L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano T h i s w e e k w e have a dish espe- cially appealing for these chilly a u - t u m n e v e n i n g s : s p e z z a t i n o d i maiale e zucca, or pork and pumpkin stew, fea- turing two seasonal ingredi- ents playing a lovely duo of savory and sweet notes. Although the Italian word spezzatino is usually trans- lated as "stew," the tech- nique here is perhaps closer to pan roasting. The pork is first browned in a soffritto, then drizzled with wine and, once the wine evaporates, cooked, covered in a small amount of water or broth— just enough to keep things moist—until almost tender. At that point, you add win- ter squash to the pork and let it cook, covered, for a few more minutes, until both are fully tender. The flavorings are quite subtle: just a bit of onion or shallot and a tiny pinch of nutmeg to enhance the nat- ural sweetness of the pump- kin, and a sprig or two of rosemary to lend an appeal- ing woodsiness. The pork- pumpkin duo is the true star of the show. The beauty of a meat and veg stews like this one is that it needs no side dish. But if you feel the need, s p e z z a t i n o d i m a i a l e e zucca would pair very nicely with some buttery mashed potatoes. And if you want to turn it into a hearty and warming one-dish meal, or p i a t t o u n i c o , y o u c o u l d serve it over a steaming bed of polenta. Ingredients Serves 4-6 6 0 0 g ( 1 - 1 / 2 l b ) p o r k shoulder, cut into cubes 400g (3/4 lb) Kabocha or other winter squash (see Notes), peeled and seeds removed, cut into cubes 1 m e d i u m o n i o n o r 2 shallots, finely minced A pinch of grated nutmeg A sprig of rosemary White wine Vegetable broth or water, FRANK FARIELLO white wine and let it evapo- rate, scraping up the brown bits at the bottom of the pan. N o w a d d t h e b r o t h o r w a t e r , p e r h a p s a s m a l l g l a s s f u l , j u s t e n o u g h t o cover the entire bottom of the pan. Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes, until almost tender. Check from t i m e t o t i m e t o t u r n t h e pork and, if need be, add more water or broth to keep things moist. When the pork is nearly t e n d e r , a d d t h e w i n t e r squash and continue sim- mering for another 10 min- utes or so, until both the pork and squash are fork- tender. Add minced parsley if using and give everything a turn. Transfer the pork and squash to a serving dish, together with their cooking juices. If you want a proper sauce, add more water or broth to the pan and, once a g a i n , s c r a p e u p a l l t h e brown bits. Pour the result- ing sauce over the pork and p u m p k i n . S p r i n k l e w i t h more minced parsley (if using) and serve hot. Notes Spezzatino di maiale e zucca is a homey dish, sim- ple and straightforward to prepare. There are a couple of tricky bits, common to Italian spezzatini in general. First, you will notice that the recipe calls for sautéing the onion or shallot first, then adding the meat to b r o w n . T h a t m e a n s y o u need to be careful about not burning the onion. In this Italian approach—unlike t h e F r e n c h m e t h o d o f b r o w n i n g t h e m e a t w e l l before adding a mirepoix, for example—the important thing is that the meat takes o n t h e f l a v o r s f r o m t h e onion and other seasonings, rather than getting a perfect sear. This step, so typical of Italian cookery, goes by a special term with no real E n g l i s h e q u i v a l e n t : insaporire, literally to "fill with flavor." The other thing to watch out for: since you cook the pork and winter squash in a s m a l l a m o u n t o f l i q u i d (again, unlike most stews you may be more familiar with, where the ingredients are nearly covered in liquid) you need to take care that it never entirely evaporates. For this, you need to use very gentle heat, and check in from time to time to add more liquid as needed. Even though I've dubbed t h i s " p o r k a n d p u m p k i n stew," I actually don't rec- ommend using pumpkin, at l e a s t n o t f o r U S - b a s e d cooks. Pumpkins in this country don't have the same taste and texture of Italian zucca. I find our pumpkins, as well as some other com- mon winter squashes like b u t t e r n u t , m e a l y a n d almost tasteless. But thank- fully, we now have access to a v a s t a r r a y o f w i n t e r squashes, some of which are quite satisfactory. I'm par- t i c u l a r l y f o n d o f t h e kabocha squash. To me, it's comparable to, if not quite a s t a s t y , a s t h e I t a l i a n zucca. I used a red kabocha f o r t h i s r e c i p e , a n d i t worked very well indeed. I'm holding out hope for the Cinderella pumpkin, too, but haven't had the chance to try it out. Frank is a lawyer with a true passion for cooking and sharing food with the people he loves. He inherit- ed his love for Italian cui- sine and culinary tradition f r o m h i s g r a n d m o t h e r , nonna Angelina, to whom he dedicated his culinary blog, Memorie di Angelina: www.memoriediangelina.co m. Spezzatino is a very popular dish in Italy. This version, with pork and pumpkin, is an original iteration of it (Photo: Voltan1/Dreamstime) LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES Spezzatino di maiale e zucca (pork & pumpkin stew) as needed Salt and pepper Butter and olive oil A sprig or two of fresh parsley, finely minced Directions In a large sauté pan or braiser, sauté the onion or shallot gently in butter and o l i v e o i l u n t i l s o f t a n d translucent. Add in the cubed pork shoulder, raising the heat some, and sauté, seasoning as you go with salt, pepper, n u t m e g a n d r o s e m a r y . (Take care to modulate the heat so that the onion does- n't burn). When the pork is nicely browned, add the

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