European Maritime Day: three sea recipes all to be enjoyed

With its mild temperatures and long days, May invites us to travel and discover wonderful corners of our Italy. What better opportunity to finally celebrate the time of outings to the sea? Because, here in Carpineto, despite being lovers of everything to do with the countryside and tours in the midst of Nature, we also surrender ourselves willingly to the undisputed charm of the waves washing the shore.

On occasion of the European Maritime Day, celebrated during the month of May, we would, therefore, like to recommend some small sea and costal food pairings to delight your palate. This is because for the true wine lover, the journey is such when the beauty of the landscape is associated to knowledge of the wine-and-food culture. And we start precisely from here: from Tuscany. Our region offers views of rare beauty, even on the coast, as well as amongst the famous hills adorned with the cypress trees of the hinterland.

Cacciucco alla Livornese and Dogajolo Rosato

Squid, octopus, molluscs, cuttlefish, angler fish, crustaceans… and then: tomato, onion, white wine, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, garlic, herbs. Cacciucco alla livornese is a true sea food glory. An intense and tasty fish soup, whose difficulty to prepare lies precisely in its variety. Indeed, each fish requires different cooking times. The basic philosophy of the dish is that of using up the small shellfish making up the tasty “residue” of the daily catch.

A recipe now famous throughout Italy that we pair with the Carpineto Dogajolo Rosato. A wine of balanced acidity and good intensity that accompanies the structure of the dish well: from the sweetness of the fish to the acidity of the tomato, up to the aromas that dress and blend perfectly with the hints of blackcurrants, apple, morello cherries and grapevine flowers that are released in the glass. The perfect idea for a lunch by the sea, ideally set in the stupendous Maremma.

Sicilian sword fish Caponata and Farnito Chardonnay

Caponata is one of the most famous side-dishes of Sicilian cuisine, consisting of aubergines, cherry tomatoes, black olives, onion, celery and extra virgin olive oil to dress. In this version that we propose there is sword fish to add complexity and structure to the recipe, transforming it into a true main dish with a marked sweet and sour taste. The aubergines are browned in a pan (if you like you can even deep fry them) whereas the sword fish is slow cooked, submerged in the fresh Datterino tomato sauce.

A dish that can even be served cold and for this reason ideal for the warmest days of the year at the sea. Our choice of wine pairing falls on our Farnito Chardonnay: well‑structured, persistent and balanced; but above all an extremely versatile wine. Ideal to accompany a dish which is so heaped in flavours and aromas.

Linguine with amberjack ragout, buffalo milk mozzarella cream and Farnito Brut

And to round off: a sea pasta dish. Did you know that the amberjack, a highly appreciated fish in our seas, goes really well with buffalo milk mozzarella? Tasting is believing! There are many chefs who experiment this gastronomic blend in their restaurants. Here we propose a full (yet at the same time refined) linguina pasta dressed in an amberjack ragout, slow cooked in a pan with tomato, oil, onion, salt and basil; then enriched by this cream prepared with diced buffalo mozzarella, milk and salt. Blended and used as the base of the dish.

The wine pairing? Carpineto Farnito Brut. An elegant and persistent sparkling wine that enriches and gives the already intense and structured dish even more substance.

Three different corners of Italy, three different ways of interpreting cuisine and tastes. All of them tasty to enjoy your relaxing day accompanied by the music of the waves to the full.