Kitchen Wizards: A Taste of Italy Part 4 of 5

Cinghiale de Umbido- Pork braised  in Chianti with orecchiette – with Chianti

http://www.kitchenwizards.us/

http://www.worldwineeducation.com

This is the one, Course Four that the Harley sisters just had to have seconds of.  The meat just was so…tender and flavorful you just wanted more of it.    Chef Herve said that the traditional meat would have been boar in the dish, to which there was some playful banter between Chef Herve and Chef Judy…All I heard was the pork had been braised in Chianti, and a ton o’ fresh vegetables, for a very…long…time.

A note on the wine: Four of the five wines were whites, light, flavorful, and some with playful bubbles.  As far as the pairing, I’d have to say the food took center stage…not that the wine was in anyway bad, I think it was just the nature of the “wizardry”.

Course Four

Braised Wild Boar

(Serves eight)

3 ½ lbs. boneless boar roast

(or 6 lb. bone in pork shoulder)

Salt and pepper to taste Plus ½ tsp. of each

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup olive oil

6 oz. pancetta or bacon, cut into in” cubes

1 ½  cups diced onion

1 ½ cups shredded carrots

1 ½  cups diced celery

6 cloves of garlic

2 sprigs of fresh chopped rosemary

1 bottle Chianti or other heavy red wine

1 28 oz. can Italian whole plum tomatoes

2 cups chicken stock

¼ water

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

•                Pre- heat oven to 350˚

•                To prepare roast, dry the meat and season well on both sides. Dredge in flour on both side and shake off excess flour.

•                In large, heavy bottom  stock pot or Dutch oven, heat ¼ cup oil over medium-high heat until oil shimmers.

•                Add the meat and deeply brown all sides. Allowing a thick brown crust to form. (total time about 15 minutes.)

•                In another skillet add ¼ cup oil to the pan and the pancetta. Saute about 7 minutes, until golden brown.

•                Remove with slatted spoon and add diced vegetables and garlic clove, plus ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper.

•                Increase heat and sauté  for 10 minutes, or until onions are translucent and other vegetable are soft and almost mushy.

•                To the stock pot add bottle of wine, return to heat and bring to boil for 5 minutes. Add sautéed vegetables, reserved pancetta, can of tomatoes, 2 cups chicken stock and 2 cups water.

•                Remove stock pot from stove top, cover and place in the oven.

•                Simmer for 3 hours, until meat is falling off the bone.

•                Carefully remove meat from the pot. At this point you can either slice the meat or shred it and place on a serving plate.

•                Take the remaining liquid and solids and press through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon, collecting the liquid in a bowl.

•                Skim the fat.

•                Return to the pot and add the cornstarch to the water and pour into the liquid and whisk.

•                Cook until slightly thickened.

Pour over the pot roast and serve.