Thursday, May 17, 2018

Wine and Food of the Giro 2018 Stage 12: Osimo to Imola

Where are we?
Imola: The local tourist site tells me that: Walking through the streets of Imola, or better yet looking at a map or an aerial photo, one immediately has the sensation not of a town made up of a mass of roads and buildings which have slowly risen, but of a well planned urban structure rationally organised and characterised by two main orthogonal roads (Via Emilia, Via Appia and Via Mazzini) which cross in the centre of the town (near the Town Hall). From these main roads a series of side streets extend at right angles, therefore creating regular blocks.
This antique planning is a Roman territorial project about 2000 years old. The urban planning of today’s town is still based on the Roman Forum Cornelii, which was founded in the II century BC along the important Via Aemilia.

 Giro reigonal specialities: Fresh pasta (garganelli, above all), piadina (flatbread), crescente (dough with bacon and rosemary), streghette (unleavened bread with lard and salt), cheeses (casatella, squacquerone, pecorino), Val Santerno apricots, “Pesca di Romagna” peaches and Igp (protected geographical indication) chestnuts from Castel del Rio. 

The stage:

Should be another sprint stage today.


 
And rain! Eighty kilometers to go and the gap was 2:41. This has been very much one of those classic, dull sprint stages. Fifty kilometers and the gap had not changed significantly. Some lightning on the screen providing excitement at least. Thirty five kilometers to go and the gap had dropped to 1:44. With the wet weather, the gc teams would want their leaders towards the front, which might lead to jostling with the sprint trains.
Suddenly though, splits. Word that Carapaz and Pozzovivo for gc and Viviani for the sprint may have been caught out.



 Twenty kilometers to go and the break had been caught. Behind, the key riders from the split were getting back. As they came back, an attack by Wellens. Further back, Viviani was off the back of the main pack. Wellens would be caught with ten kilometers to go. Could the remaining sprint teams hold it together or would it be more escapees? Lots of attempts, but none seemed to be sticking. At eight kilometers, Ulissi was gaining ground and would be joined by Betancur. Catching them, Mohoric. Their gap though never really got more than five seconds. Wow, a great display of power from Sam Bennett as he jumped early and flew out of the pack. 


 


The Wine:  Azienda Crocizia Besiosa Sparkling Malvasia 2015
I actually had a different wine planned for this stage, but  Christy said:  skin contact, orange but super fresh and flora, so I couldn't resist.  
Especially after I read the write-up on her site:
Feiring Line Wine Society: August 2017 Selection
From Alice: Notes from Alice: I don’t know why this skin contact  (ten days) wine from malvasia surprised me, but it did. The tannins are completely integrated. There’s that iron crunch, a little carnation, some bitterness --- bitter orange and slight fizz, a ready-made spritzer. If you’re in need of a breakfast wine, this will do nicely.
The producer's site tells me: We are small winemakers and we think that wine must first of all be a natural product, alive and evolving, recognizable and unique. In doing so, we try to respect the link between the plants and the land that makes them grow, in the narrowest sense possible by accepting what nature gives us during the year, without corrections and forcing.

The Crocizia farm was founded 15 years ago, recovering a small farm for years abandoned. After tidying up the old building, we decided to plant vines, ripping about a hectare of land to the mountain in a place that we consider special, a natural terrace overlooking the river Parma. The vineyard is surrounded by woods, meadows and fruit trees for a total farm extension of five hectares. It consists of Malvasia di Candia and Sauvignon for white grapes, Barbera, Croatina and Pinot Nero for red wines.

Food: Piadina from Academia Barilla


Ingredients: Per 4 servings


  • 1 pound all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 cup water

  • Prosciutto di Parma
  • Squacquerone, or another fresh, soft cheese (such as stracchino cheese or cottage cheese)
  • arugula
  •  
  • Piadina is traditionally made with pork fat. Our piadina is a lighter version made with extra-virgin olive oil.
    Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl, then mix in oil and water.
    Knead dough for about 10 minutes until smooth in consistency.
    Cover dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for an hour.     Note: If the dough is being prepared in advance, you can keep the prepared dough in the refrigerator.
    Lightly flour the countertop and roll out the dough with a rolling pin until very thin, around a tenth of an inch.
    Cut out 7-12 inch circles and poke holes in it with a fork.
    Cook in a non-stick pan over medium heat without added fat for 1-2 minutes each side.
    Serve warm, either alone or as part of a sandwich.
    Piadinas are usually stuffed with salted and savoury ingredients. The most famous in Italy is with Prosciutto di Parma and squacquerone, a fresh, soft cheese. If unavailable, squacquerone can be replaced with stracchino cheese or even cottage cheese. The cheese and prosciutto are placed on the piadina with greens which is then folded up and served.
     
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