The La Mozza owners (Chef Mario Batali and Restauranteur Joe Bastianich) have created this Morellino di Scansano (otherwise known as Sangiovese) to be unlike most other Morellino’s, which see little or no time in oak. The La Mozza Vineyard is near Scansano, a village in southern Tuscany, southwest of Montalcino.
Sangiovese’s claim to fame is in its role as the heart of Chianti, Brunello and many Super Tuscan wines. When grown in a suitable location, the grape’s soft tannins, succulent acidity and moderately intense cherry and herb flavors make Sangiovese very easy to drink as well as very versatile at the dinner table.
This wine can best be described as “dark juicy fruit mingles with spice and licorice.” The bright, ripe cherry and soft texture makes this a natural match with fresh Mediterranean flavors and dishes. Under $20 for this bottle, now in store at Salumiere Cesario!
We also find that it pairs quite nicely with our Pasta Bolognese recipe that was shared in yesterday’s issue of the “Walla Walla Valley Weekly.” We’ll repost it here if you are interested:
Pasta Bolognese
Ingredients:
½ lb ea
Ground Beef
Ground Pork
Ground Lamb or Veal (we use lamb)
2 cans whole peeled tomatoes (we prefer the San Marzano)
1 onion, fine dice
3 carrots, fine dice
4 celery stalks, fine dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can tomato paste
1 to 1 ½ cup dry white wine, preferably unoaked
1 cup chopped Pancetta or Bacon
2 TBSP herbs de provence without lavender, freshly ground (we use a mortar and pestle).
1 to 2 pkgs of Dried long Pasta such as Linguini (1pkg for every 4 adults)
Salt and pepper to taste
Note: salt should be added sparingly until just prior to serving as liquid will reduce and intensify the flavors.
Fresh ground nutmeg
½ cup milk or cream
Preparation:
In a heavy, deep sauce pan (5 to 7 qt) over high heat brown all meats except pancetta/bacon. To keep meat from sticking we add 2 tbsp of EVOO before adding meat. Make sure that your pan is HOT before adding oil or meat or browning will be an issue, reducing heat if smoking occurs. Once all meat is evenly browned remove from pan with slotted or perforated spoon, leaving fat. Remove half to ¾ of the fat. Add bacon/pancetta and brown reducing heat if smoking occurs. Remove bacon/pancetta once browned. Add carrots, celery, onion.
DO NOT STIR. The key here is to caramelize your root vegetables so that the sweetness comes out and enhances the depth of flavor. Shake pan every five minutes to see how browning is coming along. Once caramelized add garlic, tomato paste, stir and allow to caramelized. DO NOT BURN GARLIC. Once tomato paste has achieved a bit of caramelization (2 to 3 minutes) add wine to deglaze, being sure to scrape bottom of pan to remove browned bits, aka good stuff. Add meat back to pan (not bacon, those are for you to munch on while cooking or add to a salad). Stir. Add tomatoes and any juice from cans. Stir. Lower heat to low simmer. Stir. Add seasoning as necessary, salt, pepper, herbs. DO NOT ADD NUTMEG. Stir. Adjust seasoning as necessary, remembering that this needs to simmer for at least ½ hr and as it sits the taste will intensify, so add salt cautiously. Stir. Just prior to finish add 1/8 tsp (I don’t measure so this is a best guess, add more if you want) fresh nutmeg. Add milk. Stir. Boil pasta. When pasta is still slightly undercooked (i.e. crunchy on the inside) remove from water. Add pasta, along with 1 ladle full of pasta water to a large sauté pan. Add 2 to 3 ladles of sauce. Over medium heat combine Pasta, Sauce and Pasta Water. When pasta is aldente (still slightly firm, but not crunchy on the inside) plate. For a portion you only need 2 to 4 ounces of pasta per person. Add ONE to TWO large tablespoons of sauce to each portion. Garnish with shaved Parmiggiano Reggiano and serve.
