Amalfi Style Calamari with a Local Wine

Michele and I have been staying home since our return from Rome on March 6th except for going food shopping and taking walks to the Greenmarket. There is really no place to go in NYC and it looks like it will be that way until the middle of May, at least. What can I write about? I cannot write about travel, visits to winemakers, restaurants,  wine tastings and eating and drinking with friends.

I will just have to write about what I am eating and drinking at home, one wine and one dish at a time.  Every day, Michele tells me what she is making and I match it with a wine.

THE FOOD

1. Calamari with Tomatoes and Potatoes Amalfi Coast Style — We first had this at La Gavitella, a restaurant on the beach in Praiano, near Amalfi.  There it is called Totani e Patate, totani being a type of squid.  It’s a very simple dish and easy to make with local products.

We were able to get in an order of fresh squid from Agata & Valentina.  Michele cut the squid into rings.  Unfortunately, they sent us only the tubular bodies and not the tentacles, so we had to do without.  The  first  step was  to  saute  several  cloves  of  chopped  garlic  in  olive  oil  with  some  peperoncino.  Then  add  the  squid and saute  for  a minute  or  two.

Two big potatoes were peeled and cut into bite size cubes.  The parsley was chopped and ready to garnish the finished dish.

 

A can of Italian peeled cherry tomatoes was crushed and added to the squid with a cup of white wine and some salt.  Potatoes went in a little later and the whole thing simmered until the potatoes were tender and the sauce was thick. 

Here it is before the potatoes went in.

The  finished  dish. We  ate  it  with  lots  of  good  bread.

THE WINE

Tenuta Augustea is owned by the Nocerino family and has been for over 100 years. They have 7 hectares of vineyards located on Monte Somma where they grow Catalanesca, Caprettone, Piedirosso and Aglianico among others all native grapes. 

Catalanesca 2018 IGP Tenuta Augustea made from 100% Catalanesca from the Somma Vesuviana zone. The soil is well-strutted deep limestone with medium fertile consistency. The exposure is south/east and the vineyards are at 400/500 meters. The average age of the vines is 9/10 years and the training system is guyot. Harvest takes place in October. Fermentation is in steel tanks for 30 days at 18C. There is tartaric stabilization and filtration. This is an aromatic wine with hints of citrus fruit, apricot a note of white flowers an good minerality. It went very well with the calamari.