I wine, I saw I conquered. I think that any trip to Italy could best be described in these words. Each day has its own special wine and I attempt to pair every day’s lunch with a new wine. I am partial to light white wines like Trebbiano D’Abruzzo and Fallenghina and the favorite of the ancient Romans- Est!Est!Est! However, I have a new favorite white wine- Pecorino. It is an heirloom wine produced from an heirloom grape. Pecorino is also the name of a cheese that comes from the same region in Abruzzo. The name Pecorino refers to sheep. The milk of the sheep is used to produce the Pecorino cheese here and flocks of sheep dot the landscape here. However, wine from the Pecorino grape was produced in the past and then phased out. But the art of producing Pecorino has been revived. The Pecorino grape is found in Abruzzo and Le Marche regions of Italy.
Pecorino is produced in small quantities. I have not been able to find it in the US yet. White wine is my favorite ingredient to add to risotto and Pecorino makes and excellent risotto. And is a great wine to pair with risotto. Pecorino has a slight citrus flavor and goes especially well with seafood-risotto, seafood and pecorino together in a recipe make an indescribably delicious delight!
Today for ‘pranzo’, lunch was a sublime ‘risotto a la pescatore’ -(risotto with seafood). Pecorino made a great ingredient. See recipe below, but here are some websites to check out for info on Abruzzo and Pecorino
http://wikitravel.org/en/Abruzzo
saveur.com/wine/wine-reviews/farnese-
http://www.agriturismo.abruzzo.it/Z_Sito_ING/Home2.htm
And if you are interested in wines and wine tastings, see the interview I recently did in
A Wine Storyhttp://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/01/09/003128.phphttp://www.AWinestory.comThursday’s ‘Risotto a la Pescatore’Risotto A La Pescatore
copyright, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking 2007,2008, Maria Liberati4 tblsps.
(2-3 servings)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 lb of cleaned squid rings
1/2 lb of cleaned shelled shrimp
5 mussels, scrubbed and cleaned
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 cup of Pecorino wine (if not available use a dry white wine)
2-3 cups vegetable broth
Place oil and onion in a saute pan, heat just until onion begins to become golden.
Add white wine and reduce by half.
Add 1/2 cup vegetable broth and squid, cook for 5 minutes or until liquid almost dissipates. Stir in rice, place shrimp and mussels . Add broth to cover and stir unti liquid evaporates. Add in liquid, constantly stirring and repeat until cooked -about 18 minutes Serve with Pecorino wine or another dry white wine. If you can find a bottle of Pecorino, it will be worth the effort.Ciao for now!!
More recipes like this can be found in the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati. Order at https://www.marialiberati.com and receive free shipping and $5 off retail price..
Vino, Vidi, Vici copyright, Maria Liberati 2007
