Friday, May 28, 2021

Wine and Food of the Giro 2021 Stage 19: Abbietagresso to Alpe di Mera

Where are we? Spending time in Lombardy and Piedmont

Abbiategrasso: A travel site tells me that: This ancient town, about 20 km from Milan, is included in the Natural Park of the Ticino River, and is an important agricultural center producing mainly rice and maize.
Its wide territory - the second largest commune in the province after Milan - includes a network of navigable canals, the so-called Navigli, originally excavated to connect the river with the city of Milan.

Alpe di Mera: The Giro tells me that: With its 30 km of groomed slopes, it offers a splendid ski park to all enthusiasts of ski and is a real paradise for athletes. It’s easily reachable thanks to the double access, from Scopello and Alpe Trogo, and to the large parking of the ski lifts. It overlooks the valley from above with a surprising glance and allows its visitors to admire the Monte Rosa massif in all its majesty. This panorama is unmatched in Valsesia!

Giro specialties:
Abbiategrasso: none listed
Alpe di Mera: None listed

The stage: This news from yesterday was interesting. Also, news on today's route: The stage has been altered from the original route. The peloton were due to tackle the Mottarone climb near Lake Maggiore, though RCS Sport took the decision to cut the climb following the tragic cable crash crash on the mountain which killed 14 people on Sunday. All prize money on the stage will be donated to the victims.

Our break of the day: An unexpected split in the peloton found Martinez behind, putting Ineos under some pressure. Under sixty kilometers to go, they were back together with the gap to the break around two minutes. As they rode along, a small crash caused to abandonment of Brambilla.
Forty kilometers to go and the gap was 1:24. 
That gap would stay fairly steady as they approached the final climb.
Fifteen kilometers to go and it was at 1:02. 
Ten kilometers to go and down to twenty four seconds. 
As soon as they hit the climb, Ganna peeled off from the front of the peloton. Their teammates had gotten them here, but it would be up to the gc riders to finish the day.
Just a bit further and the break was caught.
The gc group had gotten very small, very quickly.
A little over six kilometers to go and an attack by Yates.
He would be followed by Almeida, Vlasov, Bennett and Caruso, but not by Bernal, who was riding behind with teammates. 
Yates would surge forward and lead solo.
Three kilometers to go and the gap was only twenty four seconds. With Martinez dropping, Bernal would lead the chase himself. Only Almeida would stay with him.
One kilometer to go and Yates had twenty seconds to Bernal and Almeida.
Almeida would drop Bernal, to finish solo second.
A reminder that tomorrow is another very hard, quite probably harder stage.





The wine: Ettore Germano Rosanna
Pink and sparkling? Yes please.
From the importer: Several years ago, Sergio Germano made an experimental batch of 'classic method' sparkling wine from early harvested Nebbiolo, and it was delicious. Red berries, bright acidity, beautiful pink color, I was smitten. Now we have enough to actually sell the wine (once my crew has had a crack at it), and we are very happy. The 'Rosanna' is named after Sergio's mother; it's made of green-harvested Nebbiolo from around his winery, all Barolo vineyards. It’s dry, delicious and complex, perfect as an aperitif but I think it would be great with salmon, too.

The food: The local tourist site suggests cake:

Tartufata

Ingredients for the Sponge Cake: 6 eggs, sugar 180 g., flour 00 75 g, potato flour 75 g, a pinch of salt

Ingredients for the filling: 3 egg yolks, whole milk 250 ml, sugar 70 g, maize starch 25g, 1 sachet of vanillin powder, sugarless fresh whip-cream 250 ml, shelled and toasted hazelnuts 100 g or two table spoons of hazelnut cream

Ingredients for the alcohol soaking: water 100 g, sugar 80 g, rum 40 g, "maraschino” spirit 40 g

Ingredients for the chocolate leaves: dark chocolate 150 g, hazelnut granules 50 gr., butter 40 g

Hazelnut granules to coat the edge of the cake.

Icing sugar to be abundantly sprinkled on the cake after coating it with the dark chocolate layer.

Preparation:

To proceed with the cake, first beat up the eggs and the sugar for at least 20 minutes. After making sure the eggs have not turned liquid, gently add the two previously sifted flours and pour the entire mixture into a greased and floured 24-26 cm deep-edge mould and bake at 170 °C.

Prepare the alcohol soaking: boil the water with the sugar for about ten minutes, then remove the saucepan from the fire; add to the still hot mixture the rum and the maraschino spirit to let the alcohol evaporate while preserving the aroma.

Prepare the filling: heat he whole milk while at the same time whipping up the yolks mixed with the sugar. Add the carefully sifted mixing well to avoid the formation of lumps. Add the sachet of vanillin gradually diluting it in the hot milk. Keep stirring and gradually move pan back on the stove and wait for the mixture to thicken. Prepare a batter grinding the previously toasted nuts with a kitchen robot. Add the hazelnut batter to the vanillin-flavoured cream, cover it with a plastic food film, and let it cool off. Whip up the fresh cream and spread it on the cake working gently from the bottom up.

Prepare the chocolate leaves: thaw the dark chocolate by stirring it with the butter in a double boiler pan, then spread the mixture on a layer of baking paper. Let it cool off and then cut out some chocolate curls with a potato peeler or a flat blade knife.

Assemble the sponge cake: Cut it into three layers, slightly moisten it with the sponging alcoholic mix and then fill each layer with the chantilly hazelnut cream.  Complete the cake by topping it with a sponge cake disc, covering both the top and the edges with the remaining cream. With the hazelnut granules decorate the edge and then with the remaining softened chocolate cut off some flakes or curls either with a potato peeler or a flat blade cheese cutter  

Posted by at

1 comment:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)