Pappardelle sulla pecora degli antichi
pastori erranti negli smannori campigiani
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- A) The meat:
1 kg of sheep shoulder, already boned, removed of the grease and cut
in pieces
100 grams of minced lean veal
100 grams of minced lean pork meat
2 pork sausages
- B) A chopped mixture composed by:
1 big red onion
1 carrot
1 celery rib
a medium leek
a small bunch of parsley
3 garlic cloves
the skin (only the yellow part) of a lemon
- C) A mixture composed by:
a pinch of dried basil
the small leaves of a bunch of "pepolino" (thyme)
2 branches of rosemary
a big lock of sage
a bunch of sweet marjoram
5-6 branches of "nipitella"
a pinch of dried oreganum
1/2 litre of very hot broth made with one meat stock cube and one boletus
stock cube
- 400 grams of "pappardelle"
- 1/2 kg of peeled tomatoes (or tomato purée)
- 1 spoon of tomato purée
- 1 glass of red wine
- 10 spoons of olive oil
- salt and pepper
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Take
a saucepan with a thick bottom (it is better if it is made of terracotta)
and put the olive oil and the peeled sausages. Put over a medium heat, in
order to melt the grease of the sausages and flavour the oil, and turn continuously.
Then add the chopped vegetables, increase the heat, turn and mix very well
all this stuff and start the browning over a medium-brisky heat. It is important
that the browning is made with a slow and continuous progression, and not
in a violent manner. Then first stage: withering of vegetables (covered
saucepan) and successively evaporation (opened saucepan) of their vegetation
humour. Medium heat, turn uniformly with large spiral of the arm: it is
important not to have any crusts, the smell is very fresh and intense, the
colours are various.
Second stage: extreme browning in order to have a dark hazel colour, brisky
heat, saucepan without lid, scraping off the bottom of the pan in order
to remove the incrustations, because they should not burn; by this scraping
you also avoid that the same part of the stuff will be in contact, for a
long time, with the bottom of the pan.
The smell is very pungent, clear, and it starts to be bitter and musk scented,
caramelized; the colour, which is uniform, should be transformed from hazel
to brown-red, but nothing must burn.
In the first stage of the sauce cooking it is very important to obtain a
sweet browning of the chopped vegetables, otherwise their different tastes
risk to be flattened in a "caramelized" taste, if too cooked,
or in a "too sweet" taste, if few browned. The ability of the
chef is very important in this operation, it is a real exercise of skill,
with whom it is possible to demonstrate the cooking maturity. According
to our opinions this maturity consists in "dominating" the fire/heat,
to be in competition with it as it is concerned with the characteristics
of the cooking foods; they have to be forged by means of the fire, they
have to change, but according to the cooking requirements of the chef and
not to the burning tentacles of fire. So that adjust the heat, increasing
or decreasing it, turning the stuff with more or less quick movements, with
more vigour if these movements are short, sharp, insisting on the same point
in order to scrape off the bottom of the pan, or more softly and with wide
spirals in order to caress the cooking stuff; never leave the saucepan alone
until the over mentioned stuff will get brown and give off a fragrant and
penetrating smell.
When you have obtained it, add the minced meats, crumbling them, turning
and mixing them with the chopped vegetables; then add the pieces of sheep,
mix them with all the over described ingredients and brown them with the
same care as above.
When the meats will reach a certain hazel colour, bathe them with the wine,
let it evaporate, always over a brisky heat, covering with a lid and continuously
turning. When there will not be any more wine smell, but there will be the
characteristic smell of the sheep meat, add the mixture of herbs, turn and
mix very well, then let the stuff boil adjusting for a slow cooking, cover
with a lid and turn sometimes. Even if there is the lid, the stuff will
start to gradually dry; wait, intensify the "turning" operation
in order to avoid anything will attach on the bottom of the pan, then blend
the tomato, together with the tomato purée, a pinch of salt and pepper
and a big spoon of hot water, add this mixture to the sheep meat and to
its sauce in the saucepan. Turn and mix, adjust for a slow cooking, cover
with a lid and cook until the meat will become very tender.
Boil the pasta, drain it, put it in a tray, season it with abundant sheep
sauce and turn it as to mix it perfectly. Then, after having digged the
pasta in the middle, like a "fountain", put over the stewed pieces
of meat and cover with some more sauce; then serve it like a first and second
course. |
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