Cinghiale (What to do with that Chianti), Buying a Suit, and More: Being the 157th issue of Cosa Bolle in Pentola

Greetings!

The major addition to the Italian Wine Review this week is my notes from the Chianti Classico presentation. The latest additions to Italian Food are two more favorite recipe roundups, one dedicated to Flowering Crucifere, i.e. broccoli and friends, and the other to bread soups. I decided to do bread soups now because I recently posted a recipe for Pan Cotto (a very, very frugal bread soup), which a reader had asked for, and it has drawn all sorts of commentary from others who remember the recipe from when they were growing up.

The favorite recipe collections can be reached via the favorite recipe collections page, while the pan cotto (with comments) is here. One of the most interesting comments came from Sally, who sent me a link to a Youtube Pan Cotto video, part of a fascinating series done by a 93-year old woman named Clara, who prepares the dishes of the Great Depression (the Original Depression?) and reminisces about the past. Beautifully done, and an excellent way to spend a few minutes; you may find yourself enjoying the rest of the videos too. I did.

Returning to matters at hand, Chianti Classico, and to a greater degree Chianti Classico Riserva work best with substantial foods: Stews, roasts, and the like, and given the dismal winter weather we've been having of late, the idea of something that will warm the kitchen (and the heart) sounds pretty good.

Wild boar is perfect for this sort of thing. And good for the winemaker too, because Tuscany (and much of the rest of Italy) is awash in wild boar thanks to Italian hunters, who decided (in the 60s, I was told) to bolster the native Italian boar with Eastern European boar, which are quite a bit larger. They're also much more vigorous, producing litters of up to 15 piglets (as opposed to the 4-6 of Italian boar), and the result has been a disaster for agriculture, with herds of boar scouring the countryside much the way deer do in some parts of North America.

Winemakers have responded by erecting serious fences (over the objections of hunters) around their vineyards because a herd is quite capable of stripping a vineyard of fruit in the course of a night. "Looks like a mechanical harvester came through," one guy told me. Nor do they limit themselves to vineyards, or show much fear of humans: a family of boar ate one of my neighbors' gardens, and we often see them on the other side of the fence separating our yard from the woods. Bottom line: anything that will reduce their numbers is quite welcome, and these recipes offer a welcome way of dealing with the catch. Should you not have wild boar, pork will work (I once had semi-wild pork from Texas when in the US), as will other furred game.

Cinghiale Ai Frutti Di Bosco - Wild Boar with Berry Fruit
This is an easy recipe, but does require 48 hours of marinating time. To serve 4 you'll need:

1 4/5 pounds (800 g) wild boar meat, cubed
2 ounces (60 g) diced fresh lard (optional, you could also use 1/4 cup olive oil)
1/4 cup (25 g) unsalted butter
1 quart (1 l) dry red wine
6 ounces (150 g) dried mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes
1/2 pound (225 g) blueberries
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
An 8-inch sprig of fresh rosemary
A small bunch of sage
A sprig of fresh thyme
3-4 juniper berries
An onion, peeled and chopped
A healthy pinch of powdered cinnamon
2-3 cloves
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by washing, drying, peeling, and chopping the carrots, celery, and onion. Rinse and pat dry the remaining herbs. Combine the herbs, spices, and cubed boar in a bowl and pour the wine over them. Marinate the meat, turning the pieces occasionally, for 48 hours.

Come time to cook it, remove the meat from the marinade with a slotted spoon and pat the pieces dry. Remove and discard the vegetables herbs, and spices as well, and reserve the marinade.

Heat the lard or oil and the 2/3 of the butter in a pot, and brown the meat, dusting it with salt, freshly ground pepper, and the flour as you stir the pieces about. When they are browned add a ladle of the marinade, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for 2 hours, adding more marinade as the liquid in the pot evaporates.

By the time 2 hours is up the meat should be quite tender. Heat the remaining butter in a pan and sauté the mushrooms for a few minutes. Gently add to them the blueberries, and carefully add the mixture to the meat. Cook for a few minutes more and serve, with polenta.

