Fall Flavors from the Monferrato: Mushroom Pasta and Barbera Wine
We’ve explored the land of the Monferrato and the Asti Monferrato hills that are a UNESCO World Heritage site in a previous article. We have also talked about piedmontese cuisine and food in the Monferrato with an starter/appetizer recipe for traditional chicken salad. Today, in the next part of our series walking you through an authentic Italian meal from start to finish, we get to the primi piatti, or pasta dishes. Learn what is a ‘primo piatto’, how to make one yourself, and what wine to pair with different pastas (hint, search for a winery with a lot of variety like Ivaldi who has dry white sparkling wines, sweet wines, such as Moscato d’Asti and red spumante Brachetto d’Acqui, and also delicious red Barbera wines ranging from the young, fresh and fruity Barbera d’Asti to the oak-aged barbera Nizza DOCG.)
Let’s go make some pasta!
A mushroom pasta pairs well with a glass of Barbera d’Asti from Monferrato winery, Ivaldi.
Pasta in the Monferrato
In Italy, pasta is not served as ‘dinner’, but rather as a course, following an antipasto (check out one from the Monferrato in our last article HERE), or followed by an entrée, also called a secondo (subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to find out when our Monferrato secondo recipe comes out!)
While most primo recipes are pasta based, not all are. For example, lasagna (like this recipe from Abruzzo made with crepes) and rice based risotto (like this recipe with tuma cheese and Barolo wine) are also primo dishes.
In the Monferrato where most meals include some form of pasta, primo dishes are widely varied. Some primo plates are stuffed, like the agnolotti ai tre arrosti (three roast ravioli). The name comes from the filling: all the ugly off cuts of three types of roasts (rabbit/chicken, beef, and pork) are kept and then minced together. They are cut differently than the Langhe agnolotti del plin which are normally stuffed with just beef and pork, then formed by pinching (or plin in dialect) the ends to form the distinctive shape. Agnolotti from the Monferrato are traditionally a square shape, cut and crimped on all four sides. They are usually made with a little handheld press to help crimp and seal the edges.
Flat pastas are common too, most common being the exceptionally thin and fine Tajarin. Chefs pride themselves in how thin can they hand slice their tajarin without using a machine. You can find a recipe for tajarin with ragu from a traditional Langhe Trattoria in our previous article HERE. Another traditional and easy to make type of pasta are noodles known as lasagnette, or ‘little lasagna’. Paper thin and about the width of your finger, they don’t require near as much technical handiwork as the very thin tajarin.
Part of the beauty and versatility of the primo plate is the combination of pasta type with sauces. While it is true certain pastas go better with certain sauces (for example the lasagnette pairs well with chunky sauces, like the fresh mushroom one below), you can always try to mix and match to find your own personal favorite combo! Some traditional sauces from the Monferrato are butter and sage with agnolotti or a bolognese style meat ragu sauce with tajarin. Pesto or basil-based sauces from the Ligurian influence in the Monferrato are also commonly found, and great for summer months. With the world famous Alba White Truffle coming into season, winter months often see a lot of tajarin dressed with just simple salted butter and shaved truffles. In the fall, when fresh porcini mushrooms or the galliture (oyster mushrooms) are found in the forests, hillsides and mountains, mushroom pasta is a welcome addition to fall tables.
Making pasta at home isn’t nearly as daunting as it seems! Try it out with this fall mushroom pasta, and pair with a barbera wine.
Wine Pairing with Pasta in the Monferrato
When considering pasta and primo recipes, there is such a wide variety of flavors and textures, you need to consider versatility. A four generation winery like Ivaldi in Nizza Monferrato has a little bit of something for nearly every type of pasta you can dream up! Between all their versatile and varied wines, you can find something for every dish, and every person. Simple butter and sage? Try bubbles and their Andrea Alta Langa. A mushroom pasta like our recipe below? Try a fresh, young red like the single vineyard Piccona Barbera d’Asti. A hot bowl of tajarin and ragu, simmered for hours? An aged complex red like their Nizza DOCG is a unique alternative to nearby Barolos or Barbarescos that will be a wine pairing to remember. Finishing off the meal with a little dessert? Sweet wines from Ivaldi are delicous to pair with, such as their Moscato d’Asti and Brachetto d’Acqui. No matter your need, dish, or personal preference, Ivaldi can help you serve a great Monferrato meal… from start to finish!
Meet and Taste with the Winemaker
In fact, you can meet and taste alongside Andrea Ivaldi on Wednesday October 5th at 3pm ET / 12pm PT on Zoom for a VeroTalk live from the Ivaldi’s wine cellar in Nizza Monferrato. We will be tasting the full lineup of his 5 wines. Purchase our Asti Monferrato Explorer Set to get started tasting, and with shipping included add on the sparkling Alta Langa and aged Nizza DOCG to be able to taste along with Andrea and wine educator Mary Beth Vierra all 5 of Ivaldi’s Monferrato wines. Visit the VeroTalk page to learn more about this event.
