Meat mains and side dishes from Romagna

Polenta incassata (layered polenta bake)

A dish that, like many recipes from Romagna, is hearty and rich in calorie-dense ingredients.

Ingredients
polenta
meat ragù
béchamel

Method
Prepare the polenta keeping it fairly firm, then, once ready, spread it out on the pastry board and cut it with a wire, as tradition dictates.

Have the meat ragù and béchamel ready on the side. In a baking dish, put down a layer of polenta and season with a layer of ragù and béchamel and a sprinkling of parmesan, then more polenta, then another layer of ragù and béchamel, parmesan, until the ingredients are used up. Finish with a generous handful of parmesan. The ragù should be kept fairly “loose”, as the polenta tends to soak up a lot of the sauce. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Grilled mutton (or pork) chops

The quality of this simple dish comes down to the quality of the raw ingredient: good mutton makes a good recipe. All that's left to do is prepare a generous fire and cook,

Ingredients [serves 4]
8 mutton or pork chops
extra virgin olive oil
rosemary
salt

Method
Season the chops with a drizzle of oil and some rosemary and leave to rest for at least half an hour. Once on the grill, the chops only need a few minutes on each side. Season with salt and serve piping hot.

Chicken cacciatora

Ingredients
1 chicken
100 g cured ham (prosciutto crudo)
300 g ripe tomatoes
2 knobs of butter
1 glass of dry white wine
½ glass of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Method
Fry the diced ham (both fatty and lean parts) in the oil and butter, add the chicken cut into pieces and brown it for a few minutes. Deglaze with the white wine, then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook over a low heat for at least an hour and a half.

Ossobuco alla romagnola

Ingredients [serves 6]
6 ossobuco (veal shanks)
50 g butter
flour
1 glass of dry white wine
½ onion
1 stick of celery
1 carrot
4-5 sage leaves
meat stock
salt

Method
Fry the onion, celery and carrot in the butter. Flour the ossobuco and brown them in the soffritto, then add the white wine, the sage leaves and the salt. Once the wine has evaporated, gradually add the meat stock until cooking is finished (about an hour), without letting the meat dry out too much. A variation on the recipe uses a few cherry tomatoes or tomato sauce.

Fried lamb cutlets

Ingredients [serves 4]
16 lamb cutlets
3-4 eggs
breadcrumbs
lemon

Method
Flour the cutlets and coat them in beaten egg and breadcrumbs, pressing the crumbs firmly onto the meat. Deep-fry in plenty of hot oil, pat dry on kitchen paper and serve with lemon wedges.

Beef stracotto (slow-braised beef)

A dish that takes a bit of effort because of the long cooking time, but is hearty and full of flavour. It used to be cooked in a special earthenware pot with a slightly concave lid, into which the wine was poured so that it evaporated slowly.

Ingredients [serves 4]
2 kg of good-quality beef, in one piece
50 g butter
20 g lard
2 onions
2 glasses of red wine
½ glass of tomato sauce
meat stock
salt to taste

Method
Tie the beef and season with salt. Choose a large pan, as the stracotto needs to cook for at least 4-5 hours, and start by frying the butter, lard and finely sliced onions. As soon as it's ready, brown the beef joint on all sides so it doesn't lose its juices,  then add 2 glasses of red wine and, once it has evaporated, add the tomato sauce and salt. Cover with the lid and leave to cook, adding a little stock if the dish becomes too dry.

The meat should be sliced cold (so it doesn't fall apart), put back in the pan, drizzled with the cooking sauce and reheated before being brought to the table.

Frittata with mixed herbs (or parsley)

Ingredients [serves 4]
12 eggs
mixed herbs (chives, sage and basil) or parsley
½ glass of milk
150 g parmesan
2 tablespoons of flour
a couple of knobs of butter (depending on the size of the pan to be greased)

Method
Beat the egg yolks in a bowl with the parmesan, flour and milk. Fold in the stiffly whisked egg whites, the salt and the finely chopped herbs or parsley. Pour the mixture into a lightly buttered pan and cook on both sides. It should be well cooked on the outside and soft in the middle. Baking it in the oven also gives excellent results and makes for a lighter dish.

Cabbage alla romagnola

A healthy, tasty winter recipe. This cabbage is delicious with a warm piadina, ideally homemade too!

Ingredients
1 savoy cabbage
50 g pancetta
2 cloves of garlic
50 g lard or butter
salt and pepper

Method
Remove the outer leaves of the savoy cabbage and boil it in salted water. Drain, leave to cool and cut the open leaves into fairly large pieces. In a pan, fry the two garlic cloves and the diced pancetta in the lard or butter, then add the cabbage pieces, salt and pepper. Let it take on flavour for about 20 minutes and serve piping hot, with a piadina on the side. 

Stuffed courgettes

Ingredients [serves 4]
4 courgettes
300 g minced beef
1 egg
50 g parmesan
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
parsley
nutmeg
salt and pepper

Method
It's best to use courgettes of the same size, hollowed out carefully so they don't break.

The filling is made by frying the carrot and celery in a little oil, then adding the meat and cooking for 15 minutes. Put the mixture in a bowl and combine with the egg, parmesan, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Fill the courgettes and arrange them in a pan in which the shallot has been fried, then cook over a low heat, covered, for about 40 minutes, adding a little water if they start to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Vegetables au gratin, alla romagnola

The most typically “Romagna” side dish there is. Very popular around Rimini, they're eaten inside a warm piadina or served alongside grilled meat and fish.

Ingredients
Aubergines, peppers, tomatoes, courgettes
breadcrumbs
garlic
parsley
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Method
Prepare a mixture of breadcrumbs, oil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper, keeping it fairly soft in texture. Sprinkle the vegetables with the mixture and arrange them on the grill (if cooking over embers) or in a baking tray if putting them in the oven. Cook for 15-20 minutes.