Castello del Terriccio presents Terraforte

Wineries embrace restaurants. For the column “Ristorante Amico” (Friend-restaurant), a wine producer presents one of his favorite restaurants, which in return offers a recipe paired with one of his wines.

Terraforte is the new project born from the collaboration between Chef Cristiano Tomei and Vittorio Piozzo di Rosignano, the owner of the Castello del Terriccio estate in Tuscany. One of the buildings in the village of Terriccio, once the carpentry, has been transformed into a charming restaurant and tasting area, with a panoramic view. 

The original wood structure and high ceilings preserve the memory of the carpentry, which has been given new life thanks also to Chef Tomei, who offers on the menu local ingredients of the highest quality, perfectly paired with the refined and elegant wines of Castello del Terriccio.

The proposed recipe:

Ravioli stuffed with oil and parmesan cheese

Ingredients for 4 people:

4 eggs, 100 g of “00” flour, Semolina, 100 g whole milk, 200 g extra virgin olive oil, 20 g of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, 1 black cabbage, Salt as much as necessary

Directions:

Strip the leaves off the black cabbage, removing the central core that could be used to make vegetable broths. 

In the meantime, heat the oven at 90°C in “ventilated mode” and insert the baking sheet on which you have laid the black cabbage leaves. Leave the oven door slightly open inserting a ladle into the opening. After 45 minutes, check that the cabbage leaves are well dried. Take out the baking tray, let it cool. Then whisk the cabbage in a blender and sift it with a tea strainer to get a very fine powder; set aside.

At this point, think to the ravioli dough: separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and set aside the latter which will be used at a later time. Add a pinch of salt and a drop of water to the bowl containing the egg yolks and, stirring all together, add flour 00 little by little, kneading vigorously with your hands. It is preferable to use the heat of your hands to give strength to the dough, which will have a unique consistency, and will really be a dough made by you.

Once the dough is smooth and strong, cover with a cloth and let rest in the fridge for at least an hour. In the meantime, prepare the filling: in a saucepan, slightly dissolve the milk with 4 g of salt so that the aqueous and fatty parts separate. Then whisk everything with the help of an immersion blender while slowly adding the extra virgin olive oil, then finish by adding the Parmesan cheese. Put the filling in a pastry bag and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour.

Then roll out a little dough at a time on a shelf, working it first with the rolling pin and then, to make it even more thin, with the dough sheeting machine (use some semolina on the shelf to avoid the dough to stick to the shelf). At this point, brush the dough with the egg whites kept aside, take the sac à poche for the filling and lay on the top of the dough small balls at a distance of at least 7 cm from each other. To close the sheet, lift its lower edge and match it with the upper edge. From the strip of dough obtained in this way, cut the ravioli with a cupboard with a diameter of 4.5 cm. 

Meanwhile, put water and salt in a saucepan and wait till it is simmering. Cook the ravioli for 3 minutes, gently drain them from the water and place them in the dish. Finish with a sprinkling of black cabbage. The main recommendation is not to cut the ravioli but to eat them in one bite with a spoon, only in this way you can savour them in the right way. Long live the extra virgin olive oil.

Wine to pair:

Tassinaia Toscana Rosso 2017 Castello del Terriccio

Ruby red color with violet hues. Pleasant and simple nose of fruit and pencil shaving. Very fresh palate, briny and flavorsome, with good freshness and fruity finish.

Production area: Pisan hills overlooking the sea on the Maremma coast between Castiglioncello and Bibbona. The land where the vineyards are located are characterized  by various and composite morphologies with a strong presence of stones and fossils; the altitude is between 100 and 300 meters above sea level, with a South / South-West exposure.

Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Training system: spurred cordon, planting density: 5.600 vines/Ha for the old vineyards; 6.250 vines/Ha for the new vineyards.

Vintage 2017: Autumn 2016 started with rains and temperatures above the seasonal average, December and January were very cold with freezing temperatures during the day, accentuated by strong northern winds and no rain. Except for some sporadic rains, a particularly dry climate characterized spring. In mid-May the temperatures were often above seasonal average. Sunny days and hot temperatures characterized summer months. The veraison began in mid-July and the climatic trend anticipated the maturation of the grapes. The early harvesting that began at the end of August and lasted until the end of September. Healthy, crunchy and well-ripened grapes produced musts that are not excessively rich in structure, characterized by a good acidity, which supports the higher degree of alcohol of this vintage.

Grape harvest: The grape picking began at the end of August for the Merlot and continued for the Cabernet Sauvignon until the end of September. 

Vinification: Extremely soft pressing and destemming. Fermentation in steel vats at controlled temperature, with maceration of the grapes for about 9-12 days for Merlot and 12-15 days for Cabernet. During the fermentation process pumping over of the grapes and délestage. Maturation takes place in separate masses for each variety, in second and third passage French oak tonneaux for 16 months. After assemblage and bottling, the wine rests in bottle for 12 months before release.

Alcoholic content: 14.50% vol. 

Serving temperature: 16-18°C.

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