Blog VI, Wine and Pizza

One of the first rules you learn, in the final course of the sommelier studies, is that regional dishes go with regional wine.
So, the most internationally famous Italian dish, pizza, from Naples, would go with a local wine from its region Campania.
But which one you ask? And why wine, when the majority of people always order beer. Well actually in the sommelier course we learned that beer isn’t the best match. The classic pizza margarita, or any pizza rossa, (with tomato sauce), is quite high in acidity. Acidity doesn’t need to be paired with beer. It’s refreshing, but it has never been my favorite beverage with a meal.
We went to the pizzeria Nuovi Sapori, (New Tastes) in Rivotorto near Assisi, which is run by a group from Naples, last week for the first time.
On their wine menu, they have only white wine. I guess because they also specialize in fish, or because it’s easier to store, or maybe because they think it goes best with their cuisine. I’ll ask next time.
So we ordered our pizzas, Graziano ordered a Napoli, which is the pizza margarita with anchovies and olives added. I ordered the Dada, which was a pizza bianca (no tomato sauce), mozzarella, grana (chunks of parmesan cheese) speck and arugula. They were both excellent by the way, almost as good as my favorite pizza in Perugia, The Mediterranean.
We drank a really nice Falanghina, from the noteworthy winery, Di Majo Norante. I love saying Falanghina.
The Falanghina grape is an indigenous grape and white wine of Southern Italy. This winery is actually in the region of Molise, which is one of the smallest regions in Italy, next to Campania.
I usually prefer indigenous wines, because Italy has so many to offer. You could almost taste a different wine, each time, to become familiar with all of them. Just think, if you had the resources, you could drink a different varietal every week, for a year, and still not have tasted, all of Italy’s over 300 indigenous varietals! That’s one of the luxuries of living is Italy.
Back to the piazza, I found the Falanghina to be an excellent paring. The best part, no headache the morning after! White wines, drunk in abundance, tend to give me headaches.
I can’t wait till the next time we go, in which I would like to try the Greco di Tufo.

Foligno

Coniglio

Blog V Coniglio

Coniglio=rabbit
In Italian the word coniglio is used often to describe someone who is afraid, doesn’t have courage, or that they are stupid. Kind of like saying “you’re chicken” in English.
Coniglio all’aceto (rabbit cooked with vinegar), I found this recipe in one of my Italian cookbooks and it intrigued me. Now that I am writing it, it doesn’t sound too interesting, or good for that matter, but I had never heard of it and wanted to try it. It’s a traditional recipe from Chianti, and the reason for the vinegar marinate is to aid in sterilizing the meat.
Of course, the first time I made it I didn’t follow the directions, which implied 10 hours of marinating. I only marinated it for maybe an hour, but it turned out good.
The suggested pairing for the dish was a rosato (rosé) or a Lagrein. We tried it with both. The rosé I selected was a local Umbrian wine, called Bocca di Rosa (mouth of Rose), Rosato dell’Umbria from the Tabarrini winery in Montefalco. This is the latest trendy wine, made from 100% Sagrantino grapes. I believe that they are the first to make a rosé from Sagrantino grapes.
This type of wine was a good suggestion, because it’s got good acidity, and light tannicity, but unfortunately I didn’t care for the wine. It had a fake cherry flavor to it, which is normal in young, ready to drink wines, but I’m almost sure it’s what gave me a headache the morning after.
The second glass of wine was definitely more to my liking. St. Michael-Eppan, 2007 Lagrein from Sudtirol, Alto Adige in Northern Italy, an excellent choice. Nice body, not to heavy, not too light, aged to perfection, 13% alcohol, ideal for this dish.
Take II. This time I followed the rabbit recipe, did a 12 hour marinate, because that was when I was able to start cooking and thought 10 hours, another 2 won’t hurt, but…
In the end it was too vinegary, I thought. Graziano said it’s suppose to taste like that, but 8-10 hours marinate would have been better.
We paired our vinegary rabbit with a local wine from Lago Trasimeno (the Lake by the border of Tuscany here in Umbria). I selected an old favorite, Duca della Corgna, Divina Villa 2005 Trasimeno Gamay D.O.C. made from an international grape varietal . This too was an excellent choice, a little bit higher in alcohol content, 13,5% but still within the boundaries of the right balance. For the price of €7, you can’t go wrong with this wine, good quality, easy to drink and it’s a crowd pleaser.
I’m not sure if other people will like this dish, so I’m going to leave it off the menu for now, but if you have connections to fresh hunted rabbit, I would use this recipe because it’s easy (if you’re not in a hurry) and provides a safe meat handling procedure. If you buy rabbit from the butcher or market go for the legs only, because rabbit has really fine splintery bones that are unpleasant to deal with.

