Last week at the Downtown 3rd Farmers Market I asked Chef Stu for an inspiring recipe to make this week. His first question “Easy, Medium or Difficult?” Not wanting to look like too much of a wuss, I replied “Medium”. This recipe for early spring fell from his lips with such ease as he continued to ring up other patrons. It is that perfect early spring combination with fresh bright crunchy vegetables nestled in the soft warmth of sweet potato gnocchi. Like the feel of a brisk spring morning wrapped in your favorite sweater. Fresh English peas, asparagus and sweet potato gnocchi made from garnet sweet potatoes are all available there at the market.
We wanted to find a wine to pair with this. Asparagus is notoriously difficult to pair with. I was leaning toward an Alsace Riesling or a Gruner Veltliner from Austria with back up plans of a Sancerre or Pouilly Fume from the Loire Valley (as recommended by Food and Wine). So we headed to Marché Bacchus, which is a wonderful little wine shop and bistro here in Las Vegas. They were very busy with lunch, but Jeff Wyatt the owner was kind enough to take a couple of minutes to help me and make a recommendation. With the asparagus he recommended something with good acid but also a heavier viscosity and directed us to a Schieferkopf Riesling from Alsace. It was a perfect pairing.
