(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento) You can tell by now that I love pasta.
I have posted many types of pasta recipes but the one thing I keep noticing is that pasta dishes taste the best when its preparation are kept simple.
You can, however, go off the path, and if done right, you can experiment a little just by melding a few ingredients…with exceptional savory results.
(Photo: Kevin Martin Jose)
For this new recipe, I am using key Italian ingredients and relying on pasta water to combine the flavors in a deliciously creamy dish.
Need less to say, even the most simplest of dishes will provide you with deliciously complex nuances with every bite.
A good wine will actually elevate the experience and enhance all the flavors. Daou Vineyards does exactly that (and more) with their Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
Let‘s get cooking!
Menu: Mafaldine pasta with mushrooms, pecorino-romano cheese and toasted sage.
Wine pairing: 2019 Daou Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Paso Robles, California)
Serves 3-4
Ingredients
3 garlic cloves roughly chopped
1 cup of fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt & pepper each
1/4 cup extra Virgin olive oil https://www.bestsicily.com/partanna-extra-virgin-olive-oil-1l-34-fl-oz/
2 tablespoons Pecorino Romano cheese
3 tablespoons Parmigiano cheese
1/2-3-4 cup pasta water
1/2 pack Mafaldine pasta
*Extra cheese and cracked pepper for garnishing before serving.
Special thanks to Partanna for providing this exquisite extra Virgin olive oil and the Mafaldine pasta.
(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
Directions
In a large frying pan, heat extra Virgin olive oil on medium heat. Add sage leaves and reduce heat to low. Cook until leaves begin to slightly brown. Remove from heat and carefully remove sage leaves from pan and place on a separate plate. Save the olive oil.
Return pan to stove top, add garlic and turn on heat to low-medium. Let garlic slowly cook for about 5 minutes (do not let garlic brown). Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes. Once done remove pan from heat.
In a large pot, boil salted water (add about 1/2 tablespoon of sea salt to boiling water) and cook pasta per package directions (preferably al dente). Save about 1 cup of pasta water.
Once pasta is ready, drain pasta and place pasta on the large frying pan (make sure pan is not on top of heat source). Gently mix well pasta with mushrooms.
Intermittently, mix cheese and a little pasta water at a time, ensuring that you mix the pasta well and continuously. Pasta should begin to look creamy. Repeat as necessary until the cheese and pasta water are used or until you reach desired consistency.
Serve it up!
As soon as the pasta is mixed well, you want to service it right away.
Once you place a generous amount on each plate, top with toasted sage leaves (you can also crumble the sage and place on top) and finish with a little extra cheese and freshly cracked pepper.
Buon appetito! Enjoy!
(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
About the wine...
The year 2019 produced possibly the greatest vintage DAOU Mountain has ever experienced. Heavy rains during dormancy, combined with moderate temperatures and extended hang time, yielded the latest harvest Daou has seen to date.
The ample winter rainfall—close to 40 inches total— gave way to a healthy cover crop that replenished the soil’s micronutrient levels. The climate throughout the growing season was perfect, with temperatures mostly in the 80s and 90s, and not a single day reaching 100 degrees during the entire year.
The harvested grapes arrived in exquisite condition— showing no damage, sunburn or shriveling. The resulting wines are marked by elegance and power, with moderate alcohols and great acidity that promise excellent longevity. 2019 Daou Cabernet Sauvignon - Reserve (Paso Robles, California)
(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
Tasting notes:
The DAOU Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a shining example of world-class Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles.
This wine’s magnificent nose is quintessential Cabernet Sauvignon, offering scents of dark chocolate, licorice, blackberries and cured meats with a touch of cedar.
The palate delivers an explosion of fresh, dark berry fruits. Flavors of blackberry, juicy black cherry, cassis and cocoa are underscored by lovely accents of blueberry and raspberry.
A silky palate is nicely integrated with hints of toasty oak, graphite, mineral and forest floor. Ripe fruits and exotic spices linger on a generous, full-bodied finish that promises excellent age-worthiness.
Grapes:
75% Cabernet Sauvignon
21% Petit Verdot
2% Merlot
2% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 14.7%
Food pairing: Also pairs wonderfully with steaks,
For more information, visit: https://daouvineyards.com/trade/wines/2019-reserve-cabernet-sauvignon-2
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Special thanks to Daou Vineyards for this unique opportunity to experience and pair this lovely wine. —————————————————————
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(Photo: Shai Pal)