Wine with a pasta tasting

[vengroff]

I decided I wanted to make pasta for some visitors from NYC. So, I bowed down before the altar of St. Mario and asked for guidance. "What should I do?" I asked. "There are so many different ways to approach pasta. Should I serve dry pasta? Freshly made pasta? A cool pasta salad? A sauced pasta? A stuffed pasta? A baked pasta? A traditional ragu? Something that pushes the envelope?"

As I knelt, head bowed before the altar, I heard a single word from my orange-clogged Buddha. "Yes," he said.

So that was it, the answer to all my questions. I should make them all. Inspired by St. Mario himself, I would do a pasta tasting menu. I had visions of seven, eight, or even nine courses of pasta. But that would push me beyond my limits. How could I do it? I decided the solution was to combine the ideas into four courses. I've tentatively settled on:

1. Pasta-Anti: A salad of orzo incorporating bocconcini, grilled eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives. Dressed with EVOO and just a bit of vinegar.

2. Porcini Ravioli: Homemade pasta stuffed with porcini, shallots, thyme, and garlic bound with a bit of cream and a few drops of truffle oil. Sauced with a light parmesan cream.

3. Pastaella: Homemade safron linguini in triple-reduced stock topped with shellfish and chorizo.

4. Pulled duck lasagnini: Red wine-braised duck with rosemary, carrots, onion and pancetta layered in homemade pasta rounds with bernaise and asiago. Baked and served in individual eathenware dishes.

The only problem is, St. Mario didn't tell me anything about what wines to serve with the pasta. I knelt at the alter again, and the response I got was, "eGullet." So here I am, asking all of you. I thank you in advance for your suggestions.

[Carema]

Switch the pasta order, ending with the procini one.

then maybe go

Provence Grenache based rose (Coulioure or some such thing, maybe a Tavel if fresh and alive)

with eggplant dealy

Lighter Style Priorat (Onyx perhaps) with shellfish chorizo

Nebbiolo with porcini an older La Morra barolo would be lovely, the Viberti maybe

just a thought

[Craig Camp]

I saw the Pope beatify Mario along with Mother Theresa on Italian TV this week - a very special moment.

1. Pasta-Anti: A salad of orzo incorporating bocconcini, grilled eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives. Dressed with EVOO and just a bit of vinegar.

Col Vetoraz Prosecco Valdobbiadene Prosecco Brut

2. Porcini Ravioli: Homemade pasta stuffed with porcini, shallots, thyme, and garlic bound with a bit of cream and a few drops of truffle oil. Sauced with a light parmesan cream.

3. Pastaella: Homemade safron linguini in triple-reduced stock topped with shellfish and chorizo.

(with 2 and 3) 2001 Anselmi San Vincenzo (from Soave)

4. Pulled duck lasagnini: Red wine-braised duck with rosemary, carrots, onion and pancetta layered in homemade pasta rounds with bernaise and asiago. Baked and served in individual eathenware dishes.

2000 Pira Dolcetto di Dogliani, Bricco dei Botti

Vengroff these suggestions are perfect. No others will do. Be sure to spend hours pounding the streets going from store to store to find just these bottles.