Italiano
Bruscitti with polenta
Bruscitti means scraps or morsels and they are small pieces of beef rigorously cut by hand that are served with polenta. This is a typical plate of Busto Arsizio, a town where in 1975, thanks to Bruno Grampa, the Magistero dei Bruscitti di Busto Grande association and school was founded. There are several variations of this flavorful and filling dish that is traditionally consumed during the Gioebia holiday, which is celebrated on the last Thursday of January.
Ingredients for 4 people:
400g third-category beef muscle, 400g brisket, 300g bold red wine, 2 unpeeled garlic cloves, 100g chopped bacon, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (wrapped in gauze), 1 bunch of aromatic herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme and laurel), 100g butter, 20g extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper as needed and 700ml beef broth.
For the polenta: 375g bramata corn flour, 1.5l water, coarse salt as needed and 50g butter.
Directions:
Chop the meat into pieces. Melt the butter in a pan with the olive oil and sauté the garlic. Remove the garlic and add the meat and brown it at a high heat then douse it with the wine. Once the wine has evaporated, add the bacon, the tomato paste that has been diluted with a tablespoon of broth, the bunch of herbs and fennel seeds. Let the meat simmer semi-covered for around two hours, adding broth when needed to keep it from drying. Once cooked, let the meat sit for around 30 minutes and then remove the herbs.
Prepare the polenta while the bruscitti are cooking. Salt the water and bring it to a boil. Add the flour and keep stirring polenta as it cooks for an hour. Mix in the butter once the polenta is ready.
Re-heat the bruscitti and serve together with the polenta.
Wine to pair:
Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Docg Zenato
A rich and full bodied wine, deep ruby colour, which develops garnet hues by aging. On the nose intense and complex aromas of black cherry under spirit, eucalyptus notes, cocoa and spices. On the mouth is soft with a compact but thin tannin, round, velvety and smooth.
Production area: the vineyard is located in Sant’Ambrogio della Valpolicella, hilly zone, with an exposure to South-East, at 300-350 meters. The soil is calcareus, morainic, rich in rock fragments.
Grape varieties: 80% Corvina, 10% Rondinella, 10% Oseleta and Croatina with Guyot training system for the old vines and spurred cordon for the new ones ca. 5,000 vines per hectare.
Wine making system: manual harvest in second decade of October. After the harvest, the grapes are carefully selected, and the healthiest ripest fruit is placed in wood cases in a well-ventilated room to raisin for 3-4 months. After this period the grapes are pressed, left on the skins for 15-20 days at the temperature of 23-25°C. The wine is aged in oak barrels for 36 months.
Serving temperature: 18°C, uncork bottle at least one hour before.
Food pairing: recommended with roasted meat, wild and game meat, aged cheeses.