Register to participate on Zoom and buy the Ivaldi wines to taste along with the winemaker live from the Monferrato. But before, be sure to try the traditional chicken salad recipe and this Lasagnette and Mushroom Pasta out for yourself, and taste a little bit of the Monferrato, wherever you are!
Lasagnette con Funghi - Lasagnette and Mushroom Pasta
Cooking and Prep Time: 30-45 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Lasagnette:
5 eggs
450g semola flour
40g all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Mushroom Sauce:
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
500g fresh mushrooms
300g tomato sauce
q.b chopped parsley
q.b Salt/Pepper
q.b. Olive Oil
q.b Grated Parmesan
Suggested Wine Pairings
Ivaldi | Piccona Barbera d'Asti Single Vineyard Red Wine
Procedure:
1. Start by making your pasta. In a bowl or mixer, make a well in the flour and add your eggs. Add salt and olive oil, then begin to mix. If too wet, add a sprinkle of flour, if too dry or sandy in texture, add a few drops of water at a time until it begins to form up. When a uniform mixture, cover and let rest.
2. Wash and cut the mushrooms into large chunks, and set aside. In a pot, begin to sauté the onions. When translucent and soft, add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and let everything cook together, stirring to not let burn.
3. When the mushrooms are nearly cooked and the water evaporated, add the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add a sprinkling of parsley for color. Let simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally while you prepare your lasagnette pasta.
4. Uncover your pasta and with a pasta machine set on the largest level, roll out several times the pasta, then move it to a medium width, and roll out several times more. Lastly, move it to the smallest setting and carefully roll out paper thin sheets of pasta about 12 inches in length. Let these sheets dry for about 10 minutes. Then, with lots of flour, lay one on top of the other, and roll them up together. Starting at one end, slice in pieces about ½ inch wide, or roughly the width of your finger. Gently shake the noodles to separate into a messy pile to allow them to dry, or you can use them right away.
5. Bring a pot of salted water to boil, and heat some mushroom sauce in a skillet. Drop the lasagnette into the boiling water and let cook for 3-4 minutes maximum. Drain and mix the pasta with the heated sauce in the skillet. Serve with grated parmesan on top and glass of Barbera d’Asti.
N.B. This recipe is courtesy of Trattoria Risorgimento in Treiso, Italy.
Get Olive Oil and Wine to Pair for this Monferrato Recipe
From the prestigious Barbera d’Asti denomination, this Barbera takes its name, Piccona, from the single vineyard where it is harvested in the Monferrato of Piedmont, Italy. A ruby red color, it has a complex bouquet of red fruits and berries. On the palate, the typical Barbera acidity comes through in a pleasant manner, balanced with the tannins and a certain robustness for an overall balanced and persistent wine.
A certified sustainable winery, Ivaldi Dario practices regenerative farming.
From the hills of Abruzzo near the Adriatic Coast of Italy, comes this Organic EVOO, or Extra Virgin Olive Oil, farmed and made by the Febo family. Farmed sustainably and organic, this natural extra virgin olive oil is also vegan and, like all evoos, a first run - cold press olive oil, the best kind of olive oil for you.
The 2024 harvest is still made from a blend of olives like leccino and 500 year old trees, but now it is mostly the dritta cultivar.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic
Fun Facts: The dritta cultivar is a rare one being saved by Davide Febo who is trying to save and rehabilitate it.
This is a woman made, limited production first cold press organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Maremma hills of Tuscany made from a blend of four Tuscan cultivars. Buttery deliciousness with a bitter kick at the end, thanks to its polyphenols. It has won gold medals in a competition which judges the best extra virgin organic olive oils from around the world.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic | Metodo Corino
Fun Facts: The natural farming method that produced this extra virgin olive oil, the metodo corino, is actually patented by La Maliosa woman winemaker Antonella Manuli after she helped to develop it with natural wine legend Lorenzo Corino of Case Corini.
Try More Wines from Monferrato
Nestled just a few hills over from the Langhe winemaking zone of Piedmont in Northern Italy, is Asti and the Monferrato. Locals in Piedmont know, that the Nizza DOCG from the Monferrato is a sure-fire win in your wine glass. But perhaps one of the most famous exports of the Monferrato, is Moscato d’Asti, a sweet and delectable semi sparkling wine made with the aromatic Moscato grape. Also lesser known is the similarly sweet and semi-sparkling (or frizzante) red wine made with another aromatic grape, Brachetto d’Acqui.
