Curled up with a Good Book, a Comforting Bowl of Pasta and a Wonderful Glass of Aglianico #ItalianFWT

Today for Italian Food Wine & Travel, Jeff of Food Wine Click, invited us to visit Southern Italy and Aglianico Wines.  You can see his preview post here.

Aglianico is a dark grape variety grown mostly in the Campania and Bassilicata region of Italy.  The varietal is originally from Greece and was brought over to Italy by Greek settlers in Ancient Roman times.

The wine I found, a Rubrato Aglianico from De Feudi Di San Gregorio of the Campania region, was reasonably priced and found at a wine specialty shop.

This is a very heavy wine but not harsh in the least.  It is smooth and bright with lush ripe berries on the tongue.

I decided to make a quick pork ragu to serve over pasta to go along with this wine that screamed to be paired with a meat dish.  It was perfect with this ragu for a quick weeknight dinner.  This entire meal takes a mere 30 minutes from start to finish.

It is in a tomato sauce making it different from this pork ragu that I shared in this group a few months ago.

We are huge pasta lovers in this household, enjoying it at least once a week.  This gives me incentive to find different sauces to give our menu some variety.

I was particularly hungry for pasta and found myself short on time as I had lost myself in the second book of the Genevieve Lenard series, The Dante Connection.

In this novel, Genevive answers her door to find her friend, Francine, beaten to a pulp and barely hanging on.  Before Genevieve realizes what is going on, her apartment is over run with all the people that she had began to think of as friends until they suddenly dropped out of her life with no explanation six months ago. 

It is very difficult for someone who is non- neurotypical to develop relationships and to trust others. This story delves into not only another crime mystery but also how a person with autism handles learning to deal with relationships after years of closing herself off in protection against the very feelings that are now overwhelming her. 

Through it all, big, loveable Vinnie is cleaning and cooking his grandmother's recipes that always seem to include pasta of some sort.

Please make sure you stop by and see what the others are cooking up to serve with their Aglianico wines.  You will find links to their posts under my recipe.  

You can see what others are reading this month over at Foodies Read.

Pork Ragu II

1 lb ground pork

2 T. olive oil

1/2 Vidalia onion, diced

salt and pepper to taste

2 T. tomato paste

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 t. crushed red pepper

1 t. sugar

1/2 t. oregano

2 t. basil paste

3 T. balsamic vinegar

1 (28 oz) can tomatoes with juices

Parmesan cheese for garnish

Heat olive oil in large skillet over med high heat.  Add the ground pork and onions, season with salt and pepper.  Cook, breaking up the pork with a wooden spoon until browned and onion is translucent.  

Add the garlic, crushed red pepper, sugar, oregano and basil.  Cook and stir until coated and fragrant.  Add the balsamic vinegar and cook until absorbed.  Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with the wooden spoon.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes while you prepare pasta per package directions.  Serve over pasta, garnish with parmesan.   Print Recipe

Italian Food, Wine & Travel Group Explores Aglianico #ItalianFWT

Join the Italian Food, Wine & Travel Group as we dive deep into wines made from the Aglianico grape. This Saturday March 3, our posts will all be live and we'll be chatting about our discoveries. Join us on Twitter Saturday March 3 at 10am CST at #ItalianFWT.

Take a look at all the great ideas our group will be posting:

• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm posts Curling up with a Good Book, a Comforting Bowl of Pasta and a Wonderful Glass of Aglianico
• Jane from Always Ravenous pairs Braised Lamb Paired with Aglianico
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest shares Aglianico: A Southern Italian Gem
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla writes Memories and Flavors of Campania + Feudi di San Gregorio Aglianico Rubrato 2014
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish compares Aglianico from the Old World and New: Campania vs. Paso Robles
• Nicole from Somms Table shares Cooking to the Wine: Vigneti del Vulture Aglianico del Vulture with Braised Oxtails
• Jennifer at Vino Travels Italy writes about The Sacred Vines of the Basilicata with D’Angelo Aglianico
• Jill from L’Occasion shares Aglianico Connections in the Napa Valley
• Susannah from Avvinare talks about Aglianico from Irpinia
• Jeff, our host, posts at Food Wine Click! - Aglianico Battle between Campania and Basilicata