My Pecorino Ice Cream with Gelatina Extra di Falanghina

I needed an idea and I was stuck.  I wanted to use Villa Matilde's sweet flavored Gelatina in a dish with ingredients that would be a total contrast.  I needed a boost. A kick start. So I sought out a friend who could surely give me a hand...Chef Tony.

Make a soup...then pair it with homemade pecorino ice cream, he suggested.  Facile...

Ok, easy...I thought, but there are dozens of different cheeses to choose from. I needed more advice.  A chat with my Maestro at my favorite Enoteca/Salumeria for some more advice.  I walked away with a flavorful slice of aged pecorino from Filiano (Pz).

Ingredients for 2:  200 g of Gelatina extra di Falanghina, 50g of aged pecorino cheese, 50 g of parmeggiano reggiano cheese, 4 tbsp of milk.

Directions:  Grate the two cheeses and put in a small saucepan.  Add the milk and heat until the cheese is absorbed, stirring continuously.  Let cool, then pour into a freezer proof container.  Place in the freezer for about 90 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up any ice crystals.

In the meantime, in a separate saucepan, heat up the gelatina extra di Falanghina.

Plate preparation.:  Ladle the gelatina soup into a deep dish.  Place two scoops of pecorino ice cream on top.  Drizzle a spoonful or two of the soup on top of the ice cream.  Sprinkle with homemade toasted croutons.

My Mini Meatballs with Gelatina Extra di Aglianico

Mini meatballs make an amazing appetizer.  I made some recently with gelatina extra di Aglianico from Villa Matilde that gave mine an extra kick.

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Ingredients for 25 mini meatballs: 1 lb ground beef, 1 egg, ¼ cup freshly ground breadcrumbs, 1 tbsp Carmasciano cheese, salt, pepper to taste

Ingredients for the mini meatball sauce:  100 g gelatin extra di aglianico, ½ onion from Montoro, 4 tbsp tomato sauce, Italian parsley, extra virgin olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes

Directions:

To make the mini meatball sauce,  dice the onion and brown in a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.  Add the gelatin and the tomato sauce.  Simmer slowly uncovered for about 10 minutes.  Stir continuously to ensure that the sauce does not burn.  Add a pinch of salt, red pepper flakes,  and a sprinkle of finely chopped Italian parsley.  Set aside.

In the meantime, mix  (by hand) together all the ingredients for the meatballs  in a bowl.  Shape into small mini meatballs and place on a baking sheet.  Broil in a preheated   250° F oven for 10 minutes.

Toss the meatballs in the mini meatball sauce and simmer under low heat for another 10 minutes or so.  

Serve hot ish…

Note:  For this recipe, I wanted to use as many products from Campania as I could. Carmasciano cheese is practically impossible to find outside of the Avellino province.  Parmagiano Reggiano or Grana Padana can be substituted.  I also used onions from Montoro, another product from Campania, but any sweet onions would work perfectly.

Geleatina nel Piatto...Villa Matilde

Villa Matilde threw out a challenge and   I accepted,.  I along with other food and wine bloggers will use their gelatina extra Falanghina and Aglianico in new and exciting recipes.  The jelly arrived in the mail today...creations on the blog very soon ish...

Summer Evenings with Villa Matilde

Beginning in July, every Friday and Saturday evening, Villa Matilde invites you to spend your evenings with them.  An evening close to the vineyards,with a glass of Falerno, a buffet of appetizers and music. An evening relaxing and enjoying  the gentle sea breeze.

The evenings begin at 1900hrs and end at 2100 ish. 
The cost is 20 Euro per person.

Something to definitely look into...

For more info, call 0823.932 088 or email info@villamatilde.it

Villa Matilde

S.S. Domitiana, 18
CAP 81030 Cellole (CE)

Con le Dolce di Carnevale, Ogni Vino Vale?: What should we have with our Carnevale Desserts?

I mentioned in my last blog that Naples has its traditional Carnevale desserts- chiacchiere, castagnolo, and migliaccio. I was then curious what would be the best wines to accompany these classic desserts. I called up my friend,Fabrizio Erbaggio, (Ais vice delegate, Ciao Vino).


Fabrizio suggested we stay in the Campania region and selected sweet desert wines from the following wineries. I took the liberty of pulling their technical cards from their web sites.


 Eleusi from Villa Matilde.  A passito that is 100% falanghina, an amber color with gold reflections. Excellent persistence of flavors, good acidity and medium residual sugar; superb structure, sensations of silk and velvet. (http://www.fattoriavillamatilde.it/vino.php?id_tenuta=6&id_referenza=10&lingua=en)






 

Next, Moscato di Baselice from Santiquaranta. 100% moscato. It has a  deep golden yellow, slightly amber color. It tastes very sweet, and has a very long persistence. (http://www.santiquaranta.it/ita/moscato_passito.html)
 
 

One I'd like to try would be this Aglianico Passito from Santiquaranta . 90 % aglianico, 10% vernacciola.  Once again, I'll translate from their web site; It has an  intense ruby red color.  Aromas of  plum, dried fruit, jam, vanilla and spices; particular note of cigar.You can taste a  warm, sweet, great intensity and persistence. (http://www.santiquaranta.it/ita/aglianico_passito.html)

And we can't leave these guys out...a Fiano muffato  Privilegio  from Feudi di San Gregorio.  According to their technical card, this wine has a clear golden color, soft raisiny and floral scent with the flavors of candied citrus and white peach skin.  (http://www.feudi.it/eng/file/vini/f_eng_privilegio.aspx)  I am definitely going to have to try this one.

Enjoy!!!