Tubetti pasta with mussels

We pair this typical and tasty summer dish with a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Massaccio Tenute San Sisto and it is a perfect match.

Ingredients for 2 people:

1kg MSC certified mussels, 200g tubetti pasta, 50ml white wine, 100g diced tomatoes, 2 parsley sprigs, 1 chili pepper, 2 garlic cloves, extra-virgin olive as needed, salt and pepper.

Directions:

After cleaning the mussels, place them in a pot that has in it some EVOO, a garlic clove, chili pepper and the stalks of the parsley. Cover and cook at a medium heat until the mussels open. Remove the mussels and let them cool.

Filter the water with a sieve and a cloth to eliminate any impurities.

Shell the mussels once they are lukewarm and keep them to the side.

Use a broad pan to sauté in a trickle of EVOO a garlic clove and chili pepper before adding the tubetti, the tomatoes and wine. Once the wine has evaporated add the (boiling) mussel water.

Cook the pasta as if it were a risotto, adding additional boiling water if necessary. After the pasta is cooked add the shelled mussels and mix in some parsley, oil and pepper.

Wine to pair:

(edited by Stefania Vinciguerra)

Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Massaccio Tenute San Sisto

Bright greenish straw yellow color. Complex and elegant aromas of alfalfa, hints of dill, cedar and wildflowers. Savory and rich taste, agile, delicious drinkability, long and persistent finish.

Production Area: Massaccio is Cupramontana’s historic name, the town that the beautiful vineyards look out onto, the highest, most south facing vineyards. Thanks to these special topographical conditions and its unique environmental circumstances, with cool nights and dry, sunny days, grapes can stay in the vineyard longer than the normal harvest period.

This involves a mild over-ripening process, characterised by the active intervention of veraison by noble rots. The grapes thus achieve greater concentration and unique aromatic ripeness.

Grape Variety: 100% Verdicchio, slightly over-ripen.

Wine-making: Grapes are carefully destemmed, in order to keep the grapes as intact as possible, and then left to macerate cold in the press (cryomaceration) for a period of at least 10-12 hours. This process extracts all the aromatic properties from the grape’s aroma packed skins. The wine then ferments in concrete tanks at temperatures of 18-20°C. Then finally spends time on the lees for at least 5-6 months and is then bottle aged for at least 8 months.

Serving Temperature: 8-10°C.