Italian Wine Club
June Italian Club Allocations and Recipe
Ciao Bella/Bello!
This month we're sampling wines from the Val d'Aosta, Italy's smallest and most mountainous province. Once the crossroads of Europe - where Hannibal marched his elephants and where Napoleon's armies crossed on their way to victory at Marengo, today the Val d'Aosta is best known for world class skiing and hiking, and Fontina cheese. Although a very limited amount of wine issues from this DOC, Valle dAosta offers a surprisingly diverse and rather esoteric grape population, representing Italian, French, and Swiss varieties. While this international array is confusing in and of itself, it becomes even more so given the labeling protocol, which admits both varietal and geographic identification, as well as the usage of French and Italian. Also, Valle dAosta maintains its own unusual nomenclature for certain grapes: Nebbiolo goes by the name Picotendro and Pinot Grigio is referred to as Malvoisie (specifically in Chambave).
Our selections this month are both from Grosjean Frères one of the top producers in this tiny mountain region.
Our white selection is Grosjean's Petite Arvine $28, an indiginous varietal that is mid-bodied with citrus, grapefruity overtones. Clean, intense and persistent. In the mouth it is dry and smooth. This is a uniquely flavorful wine with a citrus and a sensation of salt in the finish. This wine is more intense than most whites.
Our red is Grosjean's Gamay $24
Traces of earth, oranges, and violets. Medium bodied, persistent light fruit overtones. A great food wine.
RECIPES
For the Gamay: Veal Pockets in the Style of Valle d'Aosta: Portafoglie alla Valdostana
Lay the cutlets flat on a clean, dry work surface. In a small bowl, mix the cheese and prosciutto. Evenly divide this mixture among the 4 cutlets, placing the mixture in the center of each cutlet. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in half being careful that none of the cheese and prosciutto stuffing escapes. Secure sides with toothpicks. Dredge rolls in flour.
Heat a 12-inch saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the 3 tablespoons of butter and cook until the butter foams. Add the veal rolls to the pan and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Use tongs to carefully turn the rolls. Remove rolls and keep warm. Add the sage leaves to the pan and pour in the wine. Continue cooking over high heat until the wine evaporates. Swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Serve immediately with a sprinkling of grated Emmental cheese on top
For the Petite Arvine Seupa Vapellenentse
This is one of the classic soups of the Valle D'Aosta, in part because the ingredients were readily available -- stale bread, Fontina cheese, and cabbage, which grows well in the cold of mountain valleys. Alas, this dish has suffered its popularity; many restaurants simply boil the cabbage, rather than sautéing it in cured lard or pancetta, and that makes for a soup that's watery and uninteresting. To serve 4 you'll need:
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Clean the cabbage, stripping away the toughest outer leaves and the hard core, and blanch the remaining leaves in salted water. Drain them, cut them into thin strips, and transfer them to a pot with the lard. Sauté until they are nicely colored. You will now need an oven-proof dish or 4 oven-proof bowls, and should preheat your oven to 160 C (320 F).
In either case, line the bottom of the container(s) with thin slices of the bread, then some of the cabbage mixture, a pinch of the spices (go easy on the nutmeg), a layer of thinly sliced fontina, and continue until all is used up. The top layer should be fontina dotted with butter. Add broth to just barely cover, slip the bowls or dish into the oven, and bake for an hour. Serve hot, warning your diners that there is melted cheese in the soup, lest they burn their tongues.
A note: There is also a much simpler version of this, made only with bread and cheese, but not cabbage. In this case you should dust the top layer with grated Parmigiano, and a couple of grinds from the pepper mill. The oven should be a little hotter, 180 C (360 F), and the cooking time in the oven less -- 10-15 minutes.
