Prep Time: 1 hours
Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- A variety of meats (see below for amounts)
- Onion
- Garlic
- Herbs
- Olive oil
- Dry red wine
- Day old bread
Preparation:
The greater the variety of the meats employed, the better it will taste.Scottiglia is a classic dish of the Arezzo region, a masterpiece among stews whose origins are remote: some suggest it was brought by Spanish immigrants. Others see it as the terrestrial analog of Cacciucco, the fisherman's stew of the Tyrrhenian waters.
To make a first rate scottiglia you'll need a variety of meats: veal, chicken, rabbit, pork, guinea hen, pigeon, and whatnot; if there's game as well so much the better. Chop the meat into fairly large pieces.
Mince some herbs, specifically an onion, a clove of garlic, red pepper (to taste but go easy; now people also use cayenne pepper or white pepper, sometimes to excess), a small bunch parsley, a few leaves of basil, a half a carrot and an equivalent amount of celery.
Sauté the herbs in a quarter cup or so of olive oil, and when the onion has become translucent (don't let it overbrown) add the meats and continue cooking until they are browned on all sides. At this point stir in the juice of one lemon (or more, depending upon how much meat is involved -- I'd say 1 lemon per 2-2.5 pounds meat), and when it has evaporated, a cup or two of dry red wine (use a Chianti).
Simmer until the liquid has evaporated, then add a pound of blanched peeled seeded tomatoes, tearing them with your fingers as you drop them into the pot (if need be use canned). Continue simmering until the meat is quite tender, adding hot broth or water as necessary to keep things liquid -- we're not making soup but it should not be dry.
While the meat's cooking thinly slice some day old Tuscan bread (use good quality Italian bread if need be, of the kind that's baked directly on the oven floor, rather than in a baking tin) and toast the slices, then divvy them out into bowls. Ladle the scottiglia over the bread, let the bowls sit in a warm place for 5-10 minutes to let the bread absorb the sauce, and serve with a tossed salad and a good bottle of Chianti.
