Embracing Autumn: A Mediterranean Noir, Spaghetti all'Assassina, and a Bottle of Negroamaro #ItalianFWT

This month the combine wine writers are coming together for Italian Food Wine Travel and celebrating Autumn. Host Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm is hosting and wrote: "Fall is my favorite time of year, regardless of where I spend it. This year, I wish I could spend it in Italy, so I decided to take a virtual trip and enjoy the flavors and wine I might experience during the visit."

The Autumn Line-Up

• Apple Picking in Italy: An Easy Fall Apple Cake Recipe by Our Good Life

• Lake Garda in a Glass: Zeni's Bardolino and a Chicken Sausage Pasta by Vino Travels

• Coda di Volpe Paired with Chicken Under a Brick by Wineivore

• Dreaming of Fall in Piedmont by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Embracing Autumn: A Mediterranean Noir, Spaghetti all'Assassina, and a Bottle of Negroamaro by Culinary Cam (you're here)

Central California Coast's Heat Wave

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Just a quick note to acknowledge that it was hard to focus on a post about Autumn when we are in the middle of what feels like Summer here. The mercury creeped towards 90 degrees Fahrenheit which had me digging out my bikinis and filling up the cold plunge tub we have. It helped! For two days I did not turn on the stove or the oven. Thankfully I had made this pasta dish multiple times before.

A Mediterranean Noir

I was searching for "Spaghetti all ‘Assassina" (a recipe) and landed on a novel with the same name. The only issue: I could only get it in Italian and it has been almost thirty years since I lived in Italy and spoke it with any regularity. The good thing is that my reading comprehension is still pretty good. So I ordered up the book and muddled my way through. In addition to my very rusty Italian skills, the book features several sayings from the Apulian dialect. Yikes! It's not as difficult to understand as the Sicilian dialect, but it did slow me down a bit in the beginning.

Spaghetti all ‘Assassina is the fifth book in the series featuring Police Commissioner Lolita Lobosco. It is written by Gabriella Genisi and as inspired a television series. I have yet to track that one down.

Colino Stramaglia, the purported inventor of the eponymous dish, is found murdered in his restaurant with clues at a mafia hit. Detective Lolita Lobosco must unravel the motive and find the killer. The novel is fun and engaging and definitely sent me into the kitchen to make the dish.

Spaghetti all'Assassina

Spaghetti all'Assassina - Killer Spaghetti - also known as spaghetti bruciati, literally ‘burnt spaghetti' is a pasta dish from the Puglia region of Italy, specifically the city of Bari.

Instead of being boiled in salted water and finished in sauce, the spaghetti is cooked directly in the pan. A broth typically made of tomato sauce diluted with water is gradually added to the pan as the pasta absorbs it, similar to a risotto. As the spaghetti absorbs the sauce, it cooks directly on the pan surface, developing significant browning and a distinctive, crispy texture unique among pasta dishes.

Before I presented this dish at a recent cooking demonstration, I tested several different pans from cast iron to stainless steel. The one that achieved the burnt pasta was as ceramic-titanium pan that I picked up at a local store.

INGREDIENTS

makes 4 small servings, but double or triple as needed

Tomato Broth

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

• 3 cups tomato puree

• 3 cups water

• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste (I like the smoked Maldon flake salt)

Spaghetti

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 2 teaspoons red chili flakes (such as the TuttoCalabria blend, Spaghettata)

• 6 ounces dry spaghetti

• salt to taste

• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped parsley, for garnish, optional

• grated cheese, for garnish, optional

PROCEDURE

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Tomato Broth

Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Stir in tomato puree, water, and salt. Bring to a simmer on medium-high. Once simmering, reduce to low heat and keep warm.

Spaghetti

Pour olive oil into a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, season with chili flakes and heat until chili flakes start to sizzle, approximately 1 minute. Add raw spaghetti and toss until well coated with chili oil.

Pour in about 3 cups of tomato broth and, using tongs, move pasta from side to side to evenly distribute tomato broth. Cook, occasionally moving pasta from side to side with tongs, all facing the same direction, until most of the broth has been absorbed or evaporated, and the spaghetti starts frying in the pan.

Keep turning the pasta and cooking until the pasta starts to brown, and even lightly chars.

Add about 2 more cups of tomato broth, and repeat the process. Continue cooking until the spaghetti is as charred as you like and cooked to your desired doneness. More broth can be added at the end of the process for a saucier version or it can be served relatively dry.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and more chili flakes if desired. You can serve this with grated cheese or enjoy as is.

Negroamaro

Negroamaro is a red wine grape variety native to southern Italy whose name is an amalgam of negro (black) and amaro (bitter). It is grown almost exclusively in Apulia, particularly in Salento, the peninsula which forms the 'heel' of Italy. Regardless, vines were brought from Greece to Apulia in the 7th century BC; winemaking has persisted in the area since then.

Negroamaro produces wines that are deeply colored with an earthy bitterness that could most likely be described as dried Mediterranean herbs.

The wine I paired with my killer pasta was a killer wine: 2019 Marchese Di Borgosole Salice Salentino Riserva DOC. It was challenging to dig up much inform at about the wine producer. I was able to find out that this is a single varietal - made of 100% Negroamaro - that uses malolactic fermentation to soften the sometimes rustic qualities of this grape. This wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks, aged for at least two years, and then rested in oak barrels for at least six months.

I was able to learn a little bit more about the Salice Salentino DOC appellation than I was about the winemakers. The DOC was created in 1976, and allows both single-varietal Negroamaro wines and blended versions.

The wine poured an inky reddish-purple. On the nose, the wine had aromas of ripe black cherries, floral vanilla, and earthy chocolate. On the palate, the wine was silky and weighty. The flavors mirrored the aromas along with an acidity pop of cola and savoriness and fennel.

Where my dish was fairly simple, the wine was complicated. It made for a lovely pairing!

And that's a wrap for my Autumn wine pairing from Italy. The group will return next month with a celebration of October's harvest season. I will be hosting. Stay tuned!