Apulia wine pairing
It is possible to toast with a white or rosé wine. Apulia offers a wide choice of white wines as well, among the classic varieties ranging from Bombino bianco to Verdeca, from Bianco di Alessano to Fiano, from Vermentino to Minutolo.
Not to mention the possibility of pairing with rosé wines, of which Apulia is the undisputed home, ranging from Negroamaro to Primitivo and much more.
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE
In Taranto, it is possible to buy the mussels already cleaned on the outside from the encrustations. If this is not possible, scrape them on the outside with a knife, put the mussel with the tip upwards and pull the byssus only upwards, so as not to ruin the inner fruit. Then wash them and let them drain.
Boil the water for the pasta.
In the meantime, start the sauce by pouring in a couple of tablespoons of Evo oil and a clove of poached garlic to brown, and then remove it before cooking the tomato sauce.
Drop the tubettini in the boiling salted water and here is the “secret” of Taranto style mussels: drain the pasta respecting the cooking time indicated by the producer and toss it in the liquid of the mussels.
How do you do it? Every family has its own recipe.
Usually, in a large frying pan you put 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a clove of garlic, which is poached and then removed. The washed mussels are then cooked for 2-3 minutes with the lid on, and as soon as they all open, they are sprinkled with white wine over a high flame.
The mussels should be removed all, and kept warm to one side, and in their tasty liquid you flavor the pasta, which will be completed with the addition of the tomato sauce.
It is completed with a turn of pepper, finely chopped parsley and served at the table.
When reference is made to pasta with mussels in Taranto, it is a leap back thousands of years, since its very clean sea was and remains the one in which these mussels have always thrived.
In Taranto, the mussel-farming fields are characterized by the presence of the citri: freshwater springs that flow into the sea and make the Taranto mussel juicier and more delicate.
Going back to history, mussels have been around here in Taranto since unmemorable time and their seed is part of its crystal clear waters, in which mussels from all over Italy and abroad are purified.
The “new” ingredients are dry pasta and tomatoes.
The people of Taranto prefer ridged tubettini, some prefer the smooth once. The tomato, as is well known, arrived in Europe after the discovery of America and then settled in the Taranto area.
Here the orange tomatoes from Crispiano and the cherry tomatoes from Manduria stand out.
Everything is then dominated by the delicate Taranto oil, made from a blend of local cultivars.
Unione cuochi Apulia region chaired by Salvatore Turturo