Principi Di Butera, Nero D'Avola & Shakshouka

  Principi Di Butera, Nero D'Avola

Wine: Nero D'Avola
Country: Italy	Region:  Caltanissetta Province, Sicily, Italy
Rating:  Good	Price: $14
Recommendation: Recommended to accompany food, or on it’s own. Good value for money.

We have an interesting story to tell this week, we are presenting a meal that I have never even heard of, let alone tasted. The wine presented a challenge due to some unique characteristics of the food, in the end we settled on a Sicilian Nero D'Avola red from the Feudo Principi Di Butera winery.

The meal is called Shakshouka and the recipe looked and sounded great, so I was very eager to give it a try. The meal contains tomatoes, onion, eggplant, potatoes and poached eggs, and originates from the middle east. It is a staple of countries such as Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Egypt, and Israel. Due to the inclusion of eggs, it is known in some locations as a breakfast meal, however, other countries such as Israel consider it a dinner dish.

The challenge is choosing a wine to match this dish, the main ingredients such as tomatoes and onions might indicate a red, yet there is a spicy component and the eggplant and potatoes might be best served by a slightly sweet white.   To add to the challenge, our recipe was unusual as the tomatoes and onions were raw, which might be more indicative of a white wine pairing. The more traditional recipes include cooking all ingredients, which might be more aligned to a medium bodied red.

Taking all these choices into account and the cooling autumn weather, we chose the Nero D'Avola red from Sicily. The wine is made at the Principi Di Butera winery in the district of Riesi, in the province of Caltanissetta. The area is known for dark soils supporting international varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet, and Chardonnay and light soils supporting local varieties such as Insolia and Nero D’Avola. The estate dates back to the 1500’s where King Phillip II of Spain anointed the title of “Prince of Butera” on the owner of the estate in 1543. Today, the estate is owned by the Zonin family and produces wheat, Olives, and predominantly wine. It is located around six miles from the coast at an elevation of less than 1,000 feet. The local Mediterranean climate ranges from 46 – 50° F in winter and 82 - 95° F in summer.

The following is a great video about the winery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbin7yHhE5c

The wine is surprisingly full bodied, has a smoky bouquet with a hint of wood.  The taste is moderately dry, with fruity overtones including dark berries, particularly cherry and blackberries. There is also a hint of chocolate with slight acidity. Probably a little strong for the meal we chose, but a good drinking wine nonetheless. It could be drunk on it’s own or with a meal and represents good value at around $14 per bottle. It is available from Specs in Houston.

Preparing and cooking this meal was a great experience, the aromas of the fresh ingredients at various stages were really enticing. The colors and their transformations were amazing, it really was a veritable palette of colors. Eating the meal was similarly rewarding, we loved it! What a great surprise finding a dish I had never even heard of, and enjoying it this much. This was a great experience!

Ingredients:

4 medium tomatoes, cut into 1cm dice (400g)

½ small red onion, finely chopped (40g)

2 tsp white wine vinegar

15g parsley, chopped

1 tbsp Sriracha sauce (or another hot savoury chilli sauce)

2 medium eggplants, cut into 3cm chunks (600g)

250ml olive oil, for frying

about 300ml sunflower oil

600g Charlotte potatoes (or another waxy variety), peeled and cut into 3mm slices

80g tahini paste

2 ½ tbsp lemon juice

1 small garlic clove, crushed

6 eggs, freshly poached

1 tsp sumac

1 tbsp coriander, chopped

salt and black pepper

Method

Place the tomatoes in a colander for 30 minutes to drain. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the onion, vinegar, parsley, Sriracha and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Mix gently and set aside.

Mix the eggplant with 1½ teaspoons of salt, place in a colander and set aside over a bowl for half an hour to remove any excess liquid. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and pat dry.

Place 200ml of the olive oil in a 26cm frying pan, along with all of the sunflower oil: it needs to come 1cm up the sides of the pan, so add more if you need to. Place on a high heat and, once hot, add the eggplant in batches. Fry for three to four minutes, until golden-brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside somewhere warm while you cook the remaining batches.

Leave the oil to cool, pour it into a jar - you'll be able to use it for future frying - and wipe down the pan.

Bring a medium pan of water to the boil, add the potatoes and cook for three minutes. Drain, refresh under cold water and set aside to dry.

Add two tablespoons of fresh olive oil to the frying pan and place on a medium to high heat. Add the potatoes and fry for 10 minutes with ¼ teaspoon of salt and a grind of black pepper, until they are cooked through and golden-brown, shaking the pan from time to time. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Place the tahini, 60ml of water, 1½ tablespoons of lemon juice, garlic and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl and whisk to a thick, pourable consistency.

Spoon half of the sauce over the potatoes and spread the eggplant on top. Follow this with the remaining tahini and then spoon over the tomatoes.

Poach the eggs just before you are ready to serve and then lay these on top of the tomatoes, along with a drizzle of the remaining olive oil, a sprinkle of sumac and coriander and the last of the lemon juice. Bring to the table in the pan.

Serves 4-6

Recommendation: Recommended to accompany food, or on it’s own. Good value for money. Available from Specs in Houston.