Oxtail, Vaccinara Style
Vaccinari is the old Roman word for butchers, and the dish they chose to make for themselves was oxtail, in a manner that came to be known as alla vaccinara, butcher’s style. That they favored oxtail is not surprising, not merely because it was an inexpensive cut, but because it substantiated the adage that the meat with the most flavor is that near the bone.
Note An ingredient of the traditional recipe is pork rind, which usually comes from the jowl. It makes an interesting contribution to the consistency as well as to the underlying flavor of the dish, but it is not an absolutely indispensable component, and if you cannot find it, it is preferable to omit it rather than forego making the oxtail. Also see, in this connection, the introductory remarks in the recipe for Beans and Sauerkraut Soup.
For 4 to 6 servings
OPTIONAL: ¼ pound fresh pork jowl OR pig’s feet OR pork hock (see note above)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus 1 tablespoon lard or ham fat OR 1 additional tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup chopped parsley
½ teaspoon chopped garlic
⅔ cup chopped onion
⅔ cup chopped carrot
2½ pounds oxtail (thawed, if frozen), severed at each joint
1½ cups dry white wine
½ cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, drained and chopped very coarse
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1½ cups celery chopped very coarse
1. If using fresh pork jowl or other fresh pork rind: Put the pork rind in a soup pot with 1 quart of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, drain, discarding the cooking liquid, and cut the rind into ¾- to 1-inch-wide strips. Do not be alarmed if it is tough. It will soften to a creamy consistency in subsequent cooking.
If using fresh pig’s feet or pork hock: Put the pork in a soup pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches, put a lid on the pot, and adjust heat so that the water bubbles at a slow, but steady boil for 1 hour.
Take the pork out of the pot, bone it, and cut it into ½-inch strips.
2. Choose a heavy-bottomed or enameled cast-iron pot that can later contain all the ingredients. Put in the olive oil, the lard or ham fat, if using it, the parsley, garlic, onion, and carrot, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Turn the heat up to medium high, and add the oxtail and pork. Brown the oxtail, turning the pieces until you have browned them all around. Add the wine, let it simmer briskly for 20 to 30 seconds, then add the cut-up tomatoes, 1 cup water, salt, and pepper. Turn all the ingredients over to coat well. Bring to a steady simmer, cover the pot, putting the lid on slightly ajar, and cook for 1½ hours, turning the oxtail every 30 minutes.
4. When the meat has cooked for 1½ hours, add the chopped celery, stirring it thoroughly with the other ingredients. (If cooking in the oven, return the pot to the oven.) Cook for 45 minutes more, or until the meat feels very tender when prodded with a fork and comes easily off the bone. Turn the oxtail pieces from time to time while they are cooking.
5. Tip the pot and spoon off as much of the fat as possible, transfer the oxtail with the entire contents of the pot to a warm platter, and serve at once.
Note If you prefer to use the oven, you can put the pot into a preheated 350° oven after adding the tomatoes and bringing them to a simmer.
Ahead-of-time note You can complete the dish several hours or even 2 or 3 days in advance. Reheat it gently over the stove in a covered pot until the meat is very warm through and through; cold oxtail is not very appealing. If any meat is left over, it can be used with its juices to sauce pasta.
Honeycomb Tripe with Parmesan Cheese
AT ONE TIME tripe was so popular that restaurants used to specialize in it, preparing it in a score or more of different ways. One of the reasons it has become such a rare item may be that people no longer know how to prepare it. When you know how to go about it, tripe rewards you with tenderness so succulent, and a fragrance so appetizing, that more expensive cuts of meat cannot match.
Fortunately, we no longer need to go through all the preliminary soaking, scrubbing, and blanching that used to take up to twenty-four hours and made cooking tripe such a chore. It is now done by the packer, and the processed tripe you find in meat markets today, whether fresh or frozen, is all ready for the pot.
For 6 servings
2 pounds ready-to-cook honeycomb tripe, thawed if frozen
3 tablespoons butter
⅓ cup vegetable oil
½ cup onion chopped fine
½ cup celery chopped fine
½ cup carrot chopped fine
2 medium garlic cloves, mashed lightly with a knife handle and peeled
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Chopped rosemary leaves, 1 teaspoon if fresh, ½ teaspoon if dried 1 cup dry white wine
1 cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice, OR, if very ripe and firm, fresh tomatoes, peeled and cut up
Chopped hot red chili pepper, to taste
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
Salt
1 cup Basic Homemade Meat Broth OR ½ cup canned beef broth diluted with ½ cup water
¾ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1. Rinse the tripe very thoroughly under cold running water, then drain and cut it into strips ½ inch wide and more or less 3 inches long.
2. Choose an enameled cast iron or other heavy-bottomed pot that can later contain all the ingredients. Put in 1 tablespoon of butter, all the oil, and the chopped onion, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it becomes colored a pale gold, then add the chopped celery and carrot, stir to coat them well, and cook for about 1 minute.
