Roero Arneis Docg Duchessa Lia: how to drink it and how to accompany it at the table

White wine is normally paired with a sunset on the beach, with the sun, with a cool sip to contrast the summer heat. All true, but this doesn’t mean that the whites can’t be perfect even in winter, paired with more full-bodied and important dishes, typical of a season in which you eat a little less light than usual.

Roero Arneis Docg, a beautiful native Piedmontese white icon of the Roero hills, for example, can really be a wine for every season. Perfect combined with fish dishes, it is however able to support even more demanding dishes, as demonstrated by the recipe proposed in combination with Roero Arneis by Duchessa Lia, premium brand of Cantine Capetta of Santo Stefano Belbo, in the Langhe. A winery founded in 1953 and now in its third generation, whose wines represent the colours, scents and flavors of Asti, Roero and Monferrato. Including, in fact, the Roero Arneis Docg.

The Roero Arneis of Duchess Lia

Light, dry and harmoniously perfumed: these are the three notes that characterize Roero Arneis by Duchessa Lia: one of the excellences of the leading brand in Italy in the Piedmontese wine sector.

It is a white with a beautiful straw yellow that can turn towards amber hues. It is characterized by delicate aromas, floral and fruity notes, full body, and a pleasant acidity. Perfect with any fish dish, it naturally goes well with any other delicate dish. In any case, it is always ideal for an elegant aperitif. To be served between 8 and 10° C.

Pairing recipe

The risotto with pears, robiola and toasted almonds it is a first course vegetarian creamy and flavorful perfect for the season spring. The pears give freshness to the dish, the soft cheese is used for creaming and the salted toasted almonds are the crunchy and savory note that cannot be missing. Beautiful to look at, it can be scented with fresh marjoram. The recommendation is to make it with rice of the variety carnaroli both for its ability to absorb seasonings and for its excellent resistance to cooking.

The recipe is by Sara Milletti for Duchess Lia and can be found in its full version on the blog Appetite comes with eating.

Risotto with pears, robiola cheese and toasted almonds

Ingredients for 4 people

• 800 ml of vegetable broth
• 320 g of Carnaroli rice
• 120 g of fresh robiola
• 3 Kaiser pears
• 1 shallot
• 1 glass of dry white wine
• 1 bunch of fresh marjoram
• 1 knob of butter
• freshly ground black pepper
• Salt to taste

for the salted toasted almonds

• 100 g of peeled almonds
• 20 g of egg white
• Salt to taste

Method: Make the salted toasted almonds. Preheat the oven to 185°C in ventilated mode. Put the egg white in a small bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Add the almonds and mix to ensure that they are completely covered in egg white. Cover a baking sheet with baking paper. Drain the almonds well in a sieve to remove the excess egg white and place them on the baking paper, spacing them apart. Add salt and then toast them for about 10 minutes, turning them halfway through cooking. When they are golden, turn off the oven, open the door and let the almonds cool inside.

Prepare the pear chips. Wash a pear and with the help of a mandoline cut it without peeling it lengthwise to a few mm thick. Preheat the oven to 170°C in ventilated mode. Arrange the pear slices on a baking tray covered with baking paper and let them dry for 15-20 minutes, checking them often and turning them with kitchen tongs during cooking. When they are ready, remove them from the oven and let them cool on a cake rack. Keep aside.

Make the risotto with pears, robiola cheese and salted toasted almonds. Finely chop the shallot and put it in a saucepan with the butter. Sauté then add the rice and toast it. Add salt, then pour in the wine and let the alcohol evaporate over a lively flame. When the alcohol has evaporated, pour over the boiling vegetable broth and cook for 8 minutes, adding more broth if necessary. In the meantime, peel the remaining pears and cut them into pieces, removing the central core. Add the pears to the risotto and cook (taste and check that the risotto is savory, otherwise adjust with additional salt). Remove the rice from the heat then add the robiola. Stir to thicken the risotto, cover with a lid and let it rest for a minute. Divide the risotto among the plates and complete with the pear chips, the toasted salted almonds coarsely chopped with a knife, the marjoram leaves and a grind of black pepper.

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