A Robust Pair

How do you tame robust food? With robust wine, says Frank Ostini, chef-owner of the Hitching Post steak house in Buellton and a winemaker noted for his Pinot Noirs.

In California, where assertive flavors crop up in both wine and food, this sort of pairing is common, unlike in France, where, Ostini points out, the great Burgundies and Bordeaux demand subtle accompaniments that don’t mask their elegance.

Those wines could not compete with a powerhouse pasta dish like this penne with Southwest-style chicken sausage that Ostini put together for an open house at the Au Bon Climat/Qupe winery in the Santa Maria Valley. (Au Bon Climat/Qupe is, incidentally, where Ostini and partner Gray Hartley make their wines.)

Their 1995 Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir, however, meets its perfect match in the penne dish. “This wine has lots of acidity and bold flavors,” Ostini says. “In its youth, it is robust and powerful and has not gained the elegance we hope it will with age.” He’s found that pairing such a wine with intensely flavored food helps round out and moderate the wine’s rough edges.

But the dish also works with other wines, as long as they are fruity and high in acid. Ostini suggests full-bodied, robust Chiantis or Santa Barbara County Syrahs.

In 1995, Ostini and Hartley made just 350 cases of this Pinot Noir, using grapes from the Sierra Madre and Riverbench vineyards. Working with a grape crop that was small due to heavy rains that year, they produced a concentrated wine. “It is going to be better in one year than it is today,” Ostini says, “but with this dish, it is probably better now than it will be in a year.”

It took three Hitching Post chefs to come up with this recipe. Sous-chef Jesus Montano created the fire-roasted tomato sauce, which is served in the restaurant as roasted tomato soup. Another chef, Brad Lettau, came up with the idea of trying the soup-sauce with pasta, and Ostini added the sausage, a zesty mix of chicken, chipotle chile, garlic, onions and beer made by the San Luis Sausage Company in San Luis Obispo.

“I was thinking up something I could do for 500 people [for the open house], and it was so easy,” Ostini says. “The sauce can be made way ahead of time, and the sausages can be cooked ahead, too. Then all you do is cook the pasta and add the sauce and sausages.”

And open the bottle of wine.

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PENNE PASTA WITH SOUTHWEST CHICKEN SAUSAGE

2 pounds tomatoes

2 Anaheim chiles

1 red onion, diced

1 teaspoon olive oil

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons black peppercorns

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 pound Southwest-style or other spicy chicken sausage

1 pound penne

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Roast tomatoes and chiles over high heat using barbecue grill, stove-top grill or heavy iron skillet until skins are black. Peel tomatoes. Peel chiles, split open and remove stems and seeds.

Saute onion in olive oil in large pan over medium heat 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 5 more minutes. Add whole tomatoes, chiles, salt, sugar, cumin, peppercorns and stock and bring to boil. Simmer 20 minutes. Cool and puree in blender or food processor.

Grill sausages over coals or on stove-top grill until browned. Cool and cut diagonally into 1/4-inch slices. (Note: Sauce and sausages can be prepared in advance and refrigerated overnight.)

Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, about 9 to 11 minutes. Drain.

If sauce has been refrigerated, reheat in Dutch oven. Add sausages and heat. Then add penne, stir gently and heat to serving temperature. Serve, topped with Parmesan.

4 to 6 servings. Each of 6 servings:

457 calories; 1,227 mg sodium; 37 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 69 grams carbohydrates; 25 grams protein; 2.12 grams fiber.