3. Add the garlic, parsley, and rosemary, cook for another minute, stirring once or twice, then add the cut-up tripe, turning it thoroughly to coat it well. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice, then add the wine. Bring the wine to a brisk simmer for 20 to 30 seconds, then put in the tomatoes with their juice, the chili pepper, black pepper, salt, and broth, give all ingredients a thorough turning over, and bring the liquids in the pot to a slow boil.
4. Cover the pot and cook for about 2½ hours, until the tripe is tender enough to be cut easily with a fork and has an agreeably chewy consistency when tasted. Control heat to maintain a slow, but steady boil. While the tripe is cooking, check the liquid in the pot from time to time; if it should become insufficient, replenish with 2 or 3 tablespoons of water; on the other hand, if it is thin and watery, continue cooking with the lid slightly askew.
5. When the tripe has become very tender, transfer it to a warm bowl. If you should find the juices in the pot to be too watery, turn the heat up to high after removing the tripe, and boil them down to a satisfactory density. Pour the contents of the pot over the tripe, swirl in the remaining butter and all the grated Parmesan, and serve at once.
Ahead-of-time note It is fortunate, considering the long cooking time, that tripe tastes still better the day after it is cooked. It can even be prepared several days in advance and refrigerated in a tightly sealed container. Reheat over the stove, with the lid on slightly ajar, until the tripe is hot again. Replenish the cooking liquid if it becomes insufficient with 2 or 3 tablespoons of water. When preparing it ahead of time, swirl in the fresh butter and grated Parmesan only after reheating, just before serving.
Tripe with Beans Variation
For 6 servings
To the ingredients in the preceding recipe for tripe, add:
1½ pounds fresh cranberry beans, unshelled weight, OR ¾ cup dried cranberry or white cannellini beans, soaked and cooked, with their liquid, OR 2¼ cups drained canned cranberry or white cannellini beans
1. If using fresh beans: Shell them, wash them in cold water, and put them in a pot with enough water to cover by about 1½ inches. Do not add salt. Bring the beans to a very slow boil, then cover the pot. If the beans are very fresh
, they will cook in about 45 minutes; if not, they may take up to 1½ hours. Taste to make sure. When completely tender, turn off the heat, letting them rest in the covered pot in their liquid. You can begin to cook the beans when you begin to cook the tripe.
If using cooked dried beans: Set them aside in their liquid and proceed to the next step.
If using drained canned beans: Proceed to the next step.
2. Follow the directions for making baked tripe as given in the preceding recipe, stopping short of swirling in the butter and grated cheese after the tripe is cooked.
3. When the tripe is fully cooked, but while it is still in the pot, put in the beans. If using cooked fresh or dried beans, add ½ cup of their cooking liquid; if using drained canned beans, add ¼ cup water. Keep the pot over the stove with the lid on slightly ajar, bring to a steady simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, turning all the ingredients over from time to time.
4. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the grated Parmesan as in the preceding recipe, transfer to a warm bowl, and serve at once.
Ahead-of-time note The comments appended to the tripe recipe apply here. As in that recipe, swirl in the fresh butter and the grated cheese only after reheating, just before serving.
VEGETABLES
Braised Artichokes and Peas
For 4 to 6 servings
2 large globe artichokes OR 3 to 4 medium size
½ lemon
2 tablespoons chopped onion
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic chopped very fine
2 pounds fresh unshelled peas OR 1 ten-ounce package frozen peas, thawed
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1. Trim the artichokes of all their tough parts. As you work, rub the cut artichoke with the lemon to keep it from turning black.
2. Cut each trimmed artichoke lengthwise into 4 equal sections. Remove the soft, curling leaves with prickly tips at the base, and cut away the fuzzy “choke” beneath them.
Detach the stems, but do not discard them, because they can be as good to eat as the heart if they are properly trimmed. Pare away their dark green rind to expose the pale and tender core, then split them in half lengthwise, or if very thick, into 4 parts.
Cut the artichoke sections lengthwise into wedges about 1 inch thick at their broadest point, and squeeze lemon juice over all the cut parts to protect them against discoloration.
3. Choose a heavy-bottomed or enameled cast-iron pot just large enough to accommodate all the ingredients, put in the chopped onion and olive oil, turn on the heat to medium high, cook and stir the onion until it becomes colored a very pale gold, then add the garlic. Cook the garlic until it becomes colored a light gold, then put in the artichoke wedges, ⅓ cup water, adjust heat to cook at a steady simmer, and cover the pot tightly.
4. If using fresh peas: Shell them, and prepare some of the pods for cooking by stripping away their inner membrane. It’s not necessary to use all or even most of the pods, but do as many as you have patience for. (The pods make a notable contribution to the sweetness of the peas and of the whole dish, but using them is an optional procedure that you can omit, if you prefer.)
5. When the artichokes have cooked for about 10 minutes, add the shelled peas and the optional pods, the chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and, if the liquid in the pot has become insufficient, ¼ cup water. Turn the peas over thoroughly to coat them well. Cover tightly again, and continue cooking until the artichokes feel very tender at their thickest point when prodded with a fork. Taste and correct for salt. Also taste the peas to make sure they are fully cooked. While the artichokes and peas are cooking, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water if you find that there is not enough liquid.
