Italian colored spring menu

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Menu plan

• Starter. Assorted Italian antipasto, Umbria-style.
• First course. Asparagus and strawberry risotto.
• Second course. Baked lamb leg accompanied by baked potatoes and green seasonal salad.
• Dessert. Ricotta and candied fruit tart.
• Matched wine: Cerasuolo Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Menu planning

• - As you can see looking at the photo it's a very colored and inviting menu. The starter is rich (a feature in Italian menu) but the first course has vegetables as main ingredients and prepares your mouth to the leg lamb so full of flavor. The cake is special with its filling made with ricotta cheese and candied fruit.
  You can prepare it for Easter or to celebrate a special occasion in spring.
  The starter I chose is from Umbria, the land where I lived for many years. I think it's one of the best Italian antipasto you can enrich according to your own taste and my tips (Assorted Italian antipasto, Umbria-style).
  The first course is a colorful risotto made with seasonal ingredients: asparagus and straberries. It's necessary such a choice to change flavors in the mouth before eating other meat (Asparagus and strawberry risotto).
  Baked lamb leg is the second course accompanied by baked potatoes and green seasonal salad or other seasonal vegetables. To close this menu a rich tart. Ricotta is the main ingredient for many Italian cakes. Test this ricotta tart. Fantastic!
• - With the doses I suggest in the recipes you can serve at least 6 people because you usually can make much smaller risotto portions than normal in a full menu.
• - As I've just written in menu plan you can match a red or rosé wine to all your courses from antipasto to second course. I prefer Cerasuolo Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from Montepulciano vine. After eating the cake you could serve Italian arancino or limoncino, just removed from the freezer ;)

Loretta