Pairing Spaghetti with Mussels and Fiano di Albano Carrisi

Fiano Minutolo di Albano Carrisi paired with a fish-based dish

Many dishes have a flavor that varies not only according to the ingredients, the cook and the recipe, but also change taste based on the memories within them and the places where they are savored.
Since I was young I have had the hobby of freediving, so at the seaside house on Procida I would spend every day wandering through the water.
Fish, mollusks and "frutti di mare": you never came back empty-handed!
Procida is the least known island in the Gulf of Naples, but it has a beautiful history and unique landscapes.
The Talented Mr. Ripley, Francesca e Nunziata, and above all Il Postino by Massimo Troisi are some of the films that found in the magnificent scenery of the island the ideal location for their scenes.
La Corricella, Terra Murata, the "Carbonchio" are just some of the places to see.
Childhood memories make this place unique to me.
Unfortunately the seabed of this place was altered by the tuna farms positioned offshore from the inlet of Carbonchio – a poor example of the "Italian way": politics, cynical and short-sighted entrepreneurship, a lack of attachment to one's own land. The program Report even covered it, but I don't want to go on at length – this, as Carlo Lucarelli would say, "is another story."
In any case, the quantity of plankton, the tuna excrement, the frozen fish fed to the farmed fish, or the reckless harvesting of mussels caused this shellfish, which once populated the coast, to disappear.
Since the removal of the farms, small mussels have magically begun to reappear and the vegetation is slowly returning to what it once was.
I'm not very fond of mussels – I only eat them here.

This year, despite the improvements, there are still no specimens large enough to dress our fantastic spaghetti.
So I decide to go out, with my father the chef, in search of a spot where the coast is more "fertile."
Armed with an oar and a canoe, I reach the point just before La Corricella – yes, this is the right spot!
The cozze di Procida have never been very large, but their flavor is excellent.
We take a few, as a kind gift from Neptune, without overdoing it – first and foremost I was taught respect for the sea and its fruits (and also a moderate fear of it, just the right amount).
Just enough for our spaghetti.
A good row, some good conversation, zero pollution!
We clean the mussels at sea by scrubbing them on the rocks, twenty steps and we're home, and the fruit of our labors is in the pot (how many people can do something like that?!?!)

Ingredients for 5 people:

• Mussels
• 500g of spaghetti
• 5-6 "ro piennolo" tomatoes
• One garlic bulb
• Olive oil
• Parsley
• Salt (if needed and to taste)
• Pepper

Mussels in the pot with neither water nor salt.
We let them open up and they themselves will give us a good amount of liquid.
Once all have opened, we begin to shell them and clean them of the cirrus; once finished, we filter the "whitish" water we have in the pot through a piece of gauze (there is no utensil worthy of accomplishing this task like gauze, given its extremely fine mesh which removes all unwanted sediment).
As I write I think my father would kill me if he knew I was revealing his recipe, but I know that only he can make it taste this good – in any case, try to beat him!
Take 5-6 cherry tomatoes "ro piennolo" and cut them in half; the tomatoes should not be too many – "we are not making pasta al sugo" – they are only there to add fragrance and soften that of the mussels.
In a pan pour generous oil and 9 cloves of garlic split in two – yes, you read that right, "because fish is cooked with oil and garlic!"
Once the garlic has browned, try to hold back your hunger and add the cherry tomatoes.
Then add the parsley, which along with the tomatoes comes from our little vegetable garden, and let it wilt together with the shelled mussels and the filtered water we set aside.
The finishing touch? A sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.
Just 5 minutes is enough.
A shame we can't attach aromas to text!
The wine pairing is the result of a pleasant obligation!
The only white we have left is the "Fiano Minutolo" by Albano Carrisi; funny that there is no Campanian Fiano in our pantry!
The Fiano Minutolo is a rare grape variety, a very aromatic white from Salento.
It was rediscovered not long ago, but many still believe it to be the same as Fiano campano!
Nothing could be further from the truth – a wine with much more pronounced aromas, enough to earn it, for some, the nickname of the Gewurztraminer of the south.
Intense straw-yellow color, hints of ripe light fruits: apple, peach, apricot and pineapple.
On the palate we find the same aromas enriched by the fragrance of sage and a soft, enveloping taste.

A fine wine at a more than accessible price.
All things considered, it went well!
Today's dish has a unique value, because in other places it would not taste the same.
In a few moments of preparation you can savor the true flavor of summer, as Al Bano sang with Romina – "acqua di mare negli occhi miei"!