Lobster and coppa pork roast with a whiskey sauce

It’s important to be bold and so we pair this American-inspired dish with a wine Americans are wild about: Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2013 Famiglia Pasqua.

This re-adapted recipe was created by Vincenzo Marconi, the historic chef at the La Fornace restaurant in San Vittore Olona, in the province of Milan, known also for his participation on a TV food show. While always respectful of Italian food traditions, he does not shy away from experimenting with international dishes. During one of his trips to America, he had the opportunity to try something we would never have imagined: a dish in which meat and shellfish came together in perfect harmony and so he decided to create his own interpretation.

Ingredients for 4 people:

1kg coppa pork meat, 2 lobsters each 600g and 1 knob of clarified butter.

For the marinade: 1l water, 80g salt and 60g sugar.

For the whiskey sauce: 1 cup cream, 1 demitasse cup of whiskey, 2 tablespoons of lacquer*, 100g butter and 1 demitasse cup of soya sauce.

For the lacquer*: 2 celery sticks, 2 carrots, 2 onions, ½ kg pigs feet, ½ kg mixed meat bones and trimmings, 1 liter Valpolicella and water as needed.

Directions:

Prepare the lacquer a day beforehand: cut the carrots, celery and onions into pieces and put them in a large pot with a glass of water and cover and strew. Add in the pigs’ feet, meat trimmings and bones and toast them at a high heat, mixing frequently to ensure nothing burns. Cover with the wine and water, cover the pot and reduce to 1/3 at a very low heat (this may take hours). Filter through a strainer when it is still hot.

Prepare the marinade a day beforehand: use a bowl to mix together the water, salt and sugar. Tie the coppa roast and emerge it into the marinade. Seal tight with plastic wrap and let it sit the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Preparing the sauce: at a low heat melt two tablespoons of lacquer into the cream, whiskey, butter and soya sauce and then keep to the side.

Cut the lobster tails lengthwise into two, boil the claws for 10 minutes and fry the head shells for a few minutes to be used as decoration.

Take the meat out of the marinade, dry it well with paper towels and then seal in a plastic bag with a knob of butter and cook in a thermostatic oven at 68°C for 14 hours. If you do not have such an oven place the meat in a pan with high sides together with all the marinade, cover with aluminum foil and bake for four hours at 140°C or until the meat reaches an interior temperature of 70°C.

Let the meat cool then remove it from the liquid (or the plastic wrap), dry with paper towels and cut into four pieces.

Melt a knob of clarified butter in a preferably cast iron or aluminum pan and then brown the meat on both sides at a high heat. Add the split lobster tails and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes.

Place a slice of pork on each pre-heated plate together with a half lobster tail and a shelled claw, douse with the whiskey sauce and garnish with the fried lobster shells.

Wine to pair:

(edited by Stefania Vinciguerra)

Amarone della Valpolicella Docg Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine

blackberries and cherries. On the palate it displays spicy tones that remind one of chocolate and freshly-roasted coffee, as well as sweetish vanilla-like notes from its long maturation in wood. It is warm and well-balanced, with gentle tannins and a long finish.

Production area: Vineyards located on the hillside areas of Valpantena, north eastern part of Valpolicella. Calcareous, flaky debris and prevalently pebbly soil.

Grape variety: Dried grapes Corvina 65%, Rondinella 25%, Corvinone 5%. Negrara 5%.

Wine-making: It is obtained from the best bunches harvested by hand and left to raisin in wooden crates for about 3 months. After raisining, the grapes increase in sugar extracts by 25-30%. The dried grapes are pressed and left to ferment for 25-30 days. Then, the product is pressed and racked in steel tanks where malolactic fermentation takes place. Afterwards the wine is placed in small oak barrels where it ages for 18- 20 months, before bottling. Ageing in bottle for 4 months.

Alcoholic content: 15% vol.

Serving temperature: 18°C.

Suggested food pairings: Excellent with grilled red meat, powerful game stews and aged, rich cheeses. Try it also with bitter chocolate.

THIS RECIPE IS OFFERED BY PASQUA