muffins

Muffins
I have to say that anytime I ask an Italian what American food they like, the answer is always hands down “I muuufffin”. The way they pronounce it is hysterical! And they get this warm and cuddly smile on their faces when they say it. It’s really cute.
So, I have finally made them and you wouldn’t believe how many compliments they got!
It took me a while to get around to making them, because I had to compile all the stuff necessary to make them.
The big muffin tin was acquired some time ago, then the paper muffin cups, which sat unopened for about a year, made by some German company, then last week the final inspiration…the mini muffin tray! Oh and my favorite new cooking magazine had a spread under the weekend section, on, you know it, muffins! They titled it “Piccole delizie per tutti i giorni”. They of course had some Italianized versions of the recipe like Muffin al prosciutto e piselli and Muffin al grana (like Parmesan cheese).
Couldn’t find the blueberries, so I opted for some seasonal fruit. Made one batch with orange zest and the other apple & cinnamon.
They were mainly for my Australian friend Margaret, who came for the weekend. Unlike me she is very rigorous about her eating habits and only had, maybe one. That left us with more than 2 dozen muffins left. I sent about 15 to work with Graziano, and his colleagues said that wasn’t enough, and asked if I would take personal orders.
Violetta, a girl who helps me keep my house clean, ate 2 or 3 and was happy. I sent her home with 6 for the family. She said her oldest son ate them all, as soon as she picked him up from school.
I gave 4 to Cesare, my neighbor who I have nicknamed the Rebel. He didn’t say anything about them though. He’s kind of a man’s man & wouldn’t want to fess up to liking sweets.
I gave 4 to Daniella & her father Giovanni, my chatty neighbors. She instantly wolfed down one right on the spot in front of me, and said “sono buoni”, with her mouth full. The next day she asked for the recipe. Thank god it’s already in Italian!
Graziano had the last muffin this morning, so now they are gone.
So if you ever want to make friends in Italy, make muffins!

Ingredients

I’ve been busy working menus focused on traditional, Central Italian Cooking.

I am always amazed by how so few ingredients, can be so satisfying.

For example Crema di ceci, (cream of garbanzo or chickpea soup) ingredients;

Garbanzo beans, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, salt, pepper, stop.

How easy is that? Not to mention cheap. This is the beauty of Italian cuisine, simple fresh, local ingredients.

I never really liked beans that much before, but now I’m starting to appreciate them more. They just need a little advanced planning, for soaking the beans and then throw the ingredients together, boil and blend.

This was a recipe from a Tuscan cookbook; in Umbria beans are used frequently as well.

I like ceci beans because they are rich, satisfying, and have a nice, slightly granular texture to them.

Made a classic bruschetta (toasted, unsalted, Umbrian bread with olive oil from Spello, then added your own dose of salt) to accompany the soup.

The suggested pairing with this soup, was medium to intense white, like a Pitigliano, I had to opt for local wine. Instead we enjoyed a glass of Aliara. Aliara is a new discovery for me, from my friend Luciano’s winery.

That afternoon I had taken a drive out to Gualdo Cattaneo, to run an errand, and decided to stop by the winery Cesarini Sartori since I was out that way. My friend Dwight had mentioned that he wanted a Rosso Bastardo tee shirt so that was my initial excuse for going. In the end I loaded up the car with a case of Aliara, a Sagrantino rosato (rosé), a bottle of Rosso Bastardo, an apron and finally the tee shirt!

Aliara is a blend of two native grapes, Trebbiano and Pecorino.

