Cinghiale in Umido

 

Happy Birthday Chris! For this birthday dinner I pulled out all the stops. I ordered a Boar Roast from the Meat Shop. I got a 1 3/4 pound roast. Price - $35. Other than the Christmas roast this was the most I spent on meat for one meal. But just put the cost out of your mind because it was so amazingly delicious. Chris has requested this to be on our weekly menu, I hope he was kidding...

The recipe, Cinghiale in Umido (Braised Wild Boar) was supplied by my brother-in-law, Ralph, who also gave us a bottle of wine to go with dinner. The recipe is by Lidia Bastianich. Her recipe serves 8 so I cut it in half, I should have made the whole thing!

Ingredients -

3 1/2 pound boneless boar roast

salt and pepper to taste, plus 1/2 tsp of each

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 olive oil

 

6 oz pancetta cut into 1-inch cubes (1 1/4 cups)

1 large yellow onion, diced, (1 1/2 cups)

2 large carrots, shredded (1 1/2 cups)

4 stalks celery, diced (1 1/2 cups)

6 whole garlic cloves (I did use the garlic!!!)

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)

1 bottle Chianti or other hearty red wine (this is not what we drank with dinner)

1 28 oz can peeled Italian whole plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)

2 cups chicken stock

Method -
Preheat oven to 350˚.

To prepare the roast, dry the meat and season well with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a large shallow plate and turn the meat in the flour to coat lightly, shaking off the excess.

In a large, heavy bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil (enough to fully cover the base of the pot) over medium high flame until the oil is shimmering but not yet smoking. Add the meat and brown deeply on all sides, allowing the pieces to sit on each side long enough to develop a thick brown crust. There will be considerable splattering of oil during this process, so use caution. The total browning time should about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the other 1/4 cup of olive oil in a heavy bottomed skillet or saute pan over medium-low flame. Add the diced pancetta and saute about 7 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic cloves, rosemary and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper to the pot, increasing the heat to medium high and saute about 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the other vegetables are soft and almost mushy. Remove the mixture from the pot and set it aside.

When the meat is finished browning, begin to add the wine one cup at a time. It will splatter and hiss, which is good – you want the alcohol to burn off. Bring the wine to a full boil around the browning meat. Boil for 5 minutes, then add the sauteed vegetables and the reserved pancetta. Pour in the can of tomatoes, the 2 cups of stock and 2 cups of water.

Remove the stock pot from the stove top, cover it with aluminum foil, and place it on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Simmer for 3 hours, until the liquid had reduced and the meat is literally falling off the bone. The mixture should be thick and gelatinous.

Remove from the oven and carefully remove the meat, using two large spoons or spatulas.

 

Take the remaining liquids and solids in the pot and press them through a fine sieve using the back of a wooden spoon, collecting the liquid in a large bowl. Skim the fat from the surface of the strained liquid. At this point you may either slice the meat and serve it topped the liquid or shred the meat with a knife or by hand and combine it with the liquid to create a thick pasta sauce.

We opted for the pasta sauce. 

The noodles were homemade pappardelle noodles, recipe from Tide and Thyme.

This meal is going to be on this year's top ten list.

And I baked a cake. I made my Mom's Two Egg Cake. I added Chocolate Shots to the batter. The batter is enough for a 9 inch square pan, perfect size for 2 people (and some people at work!).

Mom's Two Egg Cake with Chocolate Shots

Ingredients -
2 eggs
1 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup Chocolate Shots

Method -
Blend shortening and sugar. Add eggs, beating well after adding each egg. Add flour to egg mixture and blend well on low speed. Add 1/2 cup chocolate shots. Mix. Pour into a well greased and floured pan. Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Bake until tester comes out clean. Cool on rack.

The wine we had with dinner was Castelgreve Chianti Classico Riserva 2009. Perfect match to tonight's dinner.