Cassoeula is a Milanese dish from the peasant tradition, a concentration of flavor prepared with simple ingredients cooked slowly. The traditional recipe uses poor ingredients that not everyone appreciates, but my recipe allows you to enjoy a good light cassoeula without these ingredients while maintaining a rich and unique flavor.
If you like the classics of Lombard cuisine, don’t forget to read the recipe
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
- Energy 238.56 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 2.52 (g) of which sugars 1.13 (g)
- Proteins 14.67 (g)
- Fat 17.98 (g) of which saturated 7.13 (g)of which unsaturated 8.87 (g)
- Fibers 0.38 (g)
- Sodium 338.35 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 250 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- 4 pork ribs
- 4 verzini (typical fresh sausages)
- 12 cups water
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 carrot
- 1 red onion
- 1 stalk celery
- to taste salt
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 savoy cabbage
Tools
- 1 Pot heavy-bottomed
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Tongs kitchen
Instructions
The secret to a good cassoeula is slow and even cooking so that the meat can gently come off the bone and the broth is flavorful and dense.
For the traditional recipe instead of water, pork broth should be used. Tradition dictates the use of ears, feet, and rind, but not everyone likes these ingredients and finds cartilage pieces in cassoeula.
In this recipe, to simplify and speed up, we will use water. The result will be good and we will avoid 3 hours of cooking the pork’s poor ingredients (ears, feet, and rind).
The trick is to extract the flavor of the meat by sealing it in the pan, I recommend not using ready-made broths or preparations as it would not improve the final result and would only prolong preparation time.
Chop the carrot, onion, and celery into half-inch cubes, do not cut the vegetables too small as they should be visible and noticeable on the plate. They will also be cooked for a long time, if they are too small they will become soft and fall apart.
At this point, sauté the vegetables for a couple of minutes over high heat with a knob of butter, allowing them to wilt without burning the butter.
Now it’s time to sear the pork ribs and verzini sausages. They should brown and release some of the fat they contain. This process is important to extract the meat’s flavor which will enhance your cassoeula.
First, place the pan on the flame; cooking should be on high heat, forming a brown crust at the base of the pan, which is a true concentration of flavor, and to extract it, you should deglaze with a glass of wine.
Add a couple of liters of water, I usually add a small amount first to deglaze the pan and extract more flavor from the soffritto and meat.
When the meat no longer sizzles, add the rest of the water and the savoy cabbage.
Some slice the savoy cabbage into strips, others leave it whole as it will break during cooking; indeed, savoy cabbage tends to shrink and break during cooking, do not slice it too thin, or it will become very delicate.
Another suggestion is to use both outer and inner leaves, as they have different textures and colors, which will improve the dish.
Cook covered over low heat for about 30 minutes. At the end, all you have to do is taste and adjust the salt, and if you like, add a grind of pepper.
Your cassoeula is ready!
Plating Tips:
To make this dish look elegant, you will need to put in a lot of effort, starting with the presentation of the polenta. Do not serve the polenta in spoonfuls but use dessert molds to create an elegant shape. Work on the presentation by placing a base of broth, with a generous portion of cabbage, and finally the sausages and ribs.
Wine pairing for cassoeula
A sparkling and robust red wine that can help you digest even stones, because this dish is anything but light. For example, I recommend a wine from the hills of San Colombano with a marked earthy flavor and concentrated taste.
