Tasting Menu Easter 2024
Tasting Menu Easter 2024
What could I cook for Easter lunch 2024?
This year Easter arrives sooner than expected, but we are still ready with the proposal of the Tasting Menu for this Easter 2024. I warn you, it will be a somewhat unique pairing.
As for the wine pairing, we’ve dared a bit by choosing Pensiero, our late harvest passito, and the menu also includes some refined and special dishes, with the aim of breaking away from the ordinary. Are you in?
Before delving into the gastronomic dishes, a brief but necessary description of the wine.
Pensiero
Pensiero is a sweet wine, late harvest, (the grapes dry directly on the vine) of Malvasia Aromatica di Candia, is obtained from the eldest vines of the estate. Malvasia rows dating back to the 1970s, which produce very few bunches, concentrating an explosion of aromas in the small berries that we’ll later find in the glass.
The wine ferments directly in wood and ages for a year in French oak tonneaux, and it’s the only wine from Cantina Il Poggio where we let the natural yeasts prevail.
Aroma of candied fruits, toasted pine nuts, sultana grapes, dried apricots, dried figs, caramel, orange blossom, vanilla. If Marcel Proust tasted it, he would immediately remember a great leavened pastry. Pensiero has the great advantage that, despite being a sweet wine, it’s not cloying at all on the palate. In fact, it pleases and surprises even those who usually don’t like these types of wines.
Let’s get to the menu to be proposed for this Easter 2024
Oysters
It’s defined as a “contrast pairing”. We pair sweet wine with oysters, not cloying or excessive, but with a nice vein of sweetness to balance the saltiness of the seafood. A wine that must surely have a strong character and great fullness, literally invading the palate with aromas and cleansing it from the sea. There’s no better wine than Pensiero.
Filetto by Rossini
We decided to pair it with the passito because of the great complexity of aromas of the dish, which range from savory to sweet, precisely because of the main ingredients (fillet, foie gras, and truffle). In fact, the strong aromatics of the dish counterbalance the slight sweetness of Pensiero; at the same time, the slight acidic note of the wine enhances the intense flavors of the dish.
Sweet Focaccia
And so we come to the grand finale, the Sweet Focaccia by Pasticceria Tosi in Salsomaggiore Terme.
If you are not from Salsomaggiore, but are planning a weekend of relaxation between spas, vineyard walks, and gourmet restaurants, you absolutely must stop by Pasticceria Tosi. Established in 1962, their products are unparalleled in the world.
Pasticceria Tosi is synonymous with quality and excellence in the art of pastry making. Their famous Tosi Focaccia, in particular, is their year-round panettone, available in classic, chocolate, and/or chocolate and ginger versions. This baked good pairs divinely with our Pensiero, an pairing that encourages bite after bite and sip after sip.
We are excited to announce that, later this month, we will be hosting an event in collaboration with the pastry shop. The owners of Pasticceria Tosi will spend Saturday, March 16th at 3:00 p.m. with us to contribute to a guided tasting with the wine, telling you the story of the Focaccia and their company history.
Book your tasting here!
If you recreate this Tasting Menu on Easter day, please, take a picture 📸 and don’t forget to tag us on our social media!
Happy Easter from the staff of Cantina Il Poggio! 🐣