Kim, what spices will the roasted squash soup have? Will it include apple also? I think your menu is challenging for pairing wine because of the multiple flavors (sweet, spicy, lemon).
I would go with a dry non-wooded white with a lot of fruit. Or a lighter red. Dry Riesling such as Bonny Doone's Pacific Rim Riesling might be good. Or a dry Pinot Gris. Any of the Alsace wines. For red, maybe a Pinot Noir especially from 'new world' such as California, Oregon or New Zealand.
Or best yet, a sparkling wine. It would go extremely well with the menu.
Marcella, I think you'll need a white wine with some cojones to serve with ribollita. I'm not a big fan of Chardonnay but that may work best here. Or a Viognier? Don't serve the white wine too cold - let it warm up a bit.
Kim, all of Marta's suggestions sound good to me. I think Viognier would also work nicely, with your menu.
We need to start a topic "what soup to serve with this wine."
Shannon, Thank you thank you thank you!! I think I'm a decent cook, but putting "this with that" is so difficult . Now I have a good excuse for a trip to "Total Wine" Marcella
Kim, for your squash soup followed by the roast chicken, may I suggest the following:
Soup: a nice Gewürztraminer from the Alsace Region ... slightly heavier and spicier than a Riesling, less oaky than a California Chardonnay, but a very nice balance to a full flavored soup.
You can move over with this wine to the chicken, or maybe switch over to a low tanin red, like a nice Barbera d'Asti or d'Alba, both of which are smooth ( and not overly expensive, depending on what you buy) and a perfect accompaniment for chicken.
I agree about the Ribollita, a lighter red might be better than a white in balancing off the fullness of the soup. A nice young Chianti, or maybe a Bardolino could be an ideal match, I would imagine.
I just this moment saw Marta's recommendation for an Alsace wine as well!! I often think of the Alsace wines for fall food... they seem to me to fit with apples and fowl and fall veggies..
Marcella, I love Ribollita - will you please share your recipe? As for the wine, I think I would go with Shannon's first suggestion, the Sangiovese - that sounds perfect.
-Krista
Posts: 1694 | Location: Santa Barbara, California | Registered: 21 May 2004
Originally posted by KHB: Marcella, I love Ribollita - will you please share your recipe? As for the wine, I think I would go with Shannon's first suggestion, the Sangiovese - that sounds perfect.
-Krista
volentieri! Krista, it's not much of a real "recipe" but here goes-- If you can find dry cannellini beans, soak about 1 cup overnight, then cook them up with a couple leaves of sage and one (maybe 2 cloves of garlic). I can never find the dry beans so I am forced to use canned Progresso, but I rinse them very well, sprinkle on some rubbed sage, and add a smashed garlic clove, and let them sit while I do the rest. I love cannellini so I use 2 cans. In a big soup pot, saute over med-low heat a big yellow onion with a couple of TBLs olive oil, until the onion gets sort of clear. Add a minced garlic clove, and let it saute a bit more. (Salt and pepper) All the following veggies should be in big chunks -- 2 zucchini (thin ones not the huge fat ones) 2 or 3 carrots 2 stalks of celery 2 leeks (I always cut my leeks, then poke the circles apart, then rinse them) 1 fist-sized potato (I like the red skinned ones, even tho it gets peeled first) 3 nice sized Roma tomatoes (I skin them first but don't bother blanching) Throw them all in the pot and saute for maybe 10 minutes Rough chop 1/2 head of savoy cabbage, add to the pot Stem and tear apart the leaves of a big bunch of Swiss chard. Likewise with a big bunch of kale (I found "Heirloom Italian Kale" at the farmer's market this morning - whatever that is?) Throw in the pot. Add a sprig of rosemary (length of sprig is your choice, I snipped about an 6" piece off my rosemary bush)and strip the leaves off 2 sprigs (about 4" each) of thyme. (salt and pepper to taste) Top with about a quart of hot water and let simmer for about an hour.
Ok, now back to the beans. Puree 1/2 of them into the soup, drain the rest, reserving maybe 2 cups or so of the liquid. Put all the beans in the pot. I got a loaf of ordinary "artisan" bread, about 10" round. Use whatever non-flavored loaf you enjoy. I sliced about 1/2 of it from the middle, and toasted the slices. Then tore the toast into the soup. This is the point where you might want to add some of the liquid reserved from the beans. (Once again I salt and pepper). I turn off the heat, cover it up, and when the pot gets cool enough, I put it in the fridge. Which is exactly where my pot is at the moment, just waiting for tomorrow night's dinner with a lovely glass of Sangiovese!
What a coincidence! I also made a ribollita tonight. My recipe (adapted from one of Lidia's cookbooks) was just about the same as Marcella's. She called for a tablespoon of tomato paste in addition to the tomatoes (I used canned). I ended up using just cabbage and saved the kale that I had purchased, only cause I ran out of room in the pot (!). I also used Progresso canned beans because I couldn't find dried cannellini beans.
The soup was wonderful. My teenage sons loved it. My husband and I drank a montepulciano d' abruzzo with it, cause that's what was open...and it worked perfectly.
Thanks for the suggestions. I think we'll probably end up with a Pinot Noir just because I don't have any whites (and I'm too lazy to go get any).
Shortly I'm starting a new thread; here's what wine is in our basement and here's what I'm cooking - what would you serve (save me a trip to the store ).
Originally posted by Kim: Shortly I'm starting a new thread; here's what wine is in our basement and here's what I'm cooking - what would you serve (save me a trip to the store ).
Kim, I was thinking of doing the same thing! More for fun than anything else. You'd better have a rockin' pantry though...
I like my ribolitta served with a fresh, light, and uncomplicated recently bottled red that is meant to be drunk, not cellared. One of the many small delights of visiting Tuscany in the fall and winter is a stop in a small town cucina for a steaming bowl of ribolitta drizzled with new oil and accompanied by a half liter of the house table wine. It is a bonus if the wine is from their own, or a neighbor's vineyard; stored in their kitchen in a huge earthen or glass jug; and dispensed into an attractive little ceramic pitcher before being brought to my table.
Deborah Horn In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I want to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com My blog: Old Shoes - New Trip
Posts: 5107 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
Originally posted by Kim: Thanks for the suggestions. I think we'll probably end up with a Pinot Noir just because I don't have any whites (and I'm too lazy to go get any).
I'd love to hear what pinot it was and if it did or did not go with the meal.
Topic Closed
of your expertise, but what would you suggest in the white wines?
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