GORDON RAMSAY RECIPES

The Abruzzo region toasts the birth of the new Tullum DOCG among vineyards, starred restaurants and traditional trabocchi

Pecorino cheese, Passerina is Montepulciano d'Abruzzo they are the only vines allowed by the new one DOCG Tullum. Indigenous vines mostly cultivated in organic farming and with traditional pergola vineyards. The territory of the denomination includes one of the most fascinating provinces of the region, around the ancient towns of Tollo is Ortona, which faces the Adriatic Sea to the east, while to the west it is protected by the Majella massif. Therefore ideal conditions to produce great wines. Fresh and long-lived wines. A set of wines therefore very versatile to be consumed both during an aperitif in the vineyards, in the shade of the pergolas, and on the sea with fresh fish served in traditional trabocchi, ancient fishing machines still in use today, or even in the most renowned restaurant of the region The Real of Niko Romito.

Here the wine production certainly dates back to the Roman age, if not earlier. There are many testimonies scattered about the viticulture of the territory. Like the ancient rustic villa in San Pietro locality recently came to light right in the middle of the DOCG Tullum and that soon, once the excavation work will be completed, it will become the site of the Consorzio's winery, surrounded by a beautiful vineyard overlooking the sea.

Bike to Coast, ride through the vineyards and the sea in Abruzzo

Soon the longest will be completed bike lane of Europe. Bike to Coast will cover, by 2020, 150 km from Martinsicuro, in the province of Teramo a San Salvo, in the province of Chieti, along the tracks of the old railway route, including the evocative Costa dei Trabocchi between Pescara and Ortona already viable. The Trabocchi are old fishing machines still in use and mostly adapted to restaurants where to eat the best fish of the region. Tasty and traditional dishes, raw fish, irresistible peppered mussels, cuttlefish with red beans, etc. So it's not just refreshment points after long rides, but a real well-deserved prize. Stop for example at Mucchiola overflow, with breathtaking views, especially at sunset, do not even consult the menu, rely on the proposals of the day, but demand to accompany each course with Passerina and Pecorino di Tollo.

Archeo-Oenology

Pecorino and Passerina in the first place. The past and the present. In recent years, oenology and viticulture have made great strides not only in the most renowned Italian regions, but also here in Abruzzo. The Feudo Antico Consortium for example he carried out a serious mapping project of the territory, he found the most suitable lands for the cultivation of single vines, he identified vineyards to produce cru, he focused on a rigorous selection of grapes. Low yield, to get high quality. And longevity. And it's converting to biological much of the production. And is dedicating several vineyards to the recovery of ancient vines native. And he is working as well as in the vineyard according to innovative criteria, but that together restore the "flavor of history" in the glass. So every wine is like a journey through time.

New horizons in the vineyard and at the table with Niko Romito

The most innovative and experimental project here in Abruzzo could not fail to involve Niko Romito, Casadonna and the starred restaurant The Real of Castel di Sangro. Here, at over 850 meters above sea level, a very high quality Pecorino vineyard is planted in 2010. "The result struck us first, The chef confesses,« and the Pecorino corresponds very much to our cuisine, it is sapid, complex, vertical . And, indeed, the Pecorino IGP Terre Aquilane Feudo Antico it really has unique features. Like the dishes conceived by the tristellato chef, the result of an incessant search by the bread "down".

"Niko studies the subject at 360 ° and then decides how to make the dish. His sister Cristiana explains. "For example, the tortello with chicken, when he started to study it he didn't know that it would become a first course. He studied chicken meat thoroughly, in all its forms and its structural potential.

"The philosophy behind my dishes is the language consistency from beginning to end, the chef tells us, "The barbecued turbot, capers and gentian that you are eating has been treated almost like meat. Already from the cut and to the fact that in the center there is the bone. So it's like a steak with its bone and the structure is not the usual soft one of the rhombus. The meat of the fish rests in a mixture of water and salt for 24/36 h. and then the meat is treated with gentian, a very bitter Abruzzo root, so there is a series of ingredients including the caper and the salted lemon which gives it an incredible freshness. I think it's like eating a piece of meat. And it's perfect with the Pecorino di Casadonna.

Food at the table can send many signals. Christian and Anastasia, protagonists of the successful trilogy of "nuances", are masters of it. Meanwhile, a movie has just arrived in theaters that tells the hilarious story of 4 readers of the trilogy. A comedy all to laugh about

50 shades of Grey strikes again. He will do it in Book Club – Anything can happen, the new film by Bill Holderman with Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen in the role of four women "agée" who, thanks to reading the first chapter of the E.L. James, they will think well of revolutionizing their lives. They will dare, they will overcome the limits that they never allowed themselves to cross and, above all, they will try to enter the universe of Christian Gray and Anastasia Steele one hundred percent, without sparing anything.

Food signs

If the last act of the trilogy, Fifty shades of red, he went to the cinema in February 2018 and already we start to think about a new project linked to "Gray", the author's book that traces the original story from Christian's point of view, it's certainly interesting to think like the erotic component is linked not only to the Red Room, but also to the temptations of the table. As the pages flow, we see how food goes from innocent to "sinful" following the intentions of the protagonists, who leave cautious and then let themselves go to the wildest fantasy. The first real face-to-face meeting between the two is in a cafe in the heart of Portland. They order hot tea and Ana nibbles a blueberry muffin that she will offer to Christian: they begin to study, to understand what the other wants and how far one can go. To tell us something more is the first date. To impress her, Mr. Gray shows her his dream apartment seducing her with a glass of Pouilly-Fume directly from France: it is only then that he will reveal for the first time his most hidden side, linked to the S&M practices and to the his being dominant. The land then moves to a more refined location, where the two play on equal terms. In front of an herbal soup for her and a venison steak for him, Ana negotiates the contract that Christian would like her to sign: there is no more red wine to ensnare her. Only the will to move in neutral ground and on a table as essential as possible.

If with her roommate Kate, Ana delights with a homemade lasagna and bad wine, it is once again in Christian's company that the bar rises. For their new confrontation, the billionaire shows off the heavy artillery and, to impress her and even a little to intimidate her, focuses on half-shelled oysters, a delicacy that has always been linked to sensuality. Once you get here, you can't go back. They celebrate the girl's graduation by sipping a bottle of Bollinger Champagne. They know his parents at a dinner where they serve chorizo, scallops garnished with roasted peppers and shallots and Wellington beef. And back to "normal" just before crossing the Red Room door for the first time. There they choose to stay on the light and order a very simple Caesar Salad. Food represents, depending on the moment, a weapon used to seduce, to amaze or, simply, to convey a tamed idea of oneself. After all, from the blueberry muffins to the oysters with champagne the pace is really short and if there is a couple who taught us to burn the stages quickly that is really formed by Christian and Anastasia.

Tag: rediscovered

Abruzzo rediscovered. Eat and drink under the pergolas or by the sea – Italian Cuisine