Though few might realize it, boiled dinner was once the commonest meat dish in Italy. Not the sumptuous bollito misto alla piemontese, a meal fit for a king, but simpler fare -- in part because boiled meat, usually cheaper cuts of elderly beef, was all many could afford for their Sunday dinners. More importantly, however, boiled meat is a byproduct of making broth, which was used almost daily in middle and upper class households, both as an ingredient in other dishes, and as a base for soups.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- An Onion, chopped
- A few tomatoes, coarsely chopped (canned tomatoes will work too)
- A pound (450 g) of leftover boiled beef (roasted medium will also work)
- Some broth
- A little olive oil
Preparation:
Continuing the introduction,
Though boiled meat served with sauces is quite good, it's not the sort of thing one would want to eat every day, and many 19th century cookbooks contain recipes to help people deal with it.
Now that we have entered the bouillon era and people are better off, boiled meats are less common than they once were. However, lesso rifatto, recooked boiled meat, is still popular, and you will find it on the menus of trattorie in working class neighborhoods throughout northern Italy (haven't been into this sort of restaurant in the south, but wouldn't be surprised to find it there, too).
And now the recipe, which is drawn from Il Re Dei Cuochi (The King of Cooks), an anonymously authored book published by Salani in 1885:
Chop an onion and gently sauté it in a pot with olive oil and a few coarsely chopped tomatoes. Let the mixture cook over a low flame for about a half hour, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, slice your boiled meat. Add it to the sauce, heat everything through for a few more minutes, and serve hot.
You'll note that the author doesn't give proportions. You will want a medium-sized onion, a quarter cup or so of oil, a half pound of ripe tomatoes (if the skins bother you blanch and peel them, and discard the seeds too if you want) and a pound of meat, cut into 1/4-inch slices. Will serve 4.
Though boiled meat served with sauces is quite good, it's not the sort of thing one would want to eat every day, and many 19th century cookbooks contain recipes to help people deal with it.
Now that we have entered the bouillon era and people are better off, boiled meats are less common than they once were. However, lesso rifatto, recooked boiled meat, is still popular, and you will find it on the menus of trattorie in working class neighborhoods throughout northern Italy (haven't been into this sort of restaurant in the south, but wouldn't be surprised to find it there, too).
And now the recipe, which is drawn from Il Re Dei Cuochi (The King of Cooks), an anonymously authored book published by Salani in 1885:
Chop an onion and gently sauté it in a pot with olive oil and a few coarsely chopped tomatoes. Let the mixture cook over a low flame for about a half hour, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, slice your boiled meat. Add it to the sauce, heat everything through for a few more minutes, and serve hot.
You'll note that the author doesn't give proportions. You will want a medium-sized onion, a quarter cup or so of oil, a half pound of ripe tomatoes (if the skins bother you blanch and peel them, and discard the seeds too if you want) and a pound of meat, cut into 1/4-inch slices. Will serve 4.
