Fendi: Fashion and Wine

Several years ago, we had the pleasure of eating lunch with the enologist and the owner of Tenuta Le Corgne, Andrea Formilli Fendi at Enoteca Properzio. 
The winery was getting started, and the enologist was speaking about the Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinot Noir that they were producing at that time, about 300 bottles.  This year we were fortunate enough to visit the winery, Tenuta Le Corgne in the Northern Umbrian town of Valfabricca.  You don't just drop into vineyards like this, you have to be invited, and getting there is an adventure since the road is narrow, twisty and mostly gravel. 
Fendi, is a luxury brand specializing in fashion and leather goods.  They were founded in 1925 by Adele and Edoardo Fendi.  The next generation were 5 daughters.  If you know anything about Italy, you know that the men usually take over the family business, but since there was no male heir, the girls continued the brands' overwhelming success.  Franca Fendi's son, Andrea decided to grow grapes at the estate his mother had bought in the 1990's.  Originally a country estate where the family would gather for holidays, now the estate is an organic vineyard producing world class wines. 

 The winery sits on a hill overlooking a valley, with only 24 acres of vineyards, growing Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, and Merlot.  They have a few acres in Montefalco as well, growing some Sagrantino and Trebbiano Spoletino.
As you can tell it was a rainy, windy day up on the hill, and we were soon inside the winery discussing the process with the enologist, Martin.  Martin explained that the winery is all organic, the detris from the grape crush is put back into the limestone sandy soil, and to quote him, "this paradise must be maintained, not destroyed." 

Oak from Burgundy for the barrels

The grape crush had happened, and we were smelling the fermentation process as we came into the room filled with tanks.  This year there will be about 90,000 bottles of wine produced.  This wine will be hard to come by in the States, most is shipped within Europe and Asia.  

Our guide through the winery, Martin

Martin is the enologist at Formilli Fendi, and he is a genius.  If you have an opportunity to sample these wines, you will be amazed.  The Sauvignon Blanc is truly delightful, with a nose of white flowers, and citrus...many times a Sauvignon Blanc will be flat without any real flavor, acid or balance.  

We moved into the tasting room, and were surrounded by art, and wine; my favorite things

The door from the tasting room is historic, since it is the door to the original Fendi store in Rome

This white wine is Trebbiano Spoletino (indigenous to Umbria) and a bit of Sauvignon Blanc

Casa Franca is 50% Sagrantino, almost 50% Sangiovese and a bit of Merlot

Of course we tried these wines, and loved them, each with a distinctive nose and characteristics that make them unique and definitely worth buying if you can find them.  If you are in Italy, stop by Enoteca Properzio, they carry the wines and are happy to pour them for you.  

Another reason to love the Fendi family is that they provided 2.2 million Euro to restore the Trevi fountain in Rome.  

Our afternoon ended with us trundling down the hill to lunch with the administrator of the winery.  Grazie Tenuta Le Corgne for an unforgettable day.  

White Lasagna with Sausage and Truffles

Umbria is known as the green heart of Italy because it is land-locked; it doesn't border another country or either coast.  Often bypassed by visitors for it's more glittering neighbor, Tuscany, Umbria has a wealth of history predating the Romans, amazing scenery and magnificent cuisine.  The culinary treasures here are black and white truffles, pork in any iteration, pecorino cheese, black celery and cippolini that earn a DOC seal, lentils, farro, olive oil, and Sagrantino wines all contribute to the bounty of delicious foods that are served not only in homes but in the restaurants and shops. 

A week ago, Dr. C. and I were invited to a dinner in Todi at a friends' house.  She confessed that she hadn't made the lasagna, but had bought it at their favorite pasta shop---I'm all for making things easy, and this lasagna was memorable.  Thin sheets of pasta sandwiched with pork sausage, in a creamy truffle sauce.  I have dreamed of this pasta for a week, and today decided to make it.  It's Sunday and that calls for something special for Sunday lunch, the UK isn't the only place that reveres a Sunday lunch.
Yesterday Dr. C. and I traveled to Bevagna to Scottadito Tagliavento to pick up some sausages for the lasagna and ended up with a bisteka for last night's dinner. 

I'd say that for the sausage we used about 1/2 pound removed from the casings for the lasagna. Here in Umbria the sausage is made with pork, salt, pepper, and maybe a bit of garlic, but not a lot. 
This is a pretty simple dish to put together, and all the components can be made ahead then put together and baked. 

