The Italian culinary tradition is rooted in centuries of history and unconditional love for our products. That’s why everybody loves it, and why each and every region has its own delicious dishes and local specialities. In this article, we will analyze a very interesting recipe: did you ever try a Tuscan-style guinea fowl? This particular bird is one of the main protagonists of Tuscan cuisine, and therefore it's perfect to match with our local red wines.
The guinea fowl is a bird of Egyptian origin, much appreciated for its tasty meat, which has transformed it through the years from game to farm animal. Usually consumed during the holiday season, Guinea fowl presents a lean, white meat, a cross between chicken and pheasant, but even tastier. Rich in proteins, low in fat and an excellent source of group B vitamins. To be sure of preparing delicious dishes, it is usually better to cook young guinea fowl, which you can recognize by their still pale legs. But for our recipe, the meat will be valued regardless of the age of the animal.
Without any further ado, let’s dive into it! As autumn makes its comeback with overcast skies, the opportunities to assemble around the dining table grow. Specifically, for a Sunday midday meal amidst friends, we suggest crafting a delectable Tuscan slow-cooked guinea fowl, a very flavorful and straightforward dish to cook up.
Cooking guinea fowl is quite uncomplicated and incredibly adaptable. Indeed, it's suitable for both extended simmering and speedy preparations. It can be readied as a whole, simmered and filled, as well as in smaller portions. Whether it's oven-baked or sautéed, the crucial aspect in guinea fowl cooking is to ensure it reaches the desired level of doneness.
Amidst the various approaches to prepare this creature, slow-cooking stands out as one of the most fitting for autumn and winter culinary endeavors. The Tuscan-style simmered guinea fowl represents a highly palatable, warm, and embracing recipe that brilliantly elevates the bird's meat flavor. For its preparation, a handful of key ingredients are essential to impart a distinctive taste: celery, carrot, onion, San Marzano tomatoes, and fragrant herbs. This culinary creation evokes similarities to chicken “alla cacciatora”, diverging primarily in the absence of wine. The secret to its exquisite taste lies in the extended simmering over a gentle flame, allowing the meat to absorb all the fragrances from the sauce—an intrinsic element of the dish. To optimize its taste, we recommend serving the stewed guinea fowl with a few slices of freshly baked bread or polenta.
To accompany this exquisite dish, we can only recommend our special Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Vigneto Poggio Sant'Enrico 2012 DOCG. This exceptional wine, boasting remarkable heritage and crafted in highly restricted batches, possesses all the attributes that make it a worthy candidate for long-term aging. The grape harvest for this vintage is sourced from the compact 1.33-hectare (3.20-acre) Poggio Sant’Enrico Piccolo and the more expansive 3.65-hectare (8.76-acre) Poggio Sant’Enrico Grande vineyards. Nestled at altitudes ranging between 300 to 350 meters (~1,000ft), these vineyards are located just beyond the periphery of Montepulciano (Siena).
Made with Sangiovese grapes, this wine exudes a robust and vigorous bouquet, marked by fragrant black fruits and plum scents, coupled with notes of black pepper, walnut, and subtle vanilla undertones. On the palate, it presents a full-bodied taste, enriched by the exceptional intensity of its black fruit flavors. Its substantial structure is complemented by smooth tannins, culminating in a prolonged and enduring finish. What are you waiting for, then? This autumn indulge in a wonderful Guinea fowl dish with the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano that we specifically selected for you!
