Zampi, Zampetti, Zampone, Piedino

As they need to be thoroughly cleaned, I suggest that you let your butcher take care of the preparation of pigs’ trotters. Once you have got them home, however, they need to be boiled for at least an hour. They can then be tossed in breadcrumbs and shallow-fried in butter. When the skin is crispy and the flesh very soft, they can be served with lemon juice. Alternatively, once they have been blanched they can also be slowly braised in tomato sauce for a couple of hours. Another popular recipe is to stuff the skin around the shin with a mixture of minced pork meat, the meat on the shin itself and the ears, to make zampone.