Elevate your dishes the Italian way with a refreshing Menabrea
Eleanor Quigley, brand manager at Menabrea, tells us why Menabrea lager can be an alternative to wine when pairing with food, and gives us six options to try
Wine may be first to mind when pairing drinks with food, but beer can provide a refreshing alternative. Like wine, beer’s varied flavour profiles and styles can match a variety of dishes making it an accessible option for elevating every day meals including both sweet and savoury.
Italy is renowned for its quality food and drink, including Menabrea, a refreshing lager that hails from the Piedmont region in the north of the country by the foothills of the Alps. The area is rich in heritage, and is the home of the slow food movement, where time and effort replace the demand for fast food.
Menabrea’s crisp pale lager offers a harmonious balance of hoppy brightness and malty depth with citrus undertones, giving it the versatility to enhance a wide variety of dishes.
To show just how well beer can shine with food, I’ve curated a list of six perfect pairings with our signature Bionda lager, proving beer can star when it comes to Italian culinary delights.
Menabrea is a real foodie’s beer, with its crisp pale lager offering a harmonious balance of hoppy brightness and malty depth, with citrus undertones giving it the versatility to enhance a wider variety of dishes.
There are lots of things to explore in pairing food with beer, but a great place to start is by finding common or contrasting flavours and pairing them with related regional cuisines. Italy is famed for culinary excellence, and in Menabrea Bionda we have a beer that can not only do those dishes justice but can elevate the dining experience.
- Bruscitti
A staple of northern Italy and the Piedmont region where Menabrea calls home, this classic beef dish is an ideal winter warmer. Finely chopped beef cooked low and slow with butter, garlic, fennel, and pancetta before being blended with one of the region’s famous red wines creates a deeply rich dish that is perfectly balanced by Menabrea’s crisp citrus undertones that refresh the palate between bites. Often served with polenta or even risotto alla Milanese this is a humble dish, packed full of flavour.
- Lamb and Leeks
As well as Menabrea, the north of Italy is famed for its lamb, which really sings when grilled (ideally on a barbeque) with a side of blackened leeks and tenderstem broccoli. Finished with a creamy sauce of crème fraiche, harissa, pomegranate and orange this is a dish sure to impress. Menabrea Bionda cuts through the smokiness of the BBQ and the acidity of the dressing, elevating the dish and the experience.
- Wild Mushroom Arancini
A brilliant snacking dish or starter, arancini is a staple of Italian cuisine. Made with a mix of wild mushrooms, onion, garlic, parmesan, lemon juice and rice, before being breaded and deep fried, these moreish balls are a guaranteed crowd pleaser. The rounded flavour that comes from Menabrea, with a balance of citrus acidity and maltiness perfectly complements the flavours of these arancini.
- Nectarine and Burrata Salad
For something lighter, a simple salad of chargrilled nectarines, peppery rocket and basil topped with good quality Italian extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and creamy burrata is a great choice. Consider adding some caramelised almonds to build on the texture, with Menabrea’s complexity complementing the sweetness in the nuts, the acidity from the salad and the creaminess of the cheese. - Your choice of Italian cheese
As well as creamy burrata, Menabrea will complement a diverse range of cheeses. A star choice is the northern Italian sbirro – the result of a collaboration between Menabrea and the nearby Botella cheesemaker in Biella. Creamy and rich, the cheese is a reflection of the beer, which brings refreshment by accompaniment. You will also find a pairing in other Italian cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano, Mozzarella di Bufala, and Taleggio, with the qualities of each accented by the balanced taste of Menabrea. - Fonduta
If you want to keep the cheese but go for something warmer, this speciality of Piedmont and neighbouring Valle d’Aosta is just the ticket. A take on fondue, it is made with fontina, a young cow’s milk cheese, butter, milk and egg-yolk. Richly flavoured and silken, and paired perfectly with toasted crostini, boiled potatoes and an ice-cold Menabrea to create the ultimate alpine feel.
- For more information on Menabrea visit the website here