Cooking with fruit will, of course, impart sweet overtones to a dish, and though this sort of thing is relatively rare in modern Italian cooking, it was quite common in the past. In short, a step back into the past and a tasty change of pace besides. The onions should ideally be borrettane, which are small and sweet. Any small sweet onion will work, however, and if need be you can make do with plain button onions.
Ingredients to serve 4-6:
Ingredients to serve 4-6:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hours, 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) pork shoulder butt
- 1/2 pound (220 g) cipolline borrettane or button onions
- 1 pound (450 g) dried red prunes or plums
- 1 glass of dry white wine
- 6 cloves
- 3 6-inch (15 cm) sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup extravirgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Butcher's twine
Preparation:
Tie the meat with the twine so it will keep its shape as it cooks, slipping the rosemary sprigs under the string. Heat the butter and the oil in a casserole and brown the meat over a gentle flame, turning it every now and again. When it's browned on all sides, season it with salt and pepper, sprinkle the wine over it, and add the bay leaves and the cloves; simmer it, partially covered, for about an hour.Peel the onions if need be and blanch them in lightly salted water for 5 minutes; add them to the meat when it's half cooked, and after 10 minutes more the prunes, which should be pitted and chopped. When the meat is done transfer it to a platter. Blend the drippings and half the plums, spoon the sauce over the roast, and serve it with the onions and the remaining prunes.
