Allora……
After arriving home a bit later than expected recently, I put together this delicious dinner in under 20 minutes and it was thoroughly enjoyed along with some good Big East football….
Gnocchi con Gamberi
1 pkg vacuum sealed potato gnocchi
1 can (8 oz) Italian cherry tomatoes
3 garlic cloves sliced
12 shrimp, (I had frozen jumbos)
2 large handfuls rocket
In a saute pan get the garlic going in some extra virgin oil and then add the tomatoes. Break the tomatoes gently with your tongues (don’t try that at home kids! I meant TONGS) and as they cook down, boil the gnocchi. Shortly before the gnocchi are done, (when they float freely) add the raw shrimp to the saute pan and cook until they turn color. Just before draining the gnocchi, add the rocket to the pan. Here’s a picture just before I added the gnocchi:
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Gnocchi Condimento: Tomato, garlic, shrimp & rocket |
It took about 15 minutes to prepare & here’s the plated dish…..
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Gnocchi con Gamberi |
With this , we opened the 2008 Frescobaldi Lucente. Had I not known, I would have pegged this as almost entirely Cabernet. In fact, the blend is 50% Merlot, 35% Sangiovese, and 15% Cabernet. At the moment, it smells and tastes like a Cabernet. It’s inky purple in the glass with a violet hue at the rim. There are generous aromas of black fruits, cedar, mineral and green herbs. In the mouth, the wine is ripe and full bodied. It’s somewhat monolithic and displays a noticeable amount of toasty French oak. It’s chewy, with lots of dusty tannins that seem to coat the black fruit flavors. There are some noticeable cookings spices on the finish. Overall, a fairly generic red that doesn’t speak too much of it’s roots. Well made, but for readers that want more authenticity from their Tuscans, you are better served finding some of the other wines I’ve reviewed here. 90 points, about $19.
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Frescobaldi Lucente: 50% Merlot, 35% Sangiovese, 15% Merlot |
I've rarely had a good pairing featuring red wine and shellfish. I tend to find that most times it results in the wine coming across as rather metallic. Glad to see this one worked out for you.
I have to admit, I would've taken the easy way out and opened a rose or white with this dish.
I agree generally, but I had wanted to try this wine to see what the fuss was about. The shrimp were good, and the dish was more gnocchi-tomato based. In general though, I'd agree. That said, I had something similar served to me in Tuscany, so who the hell knows…