As they say, “we’ve come a long way, baby.” Vesta Dipping Grill in Denver held a 5-course wine-tasting menu recently, designed specifically for gluten-free diners, and was described as “celiac-safe.” Although this restaurant, headed by celebrity chef and all-around wonderful guy, Matt Selby, offers gluten-free choices year-round, this was a special occasion and I hope they repeat it. That’s me with Matt in the photo.
Carol Fenster holds Matt Selby's book, Beyond The Sauce
What did we eat? Here is a course-by-course summary of this marvelous dinner, along with the wine pairings. I don’t have recipes for the dishes but I will try to eloquently describe them so you can recreate them for yourself and know what wine we sipped, as well. The restaurant was dimly lighted—perfect for a romantic dinner with my husband—but bad for photos. The portions were appropriately-sized so we weren’t uncomfortably stuffed after this 3-hour meal.
Bread: Udi’s wonderful bread was served with roasted garlic. The garlic head (pointy ends cut off) is wrapped in foil with a little olive oil drizzled on top, then roasted until the garlic cloves are tender and can be popped out of the paper. You spread the mashed cloves on your bread, much like butter. Roasting makes the garlic mellows it so it doesn’t have that sharp bite typical of fresh garlic.
First Course: Potato Gnocchi, paired with Domaine de la Petite Cassagne Rose
Gluten-Free Potato Gnocchi at Vesta Dipping Grill
Gnocchi isn’t hard to make, but it is time-consuming so it was lovely to enjoy it in a restaurant. It was served in a shallow soup bowl, swimming in a duck confit broth with a few morels (mushrooms) for texture and delicate English green peas for color. My book, 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes, has a recipe for potato gnocchi, so give it a try. Morels are a specific type of mushrooms (as a child, we called them “corncob” mushrooms because they resemble little corncobs when we gathered them in the woodlands near our farm in Nebraska) but you could use any mushrooms you like. Chicken broth (or Imagine no-chicken) would work instead of the duck confit broth (which I’m sure none of us happen to have in our pantry!!).
Second Course: Baked Local Goat Cheese, paired with Chateau Gulot Rose
This was really a salad, but the exciting thing was how it was served. My photo doesn’t do it justice, but in the upper left-hand corner is a little pot of warm goat cheese, baked with a topping of gluten-free bread crumbs and ground pistachios. When it is served, you are supposed to remove the cheese from its little pot and put it on your salad, thus giving you a pleasantly warm cheese that contrasts perfectly with the crisp salad leaves. You could also put a few fresh chopped herbs in the cheese before you bake it, such as thyme or dill…depending on the flavors you want to complement in the salad.
Third Course: Pan-Roasted Colorado Bass, paired with Chateau Suau Bordeaux Rose
The fish was pan-roasted, served on a bed of shitake mushroom risotto, topped with grilled Chinese broccoli, with plum tankatsu or tonkatsu (like plum ketchup). In the photo, the fish is hidden under the broccoli but it was delicious. There is a wild mushroom risotto recipe in my new book, 125 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes, that is very easy and delicious. Give it a try.
Fourth Course: Colorado Lamb Chops, paired with Poggerino Rosato ‘Aurora’ (sangiovese)
I was so carried away by this dish that I forgot to take a photo, but it was simply two lamb chops on top of charred onions, with a pear-mint salad, smoked paprika oil, and crème fraiche. I am a huge fan of smoked paprika and it is getting to be quite popular, so you can find it in your local grocery store. Its smokiness adds depth to foods, even to the simplest dish.
Fifth Course: Lemon-Ginger Semifreddo, paired with Domaine Tariquet Rose Sangria
This dessert was so simple, yet so delicious…the perfect ending to a fantastic meal. Semifreddo is really ice cream, in this a burnt-sugar flavor with lemon-ginger flavoring, served with a blueberry compote (much like blueberry jam, but runnier) and topped with a crisp sugar cookie. And the sangria that went with it was absolutely fantastic…the sort of thing that you want to just tip back and drink the whole thing at once… but shouldn’t!!!
All in all, it was a wonderful meal and I hope Matt and his fantastic staff offer this again, soon. To see more about Vesta Dipping Grill in Denver, go to www.vestagrill.com. If you live in Denver, you can subscribe to find out when similar dinners will be held.
