Cavatelli

Cavatelli

Assuming the Puglian way, with sausage, broccoli or turnip tops, garlic, chilli and pecorino.

Cavatelli with sausage and greens brings pork fat, garlic, a little chilli and the pleasant bitterness of broccoli or turnip tops, finished with sharp pecorino. Bitterness and firm tannin together turn harsh, so the red should be soft in tannin with fresh fruit, and moderate in alcohol for the chilli. A wine with its own faintly bitter, almond edge meets the greens instead of fighting them.

Pairs Perfectly. Negroamaro, Puglia, Italy. Dark cherry, a bitter almond finish and soft tannin, from the same heel of Italy as the pasta. The bitterness in the glass meets the greens, the fruit handles the sausage, and it is priced for any night of the week.

Pairs Well. Susumaniello, Puglia, Italy. Dark berry and dried herb with soft tannin and real freshness.

Pairs Well. Bobal, Utiel-Requena, Spain. Dark, fresh and bright, with the acidity for pork fat and gentle grip.

Worth Seeking Out

Grignolino from Piedmont, Italy. Pale and sharp with a bitter finish and a firm grip that the sausage fat softens, one of the few reds made for bitter vegetables.

Avoid

Heavily oaked, very tannic or high alcohol reds. Tannin and bitter greens turn harsh together, and alcohol sharpens the chilli.

Failing That

A Côtes du Rhône Villages, France.

If All Else Fails

Rioja Crianza, Spain.

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