This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with the October #ItalianFWT event. Wine samples were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links
This month, the Italian Food Wine Travel bloggers are turning their eyes towards Abruzzo. David of Cooking Chat is hosting and that lucky duck traveled to Abruzzo last year for a press trip. You can read his event invitation and some more information about Abruzzo: here.
If you are reading this early enough, feel free to join in the live Twitter chat on Saturday, 5 October 2019 at 8 o'clock, Pacific time. Search for #ItalianFWT to follow along and add that to your tweets so we can see your comments. Cin cin. In the meantime, here are the Abruzzo posts...these will go live between Friday, October 4th and Satuday, October 5th.
Steven from Wine and Food Pairings discusses Cioppino – Red orWhite Wine? Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm writes about The Food and Wines of Abruzzo. Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla pairs Scrippelle ‘mbusse + Ferzo Passerina. Deanna from Asian Test Kitchen reveals 5 Iconic Abruzzo Winesto Try from Torre Zambra. Jen from Vino Travels posts about The Variety of AbruzzoWines. Gwendolyn from Wine Predator tastes and shares 3 Montepulciano and 1 Trebbiano from d’Abruzzo. Cindy from Grape Experiences suggests you Immerse Yourself in Wines from Abruzzo for a Genuine Taste of Italy. Pinny from Chinese Food and Wine Pairing is Celebrating Abruzzo Wines with the FerzoPasserina, Citra Montepulciano d’Anruzzo and Caldora Chardonnay. Linda from My Full Wine Glass offers Abruzzo Wines to pair with fresh fall produce. Jeff FoodWineClick! brings us Pairing Magic with Ferzo Pecorino and Squash Risotto. Nicole from Somm’s Table is Cooking to the Wine: Lammidia Anfora Rossofrom Abruzzo & Post Roast with Tomatoes and Chickpeas. David, our host and force behind Cooking Chat, matches Baked Haddock with Pasta and White Wine from Abruzzo.
In My Glass
Back in 2015, I paired Polpi in Purgatorio with 2012 La Valentina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo; and in 2016, I matched Pizza con Patate {Gluten-free} + Cantina Zaccagnini Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Rosé. This time around, Gwendolyn of Wine Predator arranged for several of us in the group to receive wine samples. Grazie mille, Gwen.
I received Citra Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOP 2017, Caldora Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2016, and Passerina IGP Terre di Chieti 2017* as samples. It's the latter that I'm pouring, pairing, and sharing today. I was completely captivated by getting to sample the Passerina grape, a native of Abruzzo.
Ferzo, in Italian, refers to a patch of fabric that is stitched together with others to create a sail...for a boat. The vineyard "patches" of indigenous grapes in Abruzzo are said to be affected, just like a sail, by a constant breeze that's called brezza di terra.
One of those indigenous grapes - Passerina - makes up the single varietal wine I poured and paired for this post. The Passerina grape is an ancient one that has been used in the white wines of the Marche for centuries though there is some disagreement about its origins as there is a wide disparity in different regions using this grape. The Marche Passerina lean toward intense minerality while the Passerina made in Lazio tend to be almost creamy.
This one, from Terre di Chieti in Abruzzo, seems to have more of the Marche ilk. It underwent a 6-hour cold soak before being fermented in stainless steel. To the eye, it was a medium yellow wine with bright aromas of citrus, grass, and wet rocks. On the palate, it was also bright with a lively finish.
On My Plate
I had read that Passerina worked well with seafood, particularly, the traditional brodetto all'abruzzese, a light, tomato-based fish stew, but I wanted to try a different recipe from Abruzzo.
On the night we were going to serve this, I ended up having two of D's friends over for dinner after their Saturday robotics workday. One of them excitedly announced that she reads my blog everyday and was finally going to make it into a post. The other friend agreed though he has been in a few posts before since he's been friends with my kid since elementary school. I was actually a little bit stunned that these teenagers read my kitchen blog, but I was also more than a little proud.
Known as Scrippelle 'mbusse in the local Abruzzese dialect, crespelle in brodo are crêpes doused with brodo (broth) and dusted with plenty of grated cheese. It sounded like the perfect match to the wine. You can make the stock ahead of time; but I used the chicken carcasses from our previous night's dinner and simmered it all day during robotics before serving this!
Ingredients makes 20 crêpes
Brodo (Chicken Stock)
chicken bones or chicken carcass 1 organic carrot, cut into large chunks 2 to 3 stalks organic celery, cut into large chunks 1 organic onion, peeled and quartered 2 bay leaves 2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme
Scrippelle (Crêpes)
3 C flour 6 eggs 4 C organic whole milk also needed: butter for cooking
Serving Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated (I used the latter)
Procedure
Brodo (Chicken Stock) Put all the ingredients for the stock into a large pot. Pour in enough water to cover the ingredients by, at least 3". Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer very gently for at least 4 hours; you can simmer for longer if needed. Before serving, strain the stock and keep warm.
Scrippelle (Crêpes) Whisk all of the ingredients together until lump-free. Let sit for at least 20 minutes. Heat a large flat-bottom pan and rub the bottom with butter. Pour the batter in the middle of the pan and quickly make a tilting motion to distribute the batter all over the pan. The goal: have as thin a batter layer as possible.
Cook until the crêpes is a bit stiff and flip over, cooking for another minute The pancake should be lightly browned on both sides. Repeat till all the batter is used; I made 20 crêpes with the quantities listed.
Serving Place crêpe in a shallow bowl.
Dust each crepe with a generous sprinkling of grated cheese, then roll it up. Pour the brodo over the top.
Grate more cheese over the top!
And enjoy. Pronto al tavolo!
Find The Sponsor on the web, on Facebook, on Instagram *Disclosure: I received sample wines for recipe development, pairing, and generating social media traction. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the organizer and sponsors of this event. #Passerina #WinePairing #Abruzzo ##ItalianFWT #ChickenStock
