peas and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to medium-low and saute until peas are softened and cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Place pea and onion mixture in a food processor. Add in 1/2 cup of the grated cheese and 1/4 cup of mint and and pulse until coarsely pureed.
4. Melt the butter in the saute pan, add the remaining peas, and cook over medium heat until just softened,about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the pea puree to the whole peas and stir to incorporate both pea mixtures.
5. When the pasta water has reached a rolling boil, add in fresh pasta. Ladle about 1/4 cup of the starchy cooking water into the pan with the pea puree and stir to loosen the sauce. Reserve one more cup of the pasta water. Cook the pasta until slightly underdone and drain well. Immediately toss the pasta into the pan with the pea mixture and place over medium heat. Stir gently to mix well, adding a little pasta water to achieve the correct texture- not too dry and not too wet.- the pasta should be dressed like the greens of a salad. Add the remaining cheese and mint leaves, and toss to combine. Garnish with the honey and serve immediately.
