When Italian culinary traditions meet with international cuisine, something really special happens. That’s why our wines are so popular worldwide, and why we always love to show you how to pair it with wonderful dishes from every corner of the planet. Today, we would like to introduce you to our Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva, accompanied by a delicious roasted vegetable couscous.
Couscous needs no introduction: a very ancient preparation originated as a poor food, one of the most credited hypotheses is that it was the main source of sustenance of the Berber people, located in sub-Saharan Africa and along the Maghreb coast.
This population practiced nomadism and pastoralism and exploited as raw material essentially wheat and cereals, which, however, had to be treated appropriately in order to keep and remain good for cooking even after a long period of storage.
Today, we enjoy it as one of the most famous and appreciated dishes in the world. Another symbolic element linked to this dish concerns the ritual of its consumption, which makes it to all intents and purposes a progenitor of modern finger food: in fact, Arab populations have always eaten couscous with their hands, or more precisely with their fingers, taking their portion from a common plate as a sign of strong bonding with their diners. The etiquette is to take the cous cous with three fingers and form a small ball to bring to the mouth. Let’s dig into today’s recipe!
Ingredients (4 people):
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- 1 zucchini
- 0.5 bell pepper
- 0.5 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 1 cup couscous
- 1.5 cups vegetable broth
- Parsley
Preparation:
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Rinse your tomatoes and zucchini and then chop them into bite-sized pieces along with the bell pepper and red onion. Once you’ve finished, peel the garlic cloves.
- Toss chopped vegetables and garlic in olive oil in a large bowl to coat evenly. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
- Roast vegetables in the oven, stirring twice during cooking for about 45 minutes or until tender and with a golden edge.
- Meanwhile, prepare the couscous: Bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan with a lid. Stir in the couscous and immediately remove from the oven, cover the saucepan. Let it stand without touching for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
- Once the vegetables are done, remove the garlic cloves and chop finely. Chop the parsley roughly too.
- Combine in a large bowl couscous, roasted vegetables, and parsley. Mix well, season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve warm or chilled!
About the wine, usually couscous will be paired with a light white wine. But as we previously mentioned, in order to enhance the roasted vegetables’ flavor, today we want to suggest our finest Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
This great red wine takes its name from Montepulciano, a Renaissance town in the province of Siena that from the top of a hill dominates the wide and verdant Valdichiana.
The appellation “Nobile” seems to derive not only from its intrinsic qualities of finesse and elegance, but also from the fact that in the past the production of this wine was particularly cared for by the town's noble families.
This wine is made from Sangiovese (Prugnolo Gentile), Canaiolo, and other authorized grape varieties. The fermentation process includes skin maceration lasting from ten to fifteen days. After fermentation, the wine matures for two years in large 5,500-liter oval barrels made of Slavonian oak, as well as in 225-liter French oak barriques, all stored in a cellar at ambient temperature.
It is then refined in bottles for at least six months in a controlled environment where both temperature and humidity are regulated. In any case, the wine is not released to the market until one year later than the timeframe required by the official production regulations.
The resulting wine presents a brilliant ruby-red color that tends toward garnet with age. On the nose, it is ethereal and distinctive, with extraordinary elegance, offering subtle hints of violet and fine wood.
On the palate, it is dry, savory, harmonious, and velvety, with complex aromas ranging from exotic fruit to balsamic notes. It reveals a refined texture and a character of great nobility. What do you think? Isn’t this perfect for a nice couscous bowl?
