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