Cinghiale All'Aspromonte - Aspromonte-Style Boar
The Aspromonte is Calabria's central mountainous massif, and the name -- literally, "The Bitter Mountain" gives an idea of how rugged the topography is and how harsh the conditions are. One of the creatures roaming the mountains is wild boar, and this is a simple recipe for sella di cinghiale, or rack of wild boar. To serve 4:

1 4/5 pounds (800 g) rack of wild boar
2-3 bay leaves
A small bunch of parsley
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Several bell peppers
A rotisserie, either oven or over the coals
Season the meat well with salt and pepper to taste.

Rinse and shake dry the parsley. Peel the garlic and mince it with the parsley. And the bay leaves. Rub the chopped herbs evenly into the meat and sprinkle the meat with the olive oil.

Spit the meat and roast it for 2 hours, either in front of (not directly over; see instructions here if need be) the coals of a hardwood fire, or in an oven you have preheated to 420 F, turning the heat down to 360 F.

Set a drippings pan under the roast to catch the drippings, and baste the meat frequently as it cooks.

While the meat is cooking, stem, seed and rib the bell peppers, grill them skin-side down, and remove the skins then they have blistered. Season them with salt, pepper and olive oil, and put them on a platter.

When the rack is cooked, remove it to the platter, let it rest for a few minutes, and serve. Calabrians traditionally accompany this roast with a zesty tomato sauce liberally spiked with hot pepper.

Cinghiale alla Romana in Agrodolce - Roman-Style Sweet and Sour Boar
Italian sweet-and-sour and sweet-and-pungent recipes tend to be quite old, deriving from the aristocratic Middle Eastern custom of using sugar as a sort of "sweet salt," which the Crusaders discovered and brought home with them.

They're no longer as popular as they once were -- tastes have changed, and now Italians prefer more savory dishes -- but they still offer a delightful change of pace. To serve 4:

1 4/5 pounds (800 g) leg of wild boar
2 tablespoons olive oil
A rib of celery, chopped
1 1/2 ounces (45 g) sultana raisins, plumped in warm water
2 cloves
4/5 cup (200 ml) red wine vinegar
3 onions, peeled, and two of which chopped
A carrot, peeled and chopped
1/4 pound pitted cherries (the Italian kind called for is visciole)
1/4 pound (100 g) dried prunes, plumped in warm water
A bay leaf
A clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 ounce bitter baking chocolate, shaved
2 tablespoons sugar
2 sprigs of thyme
1/4 pound (100 g) lean prosciutto, cut in a single thick slice and diced
1 pint (500 ml) dry white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Butcher's twine

Combine the two chopped onions, the chopped carrot and celery, the bay leaf, the thyme, the garlic, the cloves, half the vinegar, and the wine in a pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it cool, transfer it to a bowl, and marinate the meat in it for 24 hours.

Drain the meat and discard the chopped vegetables. Filter the marinade.

Tie the meat with the twine so it keeps its shape. Heat the olive oil in a pot and brown the meat in it, together with the prosciutto seasoning all with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the filtered marinade over the meat and simmer until it has evaporated; add cold water to cover and simmer, covered, for another 2 1/2 hours.

When the time is up drain the meat, untie it, slice it, and put it in a bowl. Filter the pan drippings and set them aside.

While the meat is cooking, prepare the sweet and sour, timing things so you will have the pan drippings when you need them: finely slice the remaining onion. Put the sugar, onion, and 1 tablespoon of water in a small pot and cook gently until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chocolate shavings and stir gently until they have melted. Add the vinegar and continue to cook until the liquid's volume is reduced by half.

Add the pan drippings from the boar, as well as the raisins, prunes, cherries, and pine nuts. Mix well, and spoon the sauce over the boar. Serve at once.

Cinghiale alle Mele - Wild Boar with Apples
Pork and apples is one of the most standard combinations in cooking, and it should come as no surprise that wild boar will also work well with apples. Tangy apples, for example Granny Smiths, whose tang will balance the richness of the meat. To serve 4:

1 4/5 pounds (800 g) boned wild boar, cubed
3 apples, peeled and cored
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup dry red wine
An onion, peeled and chopped
A clove of garlic
A bay leaf
1 tablespoon flour
A shot of brandy
A carrot, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Put half the butter in a roasting pan, heat it over a burner, and brown the meat. When the meat has browned add the diced carrot and the chopped onion, dust with the flour, and continue to cook until they have colored too.

