Directions
A great classic dish of Lombard cuisine, but we could say the cuisine of the Po Valley, is the cassoeula, also called cassoeûla, cassoeura or casöra. A tasty cabbage and pork stew that knows how to warm the heart and give energy during the coldest periods of the year. Its main characteristic is the presence of cheap cuts of pork, such as feet, ears, and rinds, which are accompanied by ribs and classic verzini (pork sausages wrapped in cabbage). You can skip Verzini, but if you are in Varese recipe you’ll get lots of them, anyway they can be replaced with good sausages.
The history of cassoeula is still uncertain, it resembles the famous Alsatian choucroute – which, however, is prepared with fermented and not fresh cabbage – but there is no need to look for hints and ancestors around, a recovered stew composed of pork and cabbage is common to many North cuisines (German, French) that see pork as a mainstay.
Ingredients for making Italian cassoeula
6 people servings
- 1.5 kg of cabbage
- 800 grams of pork ribs
- 250 grams of cleaned, scraped and washed pigskin
- 2 verzini per person or 350 grams of sausages
- 2 pig’s feet cleaned, scraped and washed
- 1 clean, scraped and washed pig’s ear
- 200 grams of carrots
- 200 grams of celery
- 100 grams of onion
- 50 grams of butter
- 1 glass dry white wine
- beef broth
- salt and pepper
How to prepare the original cassoeula
Boil the pork feet, cut in half, the rinds and the ears in a pan with boiling water for about an hour.
Put the butter in a large saucepan over low heat and sauté the sliced onion, then add the pork ribs, the ear, and the chopped rinds.
Cook the meat well over high heat. Add chopped celery and carrots, pour 1 glass of white wine and let it evaporate. Add one and two ladles of broth, add salt and pepper and stir.
Put the lid on and leave it on the heat very low for at least an hour and a half, checking that it does not stick to the bottom (if necessary add more broth).
Meanwhile, wash the cabbage, chop it roughly and cook over low heat in a covered pot with very little water until it wilts (5-10 minutes).
Then put the cabbage in the meat casserole together with the lugànega cut into pieces and some verzini. Put the lid on and cook over moderate heat for another 45 minutes, checking that it does not stick to the bottom.
Take grease off the surface from time to time.
Serve hot with polenta.
What wine goes well with the Italian cassoeula
We can find loads of fat and flavors in the dish, so let’s uncork a strong and tannic red wine like Aglianico, Nerello Mascalese or Barolo.
Recipe by courtesy of the Cattivelli restaurant
Via Chiesa di Isola Serafini, 2 – 29010 Monticelli d’Ongina (PC)