So it is no wonder why a 4-generation winery like Ivaldi in Nizza Monferrato cultivates and crafts all three wines! Try them all in this tasting trio to discover the best Monferrato wines, and with shipping included in the Continental US on any order with this set, why don’t you add on other wines from Ivaldi, like their sparkling Alta Langa?
A certified sustainable winery, Ivaldi Dario practices regenerative farming.
This box includes a three pack of these unique farm-to-glass :
Nizza is the Barolo of Barbera, made from the birthplace of Barbera, Nizza Monferrato, the home of the 4th generation winemaking family, Ivaldi, and place where this wine is grown and made. This Nizza Barbera is a delicious old world style red wine with a rich cherry taste and an incredible mouthfeel.
This Nizza DOCG is made only in the best years, always made with 100% Barbera grapes, but only the best of the best of the Barbera clusters goes into this wine, before it spends 12 months in Slavonian oak barrels then 2 years resting in the bottle.
Made with native yeast fermentation, on the skins for 15 days. it has a pretty ruby red color with garnet reflections. A fruity bouquet transforms into spicy notes as it opens, and on the palate this wine has nice tannins and acidity balanced by a robust body.
The name of this red wine, 1613, is a homage to the siege of Nizza Monferrato in 1613 by the Mantovan army, showing the strong roots the Ivaldi family has to their home town. The women gathered to pray all night, and after the siege was lifted and won by Nizza Monferrato, an oil lamp in the church spontaneously burst into flames, despite the lack of spark and oil. Known as the ‘Miracle of the Lamp’, this wine pays homage to that evening, bearing not only the year as a name, but the image of the oil lamp on the label.
A certified sustainable winery, Ivaldi Dario practices regenerative farming.
This Alta Langa Spumante, or an Italian sparkling wine, is an Extra Brut, with flavors of bread crust, caramel and candied fruit, with great acidity and salinity, a hint of sage and a long mineral finish.
Made following the traditional Champagne method, it ages on the lees for 30 months in the bottle. Alta Langa is a newer DOCG that is steeped in history and is an up-an-comer amongst Italian traditional method sparkling wines.
This vintage wine is from vineyards at 200 meters that are harvested slightly late to give the wine more structure. A Blanc de Blancs made from 100% chardonnay grapes, fine and persistent bubbles are present with an inviting straw yellow perlage.
Tastes Like: Bread crust, caramel, and candied fruit.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Winery | Biodynamic | Bottle fermented | Champagne Style
Fun Facts: - This wine is named for the current winemaker, Andrea Ivaldi, the 4th generation of his family to make wine, and the first to make a sparkling wine.
- A certified sustainable winery, Ivaldi practices regenerative farming.
“Can we make Brachetto popular, please?” is how VinePair headlines why this artisanal, aromatic red sweet sparkling wine, just recently imported by us first time to the USA, made it to VinePair’s list of 13 Best Sweet Wines.
An aromatic grape, brachetto, creates a pleasantly slightly sparkling sweet red wine, with delicate rose flower and strawberry notes and strawberry and hibiscus taste. ‘Susbel’, in the local Piemontese dialect of Ivaldi in the Monferrato, refers to the location of the vineyard of this Brachetto d’Acqui, where the sun is bright and well exposed.
Left four days in contact with the skins and fermented with native yeast, this natural wine has a bright and clear light red color, dotted with fine effervescent bubbles. Sipping, the immediate impact is indeed sweet, yet with enough acidity and a hint of tannins to create a harmonious and balanced wine that keeps you coming back for more.
Wonderful to serve slightly chilled to sip with friends in the backyard on a hot summer day, or to serve with fruity desserts. Try pairing it with cheese, like with Humboldt Fog goat cheese - it goes incredibly well. It can also pair with charcuterie. Made with native yeast fermentation and has a residual sugar of 120 g/l.
A certified sustainable winery, Ivaldi Dario practices regenerative farming.
Who doesn’t like chamomile and honey? That’s what this wine reminds you of! It’s a Moscato d’Asti that appeals both to sweet wine lovers and dry wine drinkers wanting a moment with a touch of sweetness.
The name of this wine, Ros du Su, means ‘Rays of Sunlight’ in Piemontese dialect where this Moscato d’Asti comes from. Looking at its bright, golden-yellow color, it is easy to understand the inspiration for this name.
In the glass, the aromatic qualities of moscato are the first noticeable aromas, but underneath subtle and persistent notes of honey and acacia and chamomile flowers come forth creating a complex bouquet. Tasting, the sweetness of the residual sugars are well balanced with freshness and sapidity. A pleasant wine that keeps you sipping, it pairs well with desserts, but is every bit as enjoyable alone in contemplation.
A certified sustainable winery, Ivaldipractices regenerative farming.