If using frozen peas: Add the thawed peas as the last step, when the artichokes are already tender or nearly so, turning them thoroughly, and letting them cook with the artichokes for 5 minutes.
6. When both vegetables are fully cooked, should you find that the juices in the pot are watery, uncover, raise the heat to high, and quickly boil them away.
Ahead-of-time note The dish can be prepared any time in advance on the same day it will be served. Do not refrigerate or its flavor will be altered. Reheat gently in a covered pot, with 1 tablespoon water, if necessary.
Braised Artichokes and Leeks
For 6 servings
3 large globe artichokes OR 5 or 6 medium size
½ lemon
4 large leeks, about 1¾ inch thick, OR 6 smaller ones
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1. Cut the trimmed artichokes into 1-inch wedges and pare and split the stems. As you work, rub the cut artichokes with the lemon to keep them from turning black.
2. Trim away the roots of the leeks, any of their leaves that are blemished, and about 1 inch off their green tops. Slice the leeks in half lengthwise, then cut them into pieces about 2 or 3 inches long.
3. Choose a heavy-bottomed or enameled cast-iron pot just large enough to accommodate all the ingredients, put in the leeks, the olive oil, and sufficient water to come 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Turn on the heat to medium, cover tightly, and cook at a steady simmer until the leeks are tender.
4. Add the artichoke wedges, salt, pepper, and, if necessary, 2 or 3 tablespoons water. Cover again and cook until the artichokes feel very tender at their thickest point when prodded with a fork, about 30 minutes or more, very much depending on the artichokes. While the artichokes are cooking, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water if you find that there is not enough liquid. When they are done, taste and correct for salt. If you should find, once the artichokes are cooked, that the juices in the pot are watery, uncover, raise the heat to high, and quickly boil them away.
Ahead-of-time note The note at the end of Braised Artichokes and Peas is applicable here.
Braised Artichokes and Potatoes
For 4 to 6 servings
2 large globe artichokes
½ lemon
1 pound potatoes
⅓ cup onion chopped coarse
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon garlic chopped very fine
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1. Cut the trimmed artichokes into 1-inch wedges and pare and split the stems. As you work, rub the cut artichokes with the lemon to keep them from turning black.
2. Peel the potatoes, wash them in cold water, and cut them into small wedges about ¾ inch thick at their broadest point.
3. Choose a heavy-bottomed or enameled cast-iron pot just large enough to accommodate all the ingredients, put in the chopped onion and olive oil, and turn on the heat to medium high. Cook and stir the onion until it becomes translucent, but not colored, then add the garlic. Cook the garlic until it becomes colored a light gold, then put in the potatoes, the artichoke wedges and stems, salt, pepper, and parsley, and cook long enough to turn over all the ingredients 2 or 3 times.
4. Add ¼ cup water, adjust heat to cook at a steady, but gentle simmer, and cover tightly. Cook until both the potatoes and artichokes feel tender when prodded with a fork, approximately 40 minutes, depending mostly on the potatoes. While cooking, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water if you find that there is not enough liquid in the pot. Taste and correct for salt before serving.
Ahead-of-time note The note at the end of Braised Artichokes and Peas is applicable here.
La Frittedda—Smothered Artichokes, Fava Beans, and Peas with Fennel, Palermo Style
FOR JUST SIX WEEKS in spring, between April and May, Sicilian cooks find vegetables young enough to make frittedda. Youth and freshness are the ideal components of this heavenly dish, the freshness of just-picked young artichokes, fava beans, and peas. I have seen frittedda made in Palermo when the vegetables were so tender they were cooked in hardly m
ore time than it took to stir them in the pot.
If you grow your own, or if you have access to a good farmers’ market, you can come very close to duplicating the gentle Sicilian flavor of this dish. But even if you must rely on produce from the average greengrocer, either limit yourself to the time of the year when the vegetables required here are at their youngest, or adopt the compromises suggested below, and enough of frittedda’s magic will come through to make it worth your while.
The aroma of fresh wild fennel is an important part of this preparation, as it is of many other Sicilian dishes. If the herb is not available to you, use fresh dill or ask your greengrocer to keep for you the leafy tops he usually cuts off the, finocchio.
For 6 servings
3 medium OR 5 small artichokes, very fresh, with no black spots or other discoloration
½ lemon
2 pounds fresh, small fava beans in their pods OR ⅔ of a 15-ounce can “green fave,” drained
1 pound fresh small peas in their pods OR ½ of a 10-ounce package choice quality, frozen small peas, thawed
1 cup fresh wild fennel OR 1½ cups leafy finocchio tops OR ⅔ cup fresh dill
1½ cups sweet raw onion sliced very thin (see note below)
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil Salt
Note Use the sweetest variety of onion available: Vidalia, Maui, or Bermuda. If you can obtain none of these, soak sliced yellow onion in several changes of cold water for 30 minutes, gently squeezing the onion in your hand each time you change the water; drain before using.
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking Page 50