Piedmont's Dolcetto-Little Sweet One

 Hi everyone, Dave here. It was Wednesday night, Tricia was working and I was bored, so I decided to drink. I was perusing the shelves at one of my favorite wine shops in Providence called Bottles when I stumbled upon a Dolcetto d'Alba.  Nothing says "Dave drink me" like a great bottle of Dolcetto d'Alba...it's a lighter to medium bodied wine that's compatible with palettes of all experience levels.  There was no reason to get too heavy with a big wine...it was only Wednesday after all.

Dolcetto is the grape and Alba is the town in Piedmont, Italy where the wine is produced. Working at Bacaro, I have become familiar with this style of wine. Typically a Dolcetto (literally meaning "little sweet one") is very fruit driven. They are best drunk young in order to preserve the fresh bright flavors of the wine.  The variety I  tasted (2009 Renato Ratti) had flavors of ripe strawberry, blueberry and violets with an assertive tannins and an earthy dry finish. If you normally like fruit forward wines like Syrah or Pinot Noir from California, you might really like this wine.

Average retail price:  $18 per bottle

It is best served with Italian appetizers or if you want to make a light meal for two, try it with a healthy vegetable and tofu gratin with San Marzano tomatoes and fresh cheeses. 

Tricia is a huge fan of an antipasti.  This is so easy to throw together and make for a light meal or starter at home.  Pull together some prosciutto, salami, provolone, fresh mozzarella, olives and roasted red peppers.  Arrange all of this on a platter, open your Dolcetto and enjoy!  For a bit more substance I've included my vegetable and tofu gratin recipe below...vegetarians delight!!





Tofu and Vegetable Gratin

1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 jar of good tomato sauce (or homemade, see below)
1 package extra firm tofu drained. 1/3 of tofu sliced off, save the rest for something else
salt and pepper
olive oil
1/2 cup cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
A round gratin dish or shallow round baking pan

Heat the oven to 375. Take the slice of tofu (1/3 of the block) and pat it dry. Place between lay in the bottom of a strainer and place in sink or bowl. lay several layers of paper towels on top of the tofu. Lay a brick or something heavy like a rock on top of the tofu and allow it to drain thoroughly. This could take some time, maybe a couple of hours or so but its even better if you do it overnight in the fridge using the bowl instead of the sink. You basically want to get as much of the water out of the tofu as possible. This is an easy thing to do ahead of time.

Unwrap the tofu and season it liberally with salt and pepper. Have your squashes sliced thinly. Toss the squash with a little olive oil and salt to taste. Heat up a non stick saute pan on high heat. Drizzle enough oil to coat the pan. Allow the oil to become smoking hot then lay your tofu in the pan and do not touch it for a couple minutes or until the edges are brown. (**your pan must be incredibly hot or the tofu will not brown). Flip the tofu and brown the other side. Set the tofu aside. Pour some tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan. Add the tofu in the middle. Layer your squash slices around the tofu. Cover with more tomato sauce and top with the shredded cheeses.

Bake away for about 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown! Yum!

* note: if you don't love tofu substitute it for sauteed mushrooms. Layer them around the pan with your squashes and follow the rest of the recipe. This would also be great with sauteed Italian sausage tossed in instead of tofu...use your imagination and have fun!

Enjoy,

Dave and Trish