Have you ever eaten there cassoeula? It is certainly one of the dishes that made the history of Lombard cuisine. It owes its name to the casserole in which it was prepared. In the past it was considered a poor dish, because it was made with the scraps of the pig, after it had been slaughtered. Tradition has it that the cassoeula was prepared in the period close to January 17, the day on which Sant’Antonio Abate is celebrated and generally considered the time when the slaughter of the pigs ended. The cuts of meat that were used for this dish were intended to flavor the cabbage, the main ingredient of the Lombard popular cuisine of those times. For this dish it is said that you should use the cabbage that has undergone the first frost. In the countryside, goose meat was sometimes used instead of pork, because it was cheaper. It was also made with goose by the Jewish communities that were in the Mortara and Soncino area …

It is said that the cassoeula it has been a favorite dish from Arturo Toscanini, great conductor of the Scala. Like every traditional recipe, it has a thousand different versions.

Ingredients for 6 people

800 g of ribs, 150 g of rinds, 1 pigtail, 1 ear, 1 musino (about 300 g), 6 small salamini, 1 savoy cabbage (about 1.2 kg) 1 onion, 3 carrots, ½ stalk of celery, 1 glass of tomato sauce, ½ liter of meat broth, 1 glass of white wine, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Method

Boil the pigtail, rind, ear and snout in plenty of water to degrease this meat and make the final dish a little lighter. In a large saucepan, fry the carrots, onions and celery in a little oil. Then add all the pieces of meat, the white wine, a little broth and cover and cook for 30 minutes. Separately clean the cabbage by removing the central, harder rib, cut them into pieces and add them to the meat. Also add the tomato and cook for an hour. Cover the pot and add the broth, from time to time, to prevent the meat from sticking. You can serve the cassoeula alone or accompanied by polenta.