Pork Rind Rolls are a true homage to historical and popular cuisine. This dish, deeply rooted in the traditions of southern Italy, continues to renew itself on our tables, celebrating an indissoluble bond with the past. My personal “culinary contamination” has enriched my repertoire with this recipe, passed down by my mother-in-law. Though she was from Romagna, Lugo di Romagna, a land of sun and fields, the Neapolitan father-in-law brought into my home a precious archive of flavors, halfway between the culture of Romagna and Neapolitan. With my Calabrian roots and current life in Piedmont, you can imagine the richness and variety of flavors I have encountered in sixty years: so many traditions, so many different recipes! I have so many to tell and develop. Some remain faithful to their origins, repeated faithfully every year, while others expand. I have managed, in turn, to pass on to my children these culinary roots that stand the test of time and find fertile ground to continue.
I could tell you that it is a fatty main course; it’s true! It seems difficult; it’s not true! Here, start from here, an iconic dish of southern cuisine, a dish rich in aromas and history. When food was scarce, but there were some parts of the pig sold for little money, families began to replace the steak with the tasty and economical rinds, with the sauce then used to dress the macaroni, and what more could you want?
Later some other recipes from our southern Italian regions.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Slow cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
Ingredients
Pork rind, cleaned of all excess fat and little hairs, parsley, and garlic, and then a nice tomato sauce with a sauté made of carrot, onion, and carrot, and also garlic….
- 4 pork rind (Pieces about 4×8 inches)
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- 1 oz pine nuts (Which you can also substitute with walnuts)
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 clove garlic (Chopped)
- 4 cups tomato sauce
Useful Tools
- Pots
- Pots
- Cutting Boards
- Kitchen Twine
Steps
The first useful step, if you don’t have a sauce already prepared, is to make it. A chopped sauté enriched with a little garlic browned in a little oil, and completed with tomato sauce and a pinch of chili pepper if desired. Prepare the rind while the sauce cooks over low heat with a lid…
As soon as the rind is ready, place it on a cutting board and fill with the listed ingredients, divided into four parts. Personally, I don’t soak the raisins, but if you insist, use a splash of red wine; the parsley can be coarsely chopped, the rest comes naturally…
Secure the rinds well after rolling them up.
At this point, transfer into the pot with the sauce. Cook slowly until you get a tender roll.
Once ready, remove the twine and keep warm in the same sauce, which you will use to dress a dish of macaroni or broken ziti, completed with a good aged pecorino, grated to taste!
And every year you’ll remember and repeat the experiment; because rural cooking, simple cooking, always wins over every palate.
Some more advice
This main course, in addition to providing a good sauce for dressing pasta, offers you an accompaniment for a good polenta. If you prefer, you can also cook them without frying but adding them to a broth where you have previously sautéed a little as indicated before, deglazed with white wine, and “stretched” with a glass of water. Immerse your stuffed rinds and cook slowly.
