Also this year the Tuscan Wine Tourism Movement in collaboration with theItalian Food Blogger Association has launched the initiative involving 15 food bloggers to propose a pairing of a Tuscan wine with an autumn recipe, and my proposal is these Gnocchetti with hare. See also my pairing from last year for Christmas Bacchus .
Hunter’s style Gnocchetti with hare and Monterosola Winery
The winery I was lucky enough to be matched with is Monterosola in Volterra, a winery that has been active since 2013 to realise the dream of a Swedish family, the Thomaeus, to produce wine in a state-of-the-art, hi-tech, eco-sustainable winery in full harmony with the nature of the enchanting Tuscan countryside.
Crescendo IGT 2018 – Photo by Lorenzo Moreni
The wine that Monterosola decided to send me is Crescendo IGTa 100% pure Sangiovese from 2018. It is a full-bodied wine that matures 15 months in French oak barrels, preparing itself for an ageing process that certainly does not frighten it. Pouring Crescendo, one is struck by its garnet red colour that goes well with the fresh notes of red fruits and spices, expressed in the mouth by fine tannins, good acidity and a pleasant persistence: definitely a name that is a promise!
When thinking of a recipe, I wanted to find a meeting point between two iconic autumn ingredients, pumpkin and Porcini mushrooms, and a meat with a strong enough personality to stand up to Crescendo. A friend offered me the solution on a silver platter by giving me a hare ready to be cooked! And the perfect connection between the sweet Gnocchetti and the gamey hare is in the slivers of 40-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano, which immediately befriended the notes of toasted almonds and spices of the enveloping sips of this impressive red.
After trying this combination, all you need to do is book a visit to the winery!
Hunter’s style Gnocchetti with hare
10.77g carbohydrates per 100g
Ingredients for Gnocchetti for 6 servings
- 630g ricotta
- 200g Parmigiano Reggiano, 24 months, grated,
- 200g mashed pumpkin, oven baked
- 200g gluten free pasta flour mix, brand Molino Dallagiovanna**
- 2 eggs
- brown rice flour* for dusting
- salt
Ingredients for hare sauce
- 1 litre milk
- 900g boneless hare
- 100g Crescendo IGT 2018
- 60g onions
- 60g carrots
- 30g celery
- 30g triple concentrated tomato paste
- 15g dried Porcini mushrooms
- 1 bay leaf
- meat stock
- aromatic herbs for marinating (rosemary, sage, thyme)
- garlic
- spices (coriander grains, chilli, pepper)
- extra virgin olive oil
- Parmesan cheese 40 months to serve
**Ingredients specific for celiacs
*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)
Preparation
- Marinate the hare in a large bowl completely covered with milk and water with the herbs and garlic. Leave the hare in the fridge for 2 days, turning it once a day.
- Remove the meat from the marinade and de-bone the hare so that you have about 900g of meat, which you cut into small pieces of about 1 cm per side.
- Prepare the chopped vegetables typical of meat sauce, i.e. chopped onion, carrot and celery, and brown them in a saucepan with a little oil and half a clove of chopped garlic. When the vegetables are browned, add the triple concentrated tomato paste, possibly diluted with a few tablespoons of water, let it flavour for a few minutes, then add the chopped meat.
- Seal the meat over a high heat for a few minutes, then douse with the Crescendo IGT and let it evaporate. Add a ladle of meat stock and the bay leaf, put the lid on and lower the flame to the minimum.
- Soak the dried Porcini mushrooms, then cut them into small pieces and add them to the meat. Leave to cook for at least 2 hours, turning occasionally.
Preparation of Gnocchetti
- In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together to obtain an even and rather sticky mixture. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- With a little flour, start forming cylinders with a diameter of about 1.5cm and cut the dumplings; put them on trays dusted with flour.
- When the meat sauce is cooked, season with salt and pepper, a teaspoon of ground coriander grains and a pinch of chilli pepper.
- Put a pot of water on the stove, salt it and cook the dumplings until they rise to the surface. Drain them with a slotted spoon, toss them in a large frying pan to gain flavour with the hare sauce and serve.
- Complete the dish with a few thin slivers of 40-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano.
Gnocchetti hare sauce and slivers of 40-month Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Version with gluten of Hunter’s style Gnocchetti with hare
Replace the 200g of gluten free flour with 220g of wheat flour; no other adaptation is needed.
