Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [56]
For 6 servings
¾ pound pork rind OR fresh pig’s feet OR pork hock
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons pancetta shredded very fine
1 pound shredded red cabbage, about 4 cups
⅓ cup chopped celery
3 tablespoons canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, drained
A pinch of thyme
3 cups (or more) Basic Homemade Meat Broth, OR 1 cup canned beef broth diluted with 2 cups water
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
½ pound mild fresh pork sausage that does not contain fennel seeds or other herbs
1 cup dried cannellini OR other white kidney beans, soaked and cooked, OR 3 cups canned cannellini beans, drained
OPTIONAL: thick slices of grilled or toasted crusty bread
FOR THE FINISHING TOUCH OF FLAVORED OIL
2 to 3 garlic cloves, lightly mashed with a knife handle and peeled
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon chopped dried rosemary leaves OR a small sprig of fresh rosemary
1. If you are using pork rind: Put the rind in a small saucepan, add enough cold water to cover by about 1 inch, and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute, then drain and, when cool enough to handle, cut the rind into strips about ½ inch wide and 2 to 3 inches long.
If you are using fresh pig’s feet or hock: Put the feet or hock in a saucepan with enough water to cover by about 2 inches, put a lid on the pot, and cook at a moderate boil for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove the pork from the pot, bone it, cut it into strips approximately ½ inch wide and set aside.
2. Put the olive oil in a soup pot together with the chopped onion and pancetta, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the onion, stirring, until it becomes translucent, then add the garlic, and cook it, stirring from time to time, until it becomes lightly colored.
3. Add the shredded cabbage, chopped celery, pork rind or feet or hock, the drained tomato, and a pinch of thyme. Cook over medium-low heat until the cabbage has completely wilted. Stir thoroughly from time to time.
4. Add the broth, salt, and several grindings of pepper, cover the pot, and turn the heat down to very low. Cook for about 2½ hours. This phase may be spread over 2 days, stopping the cooking and refrigerating the soup whenever you need to. The soup develops even deeper flavor when reheated and cooked in this manner.
5. Uncover the pot and, off heat, tilting it slightly, draw off as much of the fat as possible floating on the surface. If the soup is refrigerated after completing Step 4, the fat will be even easier to remove because it will have formed a thin, but firm layer on top. Return the pot to the burner, and bring its contents to a slow simmer.
6. Pierce the sausages at two or three points with a toothpick or sharp fork, put them in a small skillet, and turn on the heat to medium low. Brown them well on all sides, using just the fat they themselves shed. Add just the browned sausages, but none of the fat in the skillet, to the pot.
7. Purée half the drained cooked or canned beans into the pot, stirring thoroughly. Cover and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
8. Add the remaining whole beans and correct the density of the soup, if desired, by adding a little more homemade broth or water. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes more. If you are making the dish ahead of time and stopping at this point, bring the soup to a simmer for a few minutes before proceeding with the next and final steps.
9. To make the flavored oil, put the mashed, peeled garlic cloves and the 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a small skillet and turn on the heat to medium. When the garlic becomes colored a light nut brown, add the chopped rosemary or the whole sprig, turn off the heat, and stir two or three times. Pour the oil through a strainer into the pot, discarding the garlic and rosemary. Simmer the soup for another few minutes.
10. Transfer the soup to a large serving bowl to bring to the table. Something made of earthenware