Elaine Trigiani
experience Italy
bollito misto
boiled meat
with fixings
bollito misto aka i' lesso
mixed boiled (Emilia Romagna) aka boiled (Tuscany)
Guinea hen makes a very nice broth boiled with some odori (carrot, onion, celery, parsley plus if you like black pepper corns, a piece of potato or tomato in season). Like I said yesterday, guinea hen broth is the mother of all broths, that's the flavor they used when they invented synthetic flavored chicken broth boullion cubes. Yesterday when I said cappone (capon) I actually meant faraona (guinea hen), oops.
To make a meat broth use a mix of cuts of meat from the fattier cuts that can stand up to long boiling to ossobuco to loampredotto and tongue with a bone or piece of one with your choice of odori as above.
You can also use a mix of meats/bones. For the tortellini broth I used 3 different cuts of beef, beef bone, a bit from the point of a rack of thin cut pork ribs (for the bone more than for the meat) and a guinea hen neck and wings plus odori.
If your goal is the broth, for tortellini or otherwise, put everything into cold water, bring to the boil, skim a few times in the beginning and let it bubble for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours for the guinea hen, 2 - 3 hours for the mixed meats.
If your goal is to serve the mixed meats (bollito misto aka lesso) as a second course with all the salsine / sauces, bring the water to a boil with the odori, add the meats and let them bubble until they are all done.
Whichever broth you make add some salt but not too much and when it's done strain a few times to remove all the solids.
​
salsine / sauces
salsa verde .. green sauce
a big handful of parsley (flat leaf parsley, leaves only)
1 hard boiled egg
2 anchovy fillets
1 Tablespoon capers
half a clove of garlic, reduced to a paste with the back of a knife
olive oil, wine vinegar, salt & pepper
grated orange rind
Very finely chop the parsley, egg, anchovies, capers and garlic. Stir in salt & pepper, a couple of drops of vinegar plus some orange zest if you like and enough olive oil to make a sauce. Let it sit for a few hours so the olive oil absorbs the flavors.
​
salsa di noci .. walnut sauce
2 cups shelled walnuts
a big handful of parsley (flat leaf parsley, leaves only)
1 Tablespoon capers
olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt & pepper
Remove the walnuts from their shells, crush them using a mortar and pestle together with a bunch of parsley leaves and the capers. Using a fork mix in a steady stream of olive oil as if you were making mayonnaise, to form a thick emulsion, then stir in saltm pepper and a bit of vinegar.
​
salsa di peperone .. red bell pepper sauce
2 red bell peppers
1 clove of garlic
day old bread (no crust) moistened with vinegar
olive oil, salt & pepper
Slice open the bell peppers and remove the seeds and ribs. Roast them under the broiler skin side up until the skin is black and bubbled. When they are cool enough to handle remove the skin and crush them using a mortar and pestle together with the garlic and a bit of vinegar moistened breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper and stir in enough olive oil to make a sauce.