Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 Februaryin the afternoon, I will be at the Mortilla wines at GolosItaliaat the Montichiari Fair (BS). If you are a #winelover, you cannot miss this event: over 640 exhibitors divided into themed areas - food, wine, beer, bio-vegan-gluten free, professional technology & restaurant - will represent Italian food and wine excellence. And, of course, I would be delighted if you would drop by for a toast with their Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG!
I decided to tell you about this wine because in the panorama of Mortilla wines it is the one I liked the most. As you know I love experimenting and daring in pairings - and that is exactly how I won the Millesima Blog Awards 2017 - and for this reason I also studied a dish that would enhance the organoleptic characteristics of this red wine that I prepared today for lunch. Given that the quality of Mortilla wines is more than interesting, the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG Nakrì is certainly the most 'complete', hence my choice.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG Classico from Mortilla wines is a wine made from Nero d'Avola ( 60% ) and Frappato ( 40% ) grapes. It has a beautiful intense garnet red colour, and from the close bows that slowly glide down the sides of the glass one can immediately perceive its beautiful consistency. The nose is quite intense, complex and fine, with aromas ranging from berry compote to vanilla, with a slight
note of liquorice and a mineral and balsamic accent. In the mouth it enters decisively, exactly as you would expect from the olfactory examination. Very soft, warm and rightly tannic, it retains a good freshness that hints at a good evolution potential... provided it is stored correctly! A harmonious wine suitable for the whole meal, which certainly gives its best with savoury semi-hard or hard cheeses and game. I liked everything about this wine except the label! Unlike the winery's other labels (which have simple, beautiful and eye-catching graphics, with the coat of arms in a different colour according to the wine, such as that of the Nero d'Avola), it does not have the winery's name on the front and is built on a beautiful but anonymous and unmemorable image. I can only suggest that this label also be adapted to the modern graphics of the others! This wine deserves to be 'user friendly' i.e. easily identifiable on any shelf displaying it 😉
This is why I thought of combining a dish of duck breast, purple carrots and oyster sauce. Duck is a feathered game whose fatty and prized meat, classified as 'black', is widely consumed in French and Chinese cuisine. This is why I decided to combine duck breast with purple carrots (about which I want to tell a nice anecdote by William of Orange) and oyster sauce, typical of Cantonese Chinese cuisine.
Besides being extremely tasty, this dish is really easy to prepare and all you will need to cook it is a frying pan, tongs, a meat knife and a plastic cutting board! The oyster sauce is quite easy to prepare, but there are some good ones ready-made! So this dish is also very quick to prepare! 😉
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Recipe of my duck breast with purple carrots and oyster sauce
Ingredients for 2 winelovers with a good fork:
- 2 duck breasts of about 300 grams each;
- 2 purple carrots;
- 6 teaspoons of oyster sauce;
- wheat flour QB;
- olive oil QB;
- maldon salt QB.
My recipe for oyster sauce. To prepare the oyster sauce, if you can't find it ready-made or would still like to try your hand at it, simply chop 200 grams of oysters and put them in a saucepan with their liquid, a coffee cup of water, a coffee cup of soy sauce, 2 level tablespoons of sugar and QB salt. Let it simmer for half an hour, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick (but I recommend using a non-stick pan). Then remove from the heat, strain through a colander, add a teaspoon of cornflour and mix well with a whisk. Put it back on the heat for a few minutes until it boils, then turn off the heat and put it in a glass jar. Stir well... and enjoy!
Preparation:
- Brush the duck breast on the skinless side with olive oil and dab it in wheat flour;
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat, put in a generous tablespoon of olive oil and some coarse salt;
- As soon as the oil is hot, lay the duck breast on the skinless side (about 3 minutes);
- Cut the two purple carrots lengthwise into 3 slices and put them in the pan;
- Turn the duck breast on the side with the skin (about 3 minutes)... and turn the carrots too;
- Remove the duck breast from the heat and let it rest for a couple of minutes on the cutting board, meanwhile cut the carrot slices in half lengthwise;
- Cut the duck breast into 2 parts and start composing the dish. Use your own taste and aesthetic sense to compose it, and help yourself to the tongs with which you turned the meat 🙂 🙂
- Add a drizzle of oil and a few flakes of Maldon salt.
But why does this dish go so well with Mortilla's Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG? This wine has an interesting residual sugar, which contrasts nicely with the savouriness of the oyster sauce. Moreover, the duck meat is very tasty, just like this sauce. The Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG Classico di Mortilla does not have a particularly intense entry, but has a complex aromaticity that holds up without overpowering the dish. The good alcohol content and tannin contrast well with the unctuousness of the oil and the succulence of the meat.
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But who is Azienda Agricola Mortilla?
It all began in Chiaramonte Gulfi on 18 April 1902. Really, when I was contacted by this company I thought how small the world is! Could it be possible that out of all Sicily, a land that as you know I adore, I was contacted by a company from the home town of dear Gabriele/Salem with whom I shared five wonderful years of art school in Ravenna? Unbelievable!!! When I called him to tell him he couldn't even believe it!
The Six Degrees of Separation Theory says that any person can be connected to any other person or thing through a chain of knowledge and relationships with no more than five intermediaries.
Chiaramonte Gulfi is a small town of just over 8000 inhabitants situated on a hill a few kilometres from Ragusa. I have wonderful memories of this village: this photo Salem and I took in the beautiful viewpoint of Chiaramonte Gulfi exactly 10 years ago, in May, for our birthdays! There will never be enough km between us to kill the love I have for you ❤
In this sun-kissed place of extraordinary nature, the Mortilla estate stands as a young reality with a very, very ancient history. The winery, all the vineyards and the land that make up the Mortilla Estate lie in the hills of the Iblei Mountains at an altitude of 268 metres above sea level, embraced by panoramas of enchanting beauty. Not only excellent wine is produced here, but also oil and fruit, and hospitality is at home, thanks to a beautiful renovation of the estate that has enhanced both the tasting room and the swimming pool in the garden. If this year, as I hope, I manage to spend a few days with Salem in Chiaramonte (Vittorio, prepare the ricotta for the brioche I recommend 😀 ), I will be very happy to visit the winery!
I recommend reading the fascinating history of Mortilla wines HERE. And to deepen the Sicilian viticulture HERE.
I look forward to seeing you at GolosItalia, Hall 8 | Stand 9 on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 February!
Cheers ❤
Chiara
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