Summer in Winter

The warm day and peek at the garden inspired a meal that would almost be more appropriate in Summer, but that nonetheless hit the spot in a nice comfort-food way. In the center of the plate is a salad of our own microgreens, surrounded by roasted beet salad with onions and feta, lentils with carrot, onion, and a bit of guanciale, the rest of the root purée from the day before, and steamed kale with oil and balsamic vinegar. The plate was a terrific collision of contrasting and harmonizing flavors and textures. Very satisfying, especially for a meal that is so close to being vegetarian (I added the guanciale so I could smell the heavenly perfume while I cooked; it's not so evident in the finished lentils.) To celebrate a beautiful day, and our return to health, we opened a 1998 Domaine du Gros Noré Bandol- one of a case we bought years ago, on Serge's advice- and which is in fact proving to be one of our better bargains. For 18 bucks, and now with the requisite age on it, this is a meaty, deep, elegant mourvèdre that still has enough tannin to handle another decade.