Fusilli with a Swiss chard sauce, crispy bacon and sharp provolone

A flavorful first course that we find pairs well with a young red: Salento Rosso Alberello 2020 Felline.

Ingredients for 4 people:

320g fusilli, 2 bunches of Swiss chard, 100g flat bacon, 150g sharp (piccante) provolone Valpadana, 4 anchovy fillets, 1 garlic clove, hot chili pepper, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Directions:

Separate the green part of the chard from the white. Blanch the green leaves for a few minutes in boiling, salted water and then remove using a skimmer (save the water for cooking the pasta). Blend the leaves in a mixer with abundant EVOO, salt, pepper and complete by mixing in some of the cooking water. Keep to the side.

Cut the white part of the leaves into strips and sauté them in a broad pan with some EVOO, the garlic, chili pepper and anchovy fillets.

Cut the bacon into stripes and fry them in a non-stick pan without using any oil.

Boil the fusilli until they are al dente (undercooked), drain and mix the pasta into the pan with the white parts of the chard. Add the sauce from the green parts and salt to taste. Add an abundant amount of grated provolone and mix everything together.

Serve on flat plates topped with the crispy bacon and some more grated provolone.

Impiattare aggiungendo la pancetta croccante e grattugiando sopra altro provolone.

Wine to pair:

Salento Rosso Alberello 2020 Felline

Very intense ruby red color. Clean and very neat aromas of black plums, Morello cherries, red roses and rhubarb. Nice fruitiness in the mouth, good structure, dynamic, enveloping and great drinkability.

Production area: vineyards in Salento peninsula.

Grape variety: Primitivo 50%, Negramaro 50%.

Vinification: in steel tanks.

Alcohol content: 13% vol.

Serving temperature: 16-18°C.

Suggested food pairings: with almost all Mediterranean dishes.

Related Products