Name: Spezzatino di maiale e castagne (Pork Stew with Chestnuts)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 6 juniper berries, smashed; 4 or 5 whole cloves; and 1 cinnamon stick, 3 inches long, tied in a cheesecloth sachet; 1½ pounds fresh chestnuts, ¾ pound dried chestnuts, or ½ pound vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts; 3 cups Barbera or other dry red wine; 1 lemon zest strip, 1 tablespoon sugar, 3 whole cloves, and 1 cinnamon stick, about 3 inches long, if using dried chestnuts; 1 celery heart, finely chopped; Salt; 6 to 8 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped; 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces; freshly ground black pepper; 1 yellow onion, finely chopped; 5 to 6 tablespoons olive oil; 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Italian Slow and Savory

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 2004

About

This Piedmontese recipe was originally prepared with wild boar, a rare commodity at most markets. I always use pork shoulder for this dish, however, and the results are sensational. If you want to try the more exotic version, ask your butcher to order some boar for you. True wild boar, rather than farm raised, would need to be marinated in the wine and vegetables for a few days to tame the gamy taste before it could be cooked. But if you are using pork or even farm-raised boar, you can mari