Meet my nemesis, the Spaghetti Squash. Looks innocent, doesn’t he? Well don’t let that sunny yellow exterior fool you. This vegetable has suicidal tendencies.
I was only trying to gently steam the squash from the inside out. I poked the requisite number of holes in its tough exterior. Honest!
I spend a lot of time in restaurants these days, so when I am home for dinner, I try to pay particular attention to what we’re eating. I was also recently inspired by an awesome book by Tim Ferriss, The 4-Hour Body, and consequently we have been eating fewer processed carbohydrates these days. Hence the squash-subsitution for actual spaghetti!
Spaghetti sauce is so easy and fast to make- just a can of (really good) tomatoes, plus some sauteed garlic and whatever spices you like. Last night I went with a heavy dose of red pepper, some home-dried oregano, anchovies and capers.
I figured with this level of spicy and briny, salty umami the wine would need to be earthy, with a nice level of acidity. After digging through my (disorganized mess of a) wine cellar, I unearthed a 2003 Russo Ceppitaio. Oh yeah!
The Russo winery is located in Val di Cornia, within the hills of Suvereto. They are close to the sea, and have quite a bit of volcanic soil which is truly evident in the wine’s ashy, smoky undertones. This is sangiovese country, people!
The Ceppitaio is 55% Sangiovese, with the balance being a blend of Ciliegiolo, Colorino, Cannaiolo, Merlot and Cabernet. It has the bright acidity and violet perfume of a Sangiovese, with a rustic earthiness from the Ciliegiolo. This bottle had a few years of age on it, and it was showing some really intriguing “sotto-bosco” or “forest floor” aromas of dried oak leaves and porcini mushrooms. It was the perfect accompaniment to our tomato-sauce-over-exploding-spaghetti-squash.
Delicious. Oh, and for all you Tim Ferriss junkies out there, relax. We added a couple of eggs to amp up the protein quotient.