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Capriolo
Roe Buck or Roe Deer
Appears in
By Antonio Carluccio and Priscilla Carluccio
Published 1997
The male of the deer family can be easily recognised by its antlers. It is a medium-sized deer with a red-brown coat that changes to grey-brown in winter. It lives in hilly woodland areas and so cannot be found in Sicily or Sardinia, but is abundant in the rest of Italy, especially in the Alps and Apennines.
I once tried capriolo carpaccio made with the fillet of the roe deer, which was sublime - especially as it was garnished with a few slices of truffle. The meat can also be used to make a delicious ragù di capriolo, with rosemary, juniper berries, nutmeg, cinnamon, anchovy and wine, which goes wonderfully well with polenta and pasta in pappardelle al sugo di capriolo. It can also be cut into medallions and cooked with chanterelle mushrooms. These are, however, just a few suggestions for this highly prized meat.