Salute Columbus!! - Celebrating Italian Heritage the Tuscan Style Way with Pappardelle al Ragu and A Bottle of Brunello

Columbus Day weekend is here and it's time to celebrate the Italian - American heritage in a classy and elegant way and what better way than with simple ingredients and fabulous Italian wine. Though Christopher Columbus was from Genoa and since we are celebrating Italy we preferred to choose two top Tuscan signature products: Tuscany's wine "Brunello" and Tuscany's signature Pasta "Pappardelle",

Brunello is Tuscany's best known red wine. Originating from the hilltop town of Montalcino, located in Southern Tuscany. This wine is made from the famous San Giovese grapes the same grapes used in Chianti. Let's put it this way the Brunello is a Noble wine, which improves with age. Brunello translates into black cherry and blackberry notes with a dark burgandy color. When buying Brunello it's important the bottle is labeled Brunello di Montalcino ( San Giovese) and includes the D.O.C label; no label means not original. 


Though it is a Noble wine it pairs divinely with grilled steak, marinated grilled portobello mushrooms over polenta and is an ideal stew wine for rabbit ragu over pappardelle.
Rabbit is not a popular choice for many but giving the ragu a twist by substituting the rabbit with beef ragu is just as perfect.

Pappardelle Pasta

Pappardelle are a wider version of fettuccine pasta, while fettuccine are made with or without eggs , pappardelle are categorized as an egg pasta. Hearty sauces make the ideal topping for pappardelle.

 Jamie Oliver's Slow cooked Meat Ragu Photo Credit Jamie Oliver

A simple beef ragu (sauce with hearty meat) to top the pappardelle and a bottle of brunello make the perfect pair.  Jamie Oliver Slow Cooked Meat Ragu with Pappardelle  is a definite winner when it comes to celebrating the Italian heritage with style.

Spaghetti Alla Chitarra The Abruzzo Way

Spaghetti alla Chitarra (the spaghetti guitar), is a form of pasta that is characterized by the square section, the thickness is about 2 mm. The surface of this pasta is very porous, therefore suitable to accommodate sauces and condiments. The Abruzzo region has been given credit for creating Spaghetti alla Chitarra also known as "maccheroni all chitarra". The Abruzzo way of preparing this dish involves a very rich sauce.

The sauce also known as ragu, is a compote of beef, lamb and pork, which all comes together with tomatoes, onions, garlic. and extra virgin olive oil to create a rich, flavorful and delicious sauce. The spaghetti is prepared by hand with only fresh ingredients and 00 flour. Once the pasta dough has been made, it needs to long rest in a cool place before it arrives to the guitar. The guitar is composed of many steel wires of mm distance from each other.

 We came across Blog 52, a wonderful blog, which features step by step how to make spaghetti alla chitarra and how to make the traditonal Abruzzo ragu. An ideal wine pairing with this dish would be with a local wine or Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Doc. Another popular way to prepare this traditional Abruzzo dish, and also for a much easier and lighter version, would be preparing a simple tomato and basil sauce.


Image credit: Google