It's time for Italian Food Wine and Travel. Come and see where we are off to today.......
Today's ItalianFWT event is being hosted by Kevin of Snarky Wine. Kevin asked us to visit the wine regions of Northeast Italy. Here is his Preview Post where he explains a bit about this wine region and invites you to join in our Twitter Chat this morning at 11AM ET following #ItalianFWT.
Here are some of the topics and wines we will be discussing......
- Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla hunts down “Coniglio in Agrodolce + Ronchi di Cialla Ribolla Gialla 2017”
- Wendy tries “Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Pizza with a Terlano Pinot Bianco” over at A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Linda investigates “Alto Adige offers more than one White Wine” at My Full Wine Glass
- Gwendolyn is The Wine Predator, and she will be “Celebrating Summer in the Mountains of Italy : 4 wines with 4 courses from Südtirol”
- Jeff at FoodWineClick! will be getting back to nature with “A Food-Friendly Skin-Fermented Vigneti delle Dolomiti”
- Cindy will be taking a look at “Picolit – A Historic, Rare, Sweet Dessert Wine from Collio DOC” over at Grape Experiences
- Jennifer will be taking her Vino Travels to the farthest reaches of Italy’s northeast to discover “Friulian Reds with Zorzettig”
- Lauren, The Swirling Dervish, will be trying out “Elena Walch Müller Thurgau with Summertime Shrimp Pad-Thai”
- Katarina will be look closer at “Aquila del Torre winery: An Oasis in Friuli Focused on Local Identity and Innovation” at Grapevine Adventures
- Kevin will be doing a bit of a double-header at SnarkyWine, with some “Mountain Bubbles and a Tannic Finish”
Not being at all familiar with these wines I began researching and found that, as this area of Italy borders Austria so I really was familiar with some of the wines....just by different names. In France, which also borders northern Italy it is called Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris. In Austria it is called Weissburgunder.
Pinot Bianco is a white wine grape genetically related to Pinot Noir. Pinot Bianco as a wine is crisp, dry and golden. It is often compared to Chardonnay in body and taste and is often vinified in the same manner.
I went onto Wine.com and purchased this bottle of Terlano Pinot Bianco based on the recommendation of the wine expert with whom I chatted. I then started considering what food I would like to pair with the wine. One of my favorite foods of that area is an onion tart and that was my original thought.
But then I had some sourdough starter that I didn't want to discard and decided to make pizza dough with it. So my onion tart was to become an onion and bacon pizza to pair with the Pinot Bianco.
I put the onions on to caramelize. When I went into the produce drawer for the thyme, I spied a package of gourmet blend mushrooms and pulled those out along with the mozzarella cheese.
It wasn't until I was getting ready to serve it up that I realized I had completely forgotten about the bacon. So, once again, I had to ask Kevin to change my title for this event. Sorry about that Kevin and thanks for being so gracious about it. Of all the things I have lost in life, I miss my mind the most LOL.
Regardless, the wine paired amazingly well with this delicious pizza. If you have never tried a sourdough pizza crust you NEED to do so ASAP. It is soooooooo good!!
This wine is made in the rugged terrain of Suditrol where the spoken language is German. The bottle, as you might note, is German in fashion, being taller and thinner like one used for Gewurtz or Riesling. The wine inside however is more full bodied and softer than either of those wines which was a delightful surprise for me.
I'm anxious to head over for this morning chat to see what the others have to say about this wine region, which wines they chose and what food they matched with it. See you there!!
Yield: 8 servings
Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Pizza on a Sourdough Crust
Sourdough crust is truly great with almost any topping. It is tasty and toothsome so even thin crust pizza is chewy. I topped this with Mozzarella, Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms. Perfect for your next Pizza night or on a Meatless Monday.
ingredients:
- 1 c. ripe sourdough or discard
- 1/2 c. hot water
- 2 1/2 c. flour
- large pinch of salt
- 1/4 t. instant yeast
- 2 lg. Vidalia onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
- leaves from 8-10 sprigs of thyme
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 c. butter
- 8 oz. assorted mushrooms, sliced
- 2 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese
instructions:
How to cook Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Pizza on a Sourdough Crust
- Combine the sourdough starter, flour, salt, yeast and water in the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix until combined and then knead on medium speed until smooth and slightly sticky.
- Remove from bowl and form into a ball, spray the bowl with cooking spray and return the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled about 2 hrs.
- Divide the dough in half and shape each into a flattened disk. Cover and set aside to rest until it can be formed into two 10" rounds without shrinking, 15-30 minutes.
- While dough rests, place the onions in a skillet with the butter and thyme, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, raise the heat to med high and cook until browned and slight crisped, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Shape the rested dough into 2 rounds, approximately 10-12" in diameter. Transfer each pizza onto a stone or baking sheet that has been heated in a 450* oven and bake for 3-4 minutes. Open the oven, top each round with 1 cup of the cheese, half of the onions and half of the mushrooms. Close oven and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.
NOTES:
Crust recipe adapted from one provided by King Arthur flour.
Calories
308.81
308.81
Fat (grams)
10.73
10.73
Sat. Fat (grams)
6.22
6.22
Carbs (grams)
42.37
42.37
Fiber (grams)
2.72
2.72
Net carbs
39.64
39.64
Sugar (grams)
5.65
5.65
Protein (grams)
11.13
11.13
Sodium (milligrams)
286.42
286.42
Cholesterol (grams)
29.23
29.23
Property of A Day in the Life on the Farm
I love caramelized onions on pizza....sounds wonderful with the pinot bianco!
ReplyDeleteIt really was a nice pairing.
DeleteI think you found the perfect dish to accompany a white wine from the Sudtirol - it uses a lot of the ingredients common there. I'll keep this in mind the next time I come across a bottle from NE Italy.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Lauren.
DeleteI also chose a Pinot Bianco for this month’s theme. The apple notes in the wine I sampled would pair beautifully with this pizza. Will definitely keep this recipe in mind for next time!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Linda.
DeleteI also explored Pinot Bianco this month! The pairing with the caramelized and mushroom pizza sounds fantastic.
ReplyDeleteIt was Nicole.
DeleteThe wines from Alto Adige are favourites of mine too...
ReplyDeleteAnd your pairing sounds really yummy.
Good that you could find a Pinot Bianco for the monthly theme. :-)
Yes, I was very pleased with the wine.
Delete