While you are doing this, preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C).

Sprinkle the wine over the meat, add the garlic and bay leaf, season with salt and pepper, and bring the moisture to a boil. Transfer the meat to the oven and roast it for 50 minutes. Sprinkle the brandy over it and return it to the oven for another 10 minutes.

While the meat is cooking, peel, core, and slice the apples. Just before adding the brandy to the boar, heat the remaining butter in a pan, and cook the apples for about 10 minutes. Arrange the boar and the apples on a warmed serving dish and serve at once.

La Sartoria Gianni Seminara
I remember how happy my father was to meet an elderly tailor who lived out in the countryside below Siena in the early 70s: He eagerly ordered several suits, and though they weren't cut to the latest fashions, they were very well made, and he wore them (the jackets, especially) until he died in 1988. Now, of course, if you wander the heart of Florence or any other Italian city, you'll see dozens of clothing stores offering everything from the very cheap to the ruinously expensive, and all off of racks. And while it's true that the clothing that's more to the ruinously expensive end of the scale is then fitted to the client, the pieces are still mass-produced.

That's not the only way to go, however: Florence has a great many artisans who work in the fashion/clothing sector, and the this year the city's tourism office organized a program called Mestieri Della Moda, with free guided tours of ateliers and workshops (see their site). In presenting the program they held a sample guided tour, which was quite interesting.

The Sartoria Seminara was started in 1957 by Giuseppe Seminara, who moved to Florence after his apprenticeship and opened a shop in the outskirts of town. It did well, and in 1967 he decided to take the Big Step, moving to Via de'Calzaiuoli, between Piazza del Duomo and Piazza Della Signoria. But he didn't open up shop, as it were. Rather, he took possession of an apartment on the second floor of the building (it's at number 10, and the same is on the bell), where clients could come, get fitted, and socialize.

Because tailor-made clothing isn't instantaneous -- it takes a month to make a suit, and involves several visits. Once you get past the idea of walking into a store and emerging with the clothes under your arm, the wait is actually a very good tradeoff, I realized as I looked about the shop. Gianni Seminara, who took over from his father in 1997, has an impressive variety of beautiful fabrics, including many artisinal English and Scottish wools, some woven on older looms -- things you simply won't find in a high fashion clothing store.

And since Gianni and his staff cut the fabric to order, they can give the clothing the cut you desire, though Gianni notes that elegant men's clothing hasn't changed that much in the past 20 years. At least in terms of cut; the fabrics are lighter than they once were, and while one would expect this of summer fabrics, some of which are now so light that it requires considerable skill to work them, it's also true for winter fabrics, because now most everyone has an overcoat. In the past, Gianni says, overcoats weren't ubiquitous, and therefore jackets had to be warmer than they are now.

Bottom line: Tailor-made clothing is high end -- there's no getting around it -- but not more expensive than something from a renowned fashion designer. So, if you're buying elegant clothing for a special occasion or simply (like my father) to use for a long time, unless the label is important to you or you need it tomorrow, a visit to a tailor shop like the Sartoria Seminara makes excellent sense. You can order exactly what you want, it will fit perfectly, the quality will be superb, and the clothing will be unique.

For more information, and the exact location of the shop, check the Sartoria Seminara's site.

This time's proverb is again Tuscan: I Danari non bastano; Bisogna saperli spendere -- To have money is not enough; one must know how to spend it.

Until next time,

Kyle Phillips
Editor, The Italian Wine Review
http://www.italianwinereview.com
Want to comment? Drop me a line at Kyle@cosabolle.com

PS -- Please forward this to anyone you think would enjoy it! If you would like to read past issues (nothing in them really gets stale), you'll find recent ones at Cosa Bolle.Com, http://www.cosabolle.com, and older ones at http://italianfood.about.com/blbol.htm.

Felice Otto Marzo and More: Being the 145th issue of Cosa Bolle in Pentola

Greetings, and the happiest of March 8ths to all who celebrate International Woman's Day.

