06/16/05 Food and wines - Spring greens

Welcome to Vine to Wine, this is your host Linda Moran and today is Food and Wine pairing day. Here in eastern Washington wine country, the Farmer's Market has been up and running for several weeks now. I am so impressed with the hearty greens that are available alongside the beautiful spring onions and peas. Today I want to share one of my favorite dishes using these greens and of course the wines that go with it. Greens are all too often overlooked as a truly great focus to a meal. I like to serve greens with a bit of an Italian influence by serving them over polenta or risotto. Start with a combination of greens such as spinach, swiss chard and mustard or beet greens. I usually go heavier on the spinach because it looses volume and it is sometimes overpowered by the other greens. The addition of garlic is a must you can used roasted garlic or fresh minced garlic. Also I suggest that you toast sliced garlic in olive oil and set aside to use as a garnish. Keep the preparation simple just sauté your greens in olive oil and butter with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. If you want them a bit softer and sauce like, add a bit of white wine or chicken stock. Portion the greens out and use them to top your polenta or risotto. Garnish it with the toasted garlic and serve it with a spring onion and bell pepper salad. My wine choice is a basic Chianti Classico or Soave if you want to serve a white wine. Most of all enjoy those spring greens and visit our website at vine to wine dot net to get this recipe. And thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.