My friend who was serving the lasagna gifted me with this black truffle, Mama Mia!

White Lasagna with Black Truffles

Serves 6

I know not everyone has access to fresh truffles; rather than using truffle oil, which is usually made in laboratories, I'd suggest sauteing some meaty mushrooms like cremini, or if you can find them porcini, dice them finely or shave them, you want them to dissolve into the sauce.  

1/2 pound sweet Italian pork sausage, removed from the casing

1/4 cup unsalted butter or olive oil

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (if you aren't using truffles, use 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup shaved black truffle

salt and pepper

Fresh pasta to make 3 layers, or 9 Barilla no boil lasagna noodles

sliced soft pecorino cheese for garnish (if you can't find it, use Asiago)

In a skillet cook the sausage until it is no longer pink, breaking up any large pieces.  Drain and set aside to cool.

In a saucepan melt the butter, add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes to cook the flour.

Add the broth and milk, and whisk until the mixture comes back to a boil.  

Remove from the heat, add the cheese, and truffles, season with salt and pepper if necessary.  

Coat the inside of a 13-by-9-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Ladle some of the sauce into the pan, and spread to cover the bottom.  

lay a sheet of pasta over the sauce, and ladle a bit of the sauce over the pasta.  Top with 1/2 of the sausage.  

Top with a layer of pasta, sauce, and the remaining sausage. 
Lay the last 3 pieces of pasta on top, spread the remaining sauce on the top and spread the soft pecorino over the sauce.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes until the lasagna is bubbling, and the cheese is golden brown.  Allow the lasagna to rest for 10 minutes before cutting. 
Do-Ahead: The entire lasagna can be assembled 48 hours ahead of time, bring to room temperature and bake.  Since truffles are so delicate, I probably wouldn't freeze this, but you could.

This is a rich lasagna, studded with nuggets of pork and redolent of truffle and pecorino, the perfect way to enjoy Umbria on a Sunday afternoon.  We served it with a salad dressed with red wine vinegar (to cut the richness) and a white Grecchetto.  And, I have enough truffle left over to make this again before we leave.  Now it's time for a walk and a gelato.  Ciao for now.

A Good Day for Soup

Wednesday is market day in Spello; unfortunately, since Spello is a very small town, the market here is more flea market than produce market.  There are only 2 produce sellers, the rest sell clothing, shoes, and plants.
My guy talks non-stop to the buyers, and is a lovely man.  Happy to sell you his wares, and also adding what he thinks you'll need for your meal.  Since I was gifted with a few zucchini and an onion from a friend, I wanted to make a minestrone.  That necessitated a few more ingredients from the frutivendolo.  As I was making my purchases he asked if I wanted the black celery from Trevi a nearby town that has a DOP (denomination of protected origin) designation for its special celery---it is aromatic and delicious, so of course I chose it, after that he was putting extra carrots and parsley and onions into my bags.  The celery isn't actually black, they cover the root end, and the chlorophyll goes to the leaves, which turn a very dark green. There is an annual festival in Trevi celebrating the sedano nero.

Escarole

Romanesco

Here pepperoni is the vegetable, not the meat on a pizza

Eggplant

Zucchini

Golden delicious apples from the north

Gala apples from the north

Really new potatoes

Garlic

Beautiful flowers

Minestrone

Serves an army
Let me just say that you can sub in your favorite vegetables here, I usually use escarole, but the heads he had were as big as my head, and I didn't need that much, so I picked up some spinach instead.  Pancetta is also optional, perfectly acceptable to leave it out.  Minestrone means without stock but I used chicken for this one.  You can use water if you prefer, the fresher the vegetables the better your soup will be. 

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
one 1/4-inch piece pancetta finely diced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (today I'm using the DOP cippolini from Cannara)
3 medium carrots, chopped
2 ribs of celery with leaves, chopped
salt and pepper
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth or water
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1/2 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup diced zucchini
1/4 cup pearl barley
1/4 cup small lentils
salt and pepper

Lining up the ingredients

1. In a Dutch oven heat the oil, and saute the pancetta until it is almost crisp.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and season with salt and pepper.  Saute for 5 minutes until the onion is softened.  
2. Add the broth, spinach beans, zucchini, barley and lentils and simmer, partially covered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the barley and lentils are softened.  
3. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.  

Bubbling on the stove top

After our lunch, we took our afternoon stroll and ended up in the piazza and had a gelato to celebrate having such a healthy lunch. 

Ciao for now.