Medlock Ames Cianfotta

A16 restaurant in San Francisco may only pour Southern Italian wines (no Medlock Ames!) but that does not stop us dining there. This Cianfotta – a vegetable stew of sorts – is an A16 classic and we’ve adapted their recipe as a great way to make use of those ‘end of summer’ vegetables. It also works well as a hearty but yet elegant partner to both our 2004 Merlot and the 2006 Pinot Noir. Enjoy liberally and with good company – this recipe feeds four hungry and thirsty people.

• A good handful or two of shaved Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino
• 2 Cups or so of olive oil (we used our own)
• Good sea salt
• ½ dozen cloves of garlic
• Some sprigs of marjoram
• Squash blossoms, thinly sliced
• cup of tomatoes (diced) – little ripe cherry ones are good
• A handful of local potatoes – cut into nice little cubes
• An eggplant (we use Rosa Bianca) cut into small cubes
• A cup of great ham stock (prosciutto brodo)
• Zucchini – about 4 cups diced
• Bulb of fennel
• A bay leaf
• Water – a healthy ‘glug’

As your oven heats to 300ºF, spread the eggplants and zucchini onto a baking sheet, then salt them (good three finger pinch) and let stand for 30 minutes. Then, trim the fennel bulb and slice into fairly thin pieces. In a pot that is heavy enough to go into your oven, bring the olive oil, garlic (peeled and then bashed with the side of a knife and a little salt – the bigger the noise as you smash it the better!), marjoram and bay leaf together and stir as the garlic softens. Add the fennel and another healthy pinch of salt and continue to stir every now and then until fennel softens. Then, add in the potatoes, taking care to make sure they become well oiled by the mixture. Allow them to cook a little and take on some color.

Give the zucchini and eggplant pieces a quick dry before adding them to the pot (making sure they become well oiled also). Then, cover the pot and put into heated oven until vegetables are tender but not overcooked. Remove from oven and drain off most of the oil and then add about a cup each of water and brodo (or a good ham stock. You can make the brodo simply by asking your local delicatessen for the ‘nubs’ of prosciutto that are too small to slice and boiling them into a rich stock – delicious) before bringing the pot to a simmer over a medium heat and cooking for another few minutes. Add in the dainty squash blossoms and the tomatoes for another few minutes of simmering before tasting. Depending on your stock, you may want to add some more salt but tasting at this point is key.

Serve immediately in shallow bowls and throw some shaved hard cheese on top to complete the dish. A real rustic but heart warming dish to share and one that gets better once left overnight. For those that are so inclined, some torn arugula leaves and a final dose of cracked black pepper finishes this off nicely.