1st Day of Spring Ride to Bardolino

After Monday and Tuesday, in which a cold front that included rain passed through Verona from Greenland, the 1st day of Spring turned out to be gorgeous.

It was an easy ride with everyone enjoying the sunshine and clear skies. It was one of those days when everything looked so nice....the peach trees blooming, Monte Baldo resplendent in the distance with snow on its peak, the harbor of Bardolino, and Lake Garda.


We stopped for espresso at a lake front coffee bar and stayed way too long; it was just too nice.


We returned to Boscomantico for lunch which today featured homemade pappardelle with wild boar. Hmmmmm.


A fun day!


Photos: peach trees in bloom with snow capped Monte Baldo in the background; riding through a vineyard; vineyards (you can see more mountains in the distance); the Municipal building at Bardolino (we had our espresso at the cafe to the right)

If you can find wild boar here is a recipe that serves 8 that you can try:
Pappardelle in Boar Ragú
(A web-exclusive recipe from Italian Cooking and Living):
Recipe from Chef Don Curtiss
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 pounds wild boar sirloin, cut into 1" cubes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
12 wild mushrooms, scrubbed and thinly sliced
24 basil leaves, julienned
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
2 cups Barolo wine
2 cups brown veal stock or chicken broth
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 cups canned chopped plum tomatoes
2 cups canned strained plum tomatoes
1 1/2 pounds fresh pappardelle or tagliatelle
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil until it is smoking. Add the boar, season with salt and pepper, and brown the boar on all sides, stirring often, about 10 minutes over medium heat. Fold in the onions, mushrooms, basil, rosemary, and oregano; cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes, then add the Barolo, brown veal stock, vinegar, the chopped tomatoes, and the strained tomatoes. Bring to a gentle boil; lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 to 3 hours, or until the boar is tender and the sauce is thick.
When the ragú is almost ready, bring 8 quarts of water to a boil. Drop in the pappardelle and salt, and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water; return to the pot. Fold in the ragú and half of the Pecorino, and toss until the pappardelle are evenly coated; you may need to add a little of the reserved cooking water to dilute the sauce. Transfer to a terra-cotta serving bowl, sprinkle with the remaining Pecorino and the parsley, and serve hot.