Gelatina di Nero d’Avola – Nero d’Avola Wine Gelatin

Bonnie, old friend and lover of all things Sicilian, this one is for you. This is one very adult homemade jello. By now you know about my ongoing love affair with gelatin. Now I have taken it one step further. I’ve hit the bottle. A Sicilian bottle, no less. And I thought of you all the way. We’ve been drinking a lot of Nero d’Avola (NEH-roh DAV-oh-lah) around here of late. Formerly the step child grape of the region, its predominant use was in the blending of other regional wines, adding substantial color and backbone. Now Nero d’Avola (the black grape of Avola) has come into its very well deserved own as the star grape of Sicily. The dark heavily fruity wines made from it have found their way into the hearts of wine lovers everywhere. This wine stands up to the strongest of foods – big juicy steaks and hardy meat sauces. It is magnificent in a long cooking beef braised with porcini. This baby’s got teeth.

Then why, you might ask would I use such a powerful wine in such a delicate thing as gelatin? Good question because a wine so powerful as this would not, at first glance seem like a candidate for dessert gelatin. But the wine is something of a chameleon – for all its backbone, with careful consideration it can also complement milder foods, and that’s where the gelatin idea came in. Although it is redolent of fruits like blackberries and plums, it also has some steel, a harsher side of black pepper and minerals – like Sicily. In order to make it work for a dessert I figured I’d need to highlight the fruit by adding sugar. Certainly I would top it with sweetened whipped cream – a given for any of my gelatin desserts. During the initial testing something was missing. I needed something to tie the gelatin and cream into a cohesive whole. Then it hit me. Cinnamon, cannella in Italian. Talk about an organic match, the addition of cinnamon to the sweetened whipped cream was the ideal complement to the flavors of the wine, tilting as it did, the wine’s flavor profile in favor of the fruit and downplaying the muscle. And cinnamon occupies its own place in the long and colorful history of Sicily. Not all cinnamon is created equal, and not everything we call cinnamon is in fact true cinnamon. My favorite of the lot is Vietnamese Saigon Cassia. The trees grow from twenty to thirty years before harvest, and the spice is stronger, darker and sweeter than any cinnamon you have ever used. As soon as you open the container you will be bowled over by the heady spice and warmth. Savory Spice Shop in Denver, Colorado sells the finest of all. Try theirs once and you will never use anything else.

I suggest a serving size of 1/4 cup. In order to make this dessert work, you must liberally garnish the gelatin with whipped cream, and I do mean liberally. You want your guests to get a bit of whipped cream with each bite of gelatin. Remember this wine will come to your guests with its full freight of alcohol content; although it is brought to the boil to dissolve the gelatin, it does not linger there. None of the alcohol is burned off. (This kitchen phenomenon is receiving renewed investigation – turns out a whole lot less alcohol cooks off than we used to think.) So don’t fool yourself. And do not leave the wine at the boil. Do so and you will irretrievably alter its character and destroy your dessert. Oh, and did I mention the chocolate shavings? Chocolate ties it all together completing the ensemble. If you are lucky enough to have some chocolate from Modica’s Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, the most famous chocolate maker in all of Sicily, use it for a decidedly authentic dessert. Go ahead, splurge. You’ll be transported.

Note: To listen to Nero d’Avola and other Italian grapes and appellations spoken by winemakers and grape growers, click here to go to the Do Bianchi Italian Grape Name and Appellation Pronunciation Project.

Gelatina di Nero d’Avola

makes 8 servings, 1/4 cup each

2 cups Nero d’Avola wine, divided
5 to 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 packet plus 1 teaspoon KNOX Unflavored Gelatine

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate shavings

As I always say – don’t be put off by the idea of using gelatin. Once you understand it, you’ll be glad you took the time to learn. Classic gelatin technique consists of two steps, bloom and dissolve. If you are new to gelatin or just need a refresher, click to see my article on Espresso Panna Cotta and come up to speed with step by step directions. For even more information click to see my articles on Blood Orange Panna Cotta or Fruit Gelatin.

Pour 1/4 cup wine in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it. Set aside to soften for 5 minutes. Do not stir. Pour remaining 1 3/4 cups wine in a medium saucepan. Add sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Remove pan from heat once wine comes to the boil.

After gelatin has softened, combine gelatin and hot wine in a medium bowl. Stir well to combine and dissolve gelatin. Place bowl over an ice water bath to cool, stirring occasionally. Pour cooled mixture into serving glasses and refrigerate until set, 4 hours or overnight.

Beat heavy cream with sugar and cinnamon. To serve, pipe a generous layer of whipped cream over gelatin. Top with bittersweet chocolate shavings.

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I have no affiliation with any product, manufacturer, or site mentioned in this article.