When it gets cold out, and possibly wet -- what Italians call tempo da lupi, wolf weather, the best thing to do is break out the stew pot, prepare the requisite meat, herbs, and veggies, and set it all to simmering. The bubbling pot will warm your kitchen and perhaps even your house, the aromas will whet your appetite, and when it all gets to the table (with a steaming pot of polenta...), it will being comfort and joy.
1. Peposo
As you might guess, peposo is a spicy stew that derives its punch from whole peppercorns. An Italian chili, you might think, but it's actually much older: Brunelleschi, who built Florence's cathedral, liked it so much that he arranged to feed his workers peposo.2. Graziella's Ossibuchi al Sugo
Ossibuchi are veal or beef shanks, and though one generally encounters them seasoned with a lemon and herb mixture (see below), I also very much like the way my mother-in-law does them.3. Pollo alla Cacciatora, or Chicken Cacciatore
Everybody has a recipe for Chicken Cacciatore, and they're all different. Here are two, one simple and the other more elaborate.4. Wild Boar with Juniper Berries, or Cinghiale al Ginepro
Juniper berries are traditionally used in cooking boar, hare, and other game. Should boar not be available where you live, this will work well with venison too.5. Brasato al Barolo
Brasato al Barolo is one of the classic, elegant Piemontese dishes, and really does require a good bottle of wine (ideally Barolo, and you'll want a second bottle to drink with the brasato) to come out right. Nothing seems to warm the house more.6. Pastissada de Caval
Yes, caval means horse, and this is indeed a traditional Veronese horsemeat stew, made with Amarone wine and paprica to taste -- the former local, and the latter revealing Austro-Hungarian influences from the period when the Veneto was part of the Austrian empire.If the idea of eating horse bothers you, you can use beef instead -- it won't be quite as rich in iron, but will still be very good.
