Stuffed Calamaro Recipe and Pairing with the Right Wine

Calamaro ripieno and Viognier 2011 Calatrasi e Miccichè

Every time I hear the words "calamaro ripieno" a sense of anxiety stirs inside me, tied to the memory of this dish cooked by a friend of my father's… who despite the young age of me and my friends sitting at the table, caught us all off guard with its heaviness! The consequence? A ruined night out at the disco!
Now that I think about it, I have to laugh, but that calamaro stuffed with a kind of "meatball" cooked in a thick sauce had all the lightness of a boulder!
The recipe we're sharing with you today, however, is very light and simple to make!

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 4 whole calamari
• 20g di capperi di Pantelleria
• 110g olive nere di Gaeta
• 10 "pomodorini ro' piennolo"
• tomato passata
• olive oil
• salt
• parsley
• 1 clove of garlic

Clean the calamari and separate the tentacles from the body.

Chop the tentacles into small pieces and let them brown in olive oil with garlic and parsley: just a few moments is enough, toward the end of which you can also add the olives (set about 10 aside for later) and the rinsed capers with the salt removed.

Once done, set the mixture aside and use it to fill the upper part of the calamaro; arm yourself with a needle and thread and seal it all up like a "pouch".

Prepare the sauce (we used only fresh tomatoes, passing most of them through and leaving a few crushed) and add the calamari; let them cook thoroughly and at the end add the olive nere di Gaeta you set aside earlier.
The dish is ready.
Garnish with a few leaves of fresh parsley.
You could also use the sauce to dress some pasta!

Now let's move on to the wine: Viognier 2011 Calatrasi e Miccichè, a white wine produced using 100% Viognier grapes, fermented at a controlled temperature and left to macerate on fine lees for several months in stainless steel.
The Viognier grape variety originates from the Valle del Rodano, in France, where it was introduced by the emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus, of Serbian origin, which suggests its roots may be Balkan.
Neglected for many years due to low productivity, it has made a comeback as the backbone of Cote du Rhone wines, known for their restrained acidity and intense aromatic profile.
The grape variety is well suited to warm climates given its drought resistance and produces wines that are generally best drunk without too much aging.
Today, in Italy, it is cultivated in Sicily, Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, Umbria and Lazio.

The wine from Calatrasi e Miccichè presents itself in colour as straw yellow with green reflections, on the nose bright flowers such as jasmine and citrus blossom, with notes of yellow fruit among which apricot and pineapple stand out.
On the palate it is savory, mineral, acidic and fresh.

An interesting fact: the estate from which the wine comes sits in the valley of Corleone and is produced by Maurizio Miccichè; in the area of the vineyards, the Piana degli Albanesi, in 1946 the bandit Giuliano ordered his men to open fire on rebelling peasants.