Nero Di Sei and Falsomagro: A Perfect Christmas Match

This wine marks the first harvest for Palmento Costanzo, the label that started our journey (which still continues) towards awareness and the promotion of wines from the slopes of the Etna. It is also Valeria Costanzo’s favorite label: as she states in this interview, it is her «third child», the fruit of hard work, growth and effort.

So this Christmas, we cannot recommend anything better than Nero di Sei Etna Rosso Doc: this wine will surely win you over, thanks to its innate elegance and drinkability, distinctive traits that make it truly stand out.

To properly celebrate the holidays, we would also like to suggest a local dish that perfectly goes with Nero di Sei. We are talking about Falsomagro: a name that immediately echoes festivities. The recipe requires some work, but the result will definitely be worth it: this dish encloses all the love that locals from Catania have for delicious stuffed meat.

A BIT OF HISTORY

The dish has unique origins that date back to the Angevin rule in the 13^th century. Falsomagro first spread in Palermo and then throughout Sicily, finding its chosen home in Catania. The name comes from the French word farce, which means «stuffing», then twisted to become farzu, a local term that means «false». This is an example of “lexical irony”, a typical Sicilian practice of twisting foreign terms and turning them into something else. Farzumagru is a deceiving word because beneath the “lean” meat roll is a rich stuffing made from cold cuts, eggs and cheese.

RECIPE FOR FALSOMAGRO ALLA CATANESE

Ingredients

• 1 kg veal rump (one slice)
• 80 g sliced baked ham
• 80 g sliced Mortadella
• 80 g grated Pecorino cheese
• 70 g breadcrumbs
• 3 boiled eggs
• 20 g lard
• 800 g chopped tomatoes (2 cans)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 glass of red wine
• 1 onion
• 500 g frozen peas
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Procedure

Mix grated Pecorino cheese and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Melt the lard using a double saucepan. Place the slice of veal on parchment paper and tenderize it using a meat mallet. Remove the top sheet and brush the meat with some melted lard. Sprinkle the surface with half of the Pecorino and breadcrumb mixture. Place the slices of mortadella and ham, then cover with the remaining cheese and breadcrumb mixture. Place the peeled boiled eggs on one side. Leave about 2cm along the borders when spreading the filling to facilitate wrapping and closing the roll.

Fold the edges of the meat inward and roll the Falsomagro tightly. Secure the roll with a kitchen string and seal the 2 ends of the roll using a needle and a strong thread.

Chop the onion and sauté it in a pan with some oil. Place the Falsomagro in the pan and sear well, turning it several times. Add a glass of Nero di Sei Etna Rosso Doc and let it simmer. Add tomato pulp, tomato paste, a few leaves of basil and some water. Add salt and pepper, cover with a lid and cook over very low heat for an hour and 10 minutes, turning the roll over a couple of times and wetting it with the sauce to keep it tender.

After an hour, add the peas and continue cooking the roll for another 20 minutes until the peas are ready. Add some salt if needed, remove from heat and let cool.

Bon Appetit and happy holidays from Palmento Costanzo!