This month we're sampling wines from the Val d'Aosta, Italy's smallest and most mountainous province. Once the crossroads of Europe - where Hannibal marched his elephants and where Napoleon's armies crossed on their way to victory at Marengo, today the Val d'Aosta is best known for world class skiing and hiking, and Fontina cheese. Although a very limited amount of wine issues from this DOC, Valle dAosta offers a surprisingly diverse and rather esoteric grape population, representing Italian, French, and Swiss varieties. While this international array is confusing in and of itself, it becomes even more so given the labeling protocol, which admits both varietal and geographic identification, as well as the usage of French and Italian. Also, Valle dAosta maintains its own unusual nomenclature for certain grapes: Nebbiolo goes by the name Picotendro and Pinot Grigio is referred to as Malvoisie (specifically in Chambave). Our selections this month are both from Grosjean Frères one of the top producers in this tiny mountain region. Our white selection is Grosjean's Petite Arvine $28, an indiginous varietal that is mid-bodied with citrus, grapefruity overtones. Clean, intense and persistent. In the mouth it is dry and smooth. This is a uniquely flavorful wine with a citrus and a sensation of salt in the finish. This wine is more intense than most whites.
Our red is Grosjean's Gamay $24
Traces of earth, oranges, and violets. Medium bodied, persistent light fruit overtones. A great food wine.
RECIPES
For the Gamay: Veal Pockets in the Style of Valle d'Aosta: Portafoglie alla Valdostana
- 4 veal cutlets, about 2 pounds total, pounded thin by your butcher
- 1 cup grated Emmental cheese, plus more for garnish
- 2 ounces prosciutto cotto, cut into small matchsticks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Flour, for dredging
- 3 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon
- 2 sage leaves
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup dry white wine
Lay the cutlets flat on a clean, dry work surface. In a small bowl, mix the cheese and prosciutto. Evenly divide this mixture among the 4 cutlets, placing the mixture in the center of each cutlet. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in half being careful that none of the cheese and prosciutto stuffing escapes. Secure sides with toothpicks. Dredge rolls in flour.
Heat a 12-inch saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the 3 tablespoons of butter and cook until the butter foams. Add the veal rolls to the pan and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Use tongs to carefully turn the rolls. Remove rolls and keep warm. Add the sage leaves to the pan and pour in the wine. Continue cooking over high heat until the wine evaporates. Swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Serve immediately with a sprinkling of grated Emmental cheese on top
For the Petite Arvine Seupa Vapellenentse
This is one of the classic soups of the Valle D'Aosta, in part because the ingredients were readily available -- stale bread, Fontina cheese, and cabbage, which grows well in the cold of mountain valleys. Alas, this dish has suffered its popularity; many restaurants simply boil the cabbage, rather than sautéing it in cured lard or pancetta, and that makes for a soup that's watery and uninteresting. To serve 4 you'll need:
Ingredients:
- A small head of Savoy cabbage
- 3/4 pound (300 g) Fontina
- 1 quart hot beef broth
- 1 pound (400 g) stale rye bread, sliced
- 2 ounces cured lard or pancetta, minced
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- Salt, pepper, freshly grated nutmeg, and powdered cinnamon
Preparation:
Clean the cabbage, stripping away the toughest outer leaves and the hard core, and blanch the remaining leaves in salted water. Drain them, cut them into thin strips, and transfer them to a pot with the lard. Sauté until they are nicely colored. You will now need an oven-proof dish or 4 oven-proof bowls, and should preheat your oven to 160 C (320 F).
In either case, line the bottom of the container(s) with thin slices of the bread, then some of the cabbage mixture, a pinch of the spices (go easy on the nutmeg), a layer of thinly sliced fontina, and continue until all is used up. The top layer should be fontina dotted with butter. Add broth to just barely cover, slip the bowls or dish into the oven, and bake for an hour. Serve hot, warning your diners that there is melted cheese in the soup, lest they burn their tongues.
A note: There is also a much simpler version of this, made only with bread and cheese, but not cabbage. In this case you should dust the top layer with grated Parmigiano, and a couple of grinds from the pepper mill. The oven should be a little hotter, 180 C (360 F), and the cooking time in the oven less -- 10-15 minutes.