Veal Breast Stracotto

Name: Veal Breast Stracotto
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients: 1 4-pound boneless veal breast, bones reserved; 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 8 cups Basic Chicken Stock (page 27); 1 leek, cleaned thoroughly and roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces; 1 large Spanish onion, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces; 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces; 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1/4 pound prosciutto, ground or finely chopped; 2 celery ribs, finely diced (about 1 cup); 1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced; Half of a large Spanish onion, finely diced; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons double-concentrated tomato paste; 1 750-ml. bottle dry white wine; 1 quart veal stock or Basic Chicken Stock (page 27), warmed if gelatinous

January 26, 2012

One of my favorite daytrips from my house in Italy is to the town of Panzano in Chianti, to visit the world-famous butcher Dario Cecchini. Dario has been covered by every food publication imaginable, and since Bill Buford wrote about him in his memoir, Heat, Dario’s shop has become a mecca for foodies traveling in Italy. To meet the demand of his fans, Dario now has three restaurants that people can visit while they’re there: a steakhouse serving prime cuts, such as bistecca fiorentina, a classic preparation of a T-bone or porterhouse grilled over a wood fire; a hamburger restaurant, Dario Plus; and my favorite of the three, Solo Ciccia. This restaurant, whose name means “only meat,” offers lesser cuts of meats prepared in a variety of ways, many of them cooked long and slow, or stracotto, like this dish. Veal breast isn’t something you’ll find at your average grocery store, so you’ll have to get it from a butcher, and you will probably have to special-order it. Ask the butcher to save the bones he carved the breast from, as you’ll use those to make the stock in which the meat is braised. While you’re at it, have him roll and tie the breast for you, too. Even though this might be out of your ordinary shopping routine, the good news is that you’ll end up with a rich, luxurious veal dish for not a lot of money.

Recipe notes