Not familiar with it? Like many other days set aside to celebrate the rights of workers, its origins are American: At the turn of the last century women were entering the workforce in record numbers in the United States, and began to agitate for better working conditions and pay, as well as the vote. In 1908 the Socialist women of the US held demonstrations for improved working condition, better pay, and suffrage on February 28. On February 28 1909 several thousand women turned out in Manhattan, and during the same winter the women working in the sweatshops struck for better conditions and pay, with the support of the Woman's Trade Union, which provided bail money and food.

American women continued to observe February 28 as Woman's Day, while in 1910 the delegates of the Socialist International Meeting in Copenhagen voted unanimously to establish an International Women's Day, without setting a specific date.

So in 1911 the women of Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland demonstrated on March 19, and it is estimated that more than a million people participated. A week later, on March 25, in Manhattan the Triangle fire claimed the lives of more than 140 workers, mostly immigrant girls -- there was only one fire escape for the hundreds of people trapped in the burning floors -- and the newspaper accounts led to calls for reform, while tying the fire to the struggle for women's rights in popular imagery. (For more information, including heart-rending newspaper accounts, see http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/).

Yearly demonstrations continued, becoming associated with the peace movements that formed as a response to the gathering clouds of war in Europe; in particular, Russian women settled on February 28 as the day for their demonstrations. And continued to demonstrate during the war; despite opposition from other activists, on the last Sunday of February -- the 23rd -- 1917 they went on strike to protest conditions at home and the more than 2 million war dead. They called for "bread and peace," and four days later the Czar capitulated; one of the first things the provisional government did was grant women the right to vote. The date, February 23 on the Julian calendar then used in Russia, was March 8 in the Gregorian calendar used elsewhere, and that's why International Woman's Day is March 8.

In Italy it's an occasion for meetings, talks, and demonstrations, and men traditionally give women a sprig of mimosa, with its bright yellow blossoms, to mark the occasion.

Again, happy March 8 to all who celebrate it!

Returning to Cosa Bolle, the most recent addition to The Italian Wine Review is a look at Marsala, a wine that once launched ships, and was enjoyed by kings, but then fell into a long, agonizing decline from which it has never really emerged. But even within this depressing picture there are punti di eccellenza, points of excellence, and if you happen upon a bottle of Marsala made the way they used to make it, it will open your eyes to a world well worth exploring.

The most recent addition to Italian Cuisine is instead a look at "Italian Seasonings," those jars of seasoning mix one can find in supermarkets outside of Italy: A reader wrote asking me why I didn't give a recipe, and I replied because it had never occurred to me -- Italy is so regional that almost everyone here would find fault with something labeled "Italian Seasonings," either because it lacked lack an ingredient they considered absolutely essential, or because it contained something they considered superfluous. If you have a recipe, please share, I said, and so far three people have, one giving a mix that can be turned into a sauce for boiled meats, one a seasoned salt, and another a rub. You'll find them here, and if you have a recipe you'd like to share I'll be happy to add it.

Lamb For Easter
Winding down -- this is a short issue -- Easter comes unusually early this year, on March 23. In the Italian Easter dinner lamb plays the same role turkey holds in the American Thanksgiving dinner -- the celebrations wouldn't be quite the same without it. With this in mind, here are a couple of lamb recipes:

Agnello Con Finocchi e Patate - Lamb with Potatoes and Fennel
This is an old, and very simple recipe from the Abruzzo, and also quite delicate; fennel adds a delightful hint of anise freshness to the dish, while the oloves also contribute. To serve 6:

• 2 1/2 pounds (1.2 k) boned lamb, cut into pieces
• 2/5 cup olive oil
• 1 pound (450 g) potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 pound (225 g) bulb fennel, cubed
• A bay leaf
• 2 cloves, crushed
• 1/2 pound (225 g) pitted green olives
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a broad pot (terracotta if you have it), add the lamb, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring the pieces about to brown them on all sides. Add the diced potatoes and fennel and the olives, together with the bay leaf and the cloves, and mix well, cover, and simmer until the meat and the potatoes are fork tender. After a bit, check seasoning.

Liquid? Fennel gives off quite a bit of water as it cooks, but should the pot look to be drying out, add a little boiling water to keep things from sticking and burning.

A wine? Red, and I would go with a Montepulciano D'Abruzzo.

