This menu was inspired by two things: A beautiful Tuscan wine, annnnd my beautiful husband. I received an email to partner with the iconic Fattoria le Pupille - a producer out of Southern Tuscany’s Maremma region - to spread awareness about one of their wines. A wine that happens to be a Tuscan Sangiovese, which just so happens to be my husband's all-time favourite. Annnd he also just happened to be turning 40 (which is a HUGE deal). SO, obviously I jumped on the opportunity and turned it into a date night to rule all date nights.
This post was created in partnership with Ethica Wines and Fattoria le Pupille.
All opinions are my own, and thank you for your support!
An absolutely lovely, single-vineyard Sangiovese from Southern Tuscany’s Maremma region. It’s made by Elisabetta Geppetti, aka the badass owner and winemaker of Fattoria le Pupille who is known as “the Lady of Morellino.” Morellino = local name for Sangiovese in the Maremma Region. Soooo that’s pretty awesome.
It’s 100% Sangiovese grown in the warmer climate of southern Tuscany, so it’s a bit different than more common styles, like Chianti Classico. It’s bigger, bolder, and richer, yet still elegant and balanced with that Sangiovese freshness. Flavours range from dark fruit (blackberry) to red fruit (tart red cherry), with pronounced flavours of dried herbs (like rosemary) and warm spices. It’s truly a stunning wine with layers and layers of complexity, so it was an absolute blast to create a menu around it!!
Tomato-based, herb-infused food = LOVES Sangiovese. This wine in particular is just dripping with those dried herb flavours, so my immediate thought was bruschetta! BUT, this Sangiovese is from Maremma (southern Tuscany), which means a warmer climate, which means a bolder, richer wine. It still has lovely acidity, but it would be a bit much with just classic bruschetta. Enter: HOT BRUSCHETTA DIP. All the flavour and ingredients of classic bruschetta, but jammier, richer, and covered with cheese. I took it a step further and made some crispy parm ciabatta crostini to dip in there, because salty Italian cheese (like Parm) is always my first pairing choice with bold Tuscan reds!!
If you skipped right to this one, scroll up and read the description for the Hot Bruschetta Dip! I couldn’t NOT go with pizza, both because this wine is perfect for it, but also because it’s probably my husband’s favourite food. And this was his birthday meal. Along with the rich tomato-ness and the parm (explained above) this one levels up with TRUFFLE. Specifically black truffle, which is just fantastic with earthy Tuscan reds like this one. And because Justin (the hubs) thinks all pizza requires meat, I added some “Tuscan” sausage (it was called Tuscan because of the flavours, but made in Alberta!). Annnnd because dip is always a requirement, I whipped up a sun-dried tomato basil dipping sauce. It was so creamy and full of those Tuscan-inspired flavours, and everything about it was spot on with this pizza and wine!
Frying pan
Pizza stone
For the pizza
1 ball of pizza dough (I went with pre-made raw dough, but you do you!)
1/2 cup [120 ml] classic tomato pizza sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded Truffle Monterey Jack (regular ol’ mozza works too!)
2 links Tuscan pork sausages, thinly sliced and pan-fried
Fresh-grated Parmesan
Fresh basil, for garnishing
Truffle oil, for drizzling
For the sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2 to 3 jarred roasted red pepper slices
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
A couple good glugs of extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper
Place a pizza stone in the oven on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Stretch or roll out the pizza dough and top with sauce. Add 1 cup of the shredded cheese, top with cooked sausage, followed by the last 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with freshly grated parm, fresh basil, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
To make the sauce, add all ingredients to an immersion blender cup (or a large glass measuring cup) and blend until smooth.
And finally, la pièce de résistance: The juiciest, thickest, most delicious-est steak on the planet.
When I first started researching the Maremma region, I kept seeing references to Maremma steak. Good quality cuts of beef seem to be highly prized in this region, and since we know “what grows together, goes together”, it happens to be a beyond-perfect pairing for this Poggio Valente Sangiovese. It’s basically just a big ol’ cut of meat, cooked rare over a flame, then brushed with a herby, salty rosemary oil. The juicy, salty, fatty steak cuts through the wine’s tannins and amps up its flavours, and the matching rosemary/herb flavours in both the wine and the steak are almost too perfect!!
Mortar & pestle
Grill/barbecue
Basting brush
1 to 1.5-inch T-Bone steak (about 1.5 lbs)
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary sprigs
2 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves
2 Tbsp fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt
2 to 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Bring steak to room temperature before grilling (if refrigerated, let it sit out for about 30-45 minutes).
In a mortar & pestle, crush rosemary, oregano, and basil with a good pinch or two of salt to form a paste. Add a couple of glugs of olive oil and continue to crush until you have a bright green, herby, salty, delicious oil.
Salt both sides of your steak and grill over high heat until rare or medium-rare. I’m not going to give you clear instructions for this because, to be very honest, I winged it!! Yes, I nailed it. But it was by no means methodical. So if you’re new to the grilling game, I would suggest searching for clear instructions from a reputable grill master.
Once your steak is adequately cooked, remove it from the grill and generously brush it with your herby oil. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before slicing into it! Once you do, brush it with even more of the oil until it’s nice and saturated, then eat it while hot!
Enjoy, cheers, love you all!
xx Steph
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