Pecorino’s roots are primarily from the Marche region, though grows all over central Italy. It’s an ancient Italian varietal, and was recorded to have been cultivated in the province of Ancona since 1870. They called it Uva delle pecore (grape of the sheep). Sheepherders moved their herds from season to season, along the way, the sheep would stop and eat these grapes from the wild vines, so the story is told. Pecorino is thought to come from the Trebbiano grape family.

I like Pecorino because it tends to have good mineral notes, nice acidity and relatively good structure. It’s been the “in” Italian white for the past year now and is often offered as an aperitivo.

By the way Pecorino means sheep in Italian, oh and it also is a cheese, remember to specify your Pecorino or you might end up with cheese when you really wanted wine. So it’s a grape, it’s a wine; it’s a cheese and an animal!

So my simple recipe got a little complex with all the wine details, but that’s the beauty of it right?

winter 2010

Stufato d'Agnello al Montefalco Rosso, servito con fagioli cannellini (cotti al forno)

Montefalco Rosso Lamb Stew served with baked Canellini beans

This is an excellent winter meal to cozy up to. Lamb is slowly stewed in rich Montefalco Rosso wine, with porcini mushrooms, fennel, and sage.

We paired it with a 2003 Sagrantino di Montefalco, from the Goretti Winery and enjoyed every sip and bite. Can you say comfort dinner?

Plan ahead, this recipe requires overnight soaking time for the beans.

Use any Montefalco Rosso wine, even a less pricy one will do.

We have translated the main ingredient into Italian for those who are curious or living in Italy.

Ingredients for 4 people:

Stew

• 4 lamb shanks Stinco d’agnello
• 1 bottle of Montefalco Rosso wine vino
• 1 cup dried Porcini mushrooms funghi
• 2 small yellow onions, diced (in Umbria use cippola di Cannara) cippole
• 1 fennel bulb, diced finocchio
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced carrote
• 2 cups diced tomatoes pomodori
• 4 cups of beef broth brodo di carne
• 6 sage leaves, sliced salvia
• 1 head of garlic, sliced in half aglio
• 1 cup of flour farina
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil (Umbrian from Spello or Trevi) olio d’ oliva Umbro
• ground pepper and Sicilian sea salt pepe e sale

Beans

• 1 cup cannellini beans fagioli
• ¼ cup olive oil (Umbrian from Spello or Trevi) olio d’ oliva Umbro
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced in half aglio
• 1 yellow onion, sliced (in Umbria use cippola di Cannara) cippola
• 3 cups of vegetable broth brodo vegetale
• 1 bay leaf alloro
• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary rosmarino
• ground pepper and Sicilian sea salt pepe e sale

Start beans

Soak the beans for at least 8 hours.

Drain beans from remaining water.

Preheat oven to 325° F (160°C)

In a heavy ovenproof casserole heat oil, over medium heat and sauté garlic and onions until translucent.

Add beans and rosemary, stir.

Add broth and bay leaf, stir

Season with salt and pepper

Bake for about 1 hour until beans are tender, but not splitting

Remove from oven, cover and set aside in a warm place

Start Stew

Soak the mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes

Drain through a cheesecloth to remove the grit

Reserve drained liquid

Chop mushrooms and set aside

Preheat oven 375° F (190° C)

In a shallow bowl mix flour, salt and pepper

In a large flameproof casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat

Coat lamb shanks with flour mixture

Brown on all sides in the oil

With tongs, transfer lamb to a bowl

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the casserole

Add onions, carrots, and fennel, sauté for 5 minutes over medium heat

Return lamb to the casserole, adding mushrooms and tomatoes

Sauté for another 5 minutes

Add wine and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes

Add broth, mushroom liquid and sage

Cover and bake in oven for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking to sides

Return beans to oven and reheat for about 20 minutes

Open a bottle of Sagrantino and allow to breath in a warm place

Remove lamb shanks to a bowl, cover and keep warm

Place casserole over medium heat, cook until liquid is reduced to 2 cups

Add salt or pepper to taste, by adding salt you will reduce any sourness

Remove beans from oven

Serve

In large shallow bowls, place a large spoonful of beans, place a lamb shank on top, spoon wine sauce and vegetables over lamb. Place a couple of sage leaves on the side and serve.

Pour Sagrantino in large, balloon wine glasses, sip to taste.

Buon appetito!