Coscia Prena - Stuffed Leg of Lamb
It's difficult to overstate the importance of shepherding in the Sardinian economy, even now that the island is a magnet for tourists who flock to the coastal towns -- inland it's just as dry and barren as it ever was, and the animals that thrive best are sheep. Hence Sardinia's renowned pecorino cheese (they make both pecorino sardo and the saltier pecorino romano), Sardinian wool (my father collected Sardinian rugs), and -- of course -- lamb. Here we have a leg, stuffed. To serve 6:

• A leg of lamb, weighing about 4 1/2 pounds (2 k)
• 1/2 pound (225 g) minced lamb
• 1/4 pound (110 g) fresh mild sausage, casing removed and crumbled
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup (50 g) dry bread crumbs
• 1 2/3 pounds (750 g) plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and chopped -- canned tomatoes will also work
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• A small bunch parsley, minced
• A medium onion, peeled and minced
• 2/5 cup (100 ml) olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Butcher's twine

Bone the leg of lamb, working carefully to obtain a single piece of meat you can flatten out.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan or Dutch oven large enough to contain the leg of lamb and sauté the minced garlic, parsley and onion until the onion is a translucent gold. Remove the mixture from the saucepan to a bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the pan drippings behind. When the onion mixture has cooled, work into it the minced lamb, sausage, eggs, and bread crumbs. Work the mixture until it is homogeneous and season it to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture over the inner side of the leg of lamb. Roll the leg up tightly and tie it with the twine lest the stuffing escape as the meat cooks.

Reheat the pan drippings in the saucepan and brown the meat, turning it to get all sides. Add the tomatoes, crumbling them between your fingers, add enough water to reach part-way up the sides of the pot, and simmer everything gently for at east an hour, until the meat is quite tender.

When the meat is done, remove it from the pot. Remove and discard the string, and slice the leg, arranging the pieces on a warmed platter. Spoon the sauce over it and serve at once. A wine? Red, and Canonau would be quite nice here.

Variations: Some people use cured lard instead of sausage, and you can also use coarsely ground semolina instead of bread crumbs.

Capretto alla Cacciatora - Kid Cacciatora Style
There are many recipes for things alla cacciatora, which refers to a seasoning mix containing garlic, rosemary, and (usually) vinegar. In this recipe from Trentino Alto Adige we have lemon juice instead. Though it calls for kid, you could also use lamb. To serve 6:

• 2 1/2 pounds (1.2 k ) kid or lamb, cubed
• 1/4 pound (110 g) cured lard, ground (you could also use fatty pancetta)
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 glasses (about 1 3/4 cups) dry white wine
• A bay leaf
• Several leaves fresh sage
• A 6-inch (15 cm) sprig fresh rosemary
• The grated zest of an organically grown lemon, and its juice too
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C)

Heat the oil and butter in a casserole large enough to hold the meat and brown the meat with the pancetta and the shallots. As soon as the meat has browned, sprinkle some of the wine over it and add the herbs. Mix well and transfer the casserole to the oven.

Cook the meat until it is fork-tender, at least an hour, turning the pieces occasionally and sprinkling more wine over them as what's in the pot evaporates; if you finish it all use water.
When the meat is just shy of being done, sprinkle the lemon zest and juice over it. Mix well, and serve.

A wine? Red, and I would be tempted by a Lagrein Riserva here.

One thing: The cooking times of these recipes may strike you as long, if you are used to rare lamb. Italians as a rule prefer their lamb well done -- my father-in-law would return it to the pot or oven if he saw blood -- and a couple of people have written to tell me that they had never liked lamb, until they had it well done.

This time's proverb is Ligurian: L'é megio ese invidiae che compatï - Better people envy you than feel sorry for you.

A presto,

Kyle Phillips
Editor, The Italian Wine Review
http://www.italianwinereview.com
Want to comment? Drop me a line at Kyle@cosabolle.com

PS -- Please forward this to anyone you think would enjoy it! If you would like to read past issues (nothing in them really gets stale), you'll find recent ones at Cosa Bolle.Com, http://www.cosabolle.com, and older ones at http://italianfood.about.com/blbol.htm.