Simone's Bollito Misto

Bollito Misto translates as "boiled dinner," though the term boiled dinner doesn't quite convey the concept. It's one of the most classic North Italian winter meals, and people still talk of the bollito misto alla piemontese that King Vittorio Emanuele would sneak away from Court to enjoy more than a century ago. It was an extraordinary feast with a great variety of boiled meats, boiled vegetables, and sauces to season both.

The Veneto also enjoys a rich tradition of boiled dinner, and if you happen to be in Verona and want to enjoy a delightful treat, go to the Trattoria Al Calmiere in Piazza San Zeno and order the bollito misto: Piero will emerge from the kitchen with a cart piled high, and you'll be able to pick and choose what you want.

Tuscany's tradition for bollito misto isn't as rich, but Simone Ciattini of the Trattoria la Baracchina has an innovative approach that will also be more practical for a home cook than might be a carrello of mixed boiled meats

In the kitchen he simmers, following the standard rules you'll find in my recipe for bollito misto alla piemontese, several cuts of beef, which can include plate, brisket, and muscolo, a term for boneless meat that -- if destined for bollito -- has a fair amount of fat and gristle, and can come from a number of places on the animal, including the neck (parts of what is called chuck on meat charts), the shanks, and parts of the round. In addition to these basic cuts for bollito, he will boil up musetto, (the boned frontal part of the head), or guancia, beef jowl, and may also have capon or tongue. In other words, quite a bit of variety.

Come time to serve it, he takes a half-inch (1.5 cm) slice from each kind of meat, sets them in a heated terracotta pot, tops the pot off with simmering broth, adds a boiled potato, and brings it to the table.