Italiano
Roast pork neck with caramelized Bassano red onions, saffron potato foam and glaze
While not an easy dish to prepare this is a very satisfying one, even if you opt to make a simpler version. Its pairs well with a wine from Valpolicella: Le Bessole Corvina Veronese IGP Accordini Igino.
Ingredients for 4 people:
1kg pork neck, 800g water, 200g white wine, 1 tablespoon chestnut honey, 70g fine salt and 30g brown sugar.
For the saffron potato foam : 250 gr chopped potatoes, around 500ml water, 50g extra-virgin olive oil, 2 packets of saffron, salt and pepper as needed and one charge for the whipping siphon.
For the caramelized onions : 2 Bassano onions*, ½ glass balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons brown sugar.
For the glaze : 2 celery sticks, 2 carrots, 2 onions, 1/2 kg pigs feet, ½ kg mixed meat trimmings and bones, 1l Valpolicella wine and water as needed.
Directions:
Prepare the glaze the day before : Cut the celery, carrots and onions into pieces and put them in a large pot with a glass of water then cover and stew them. Add the pigs’ feet, meat bones and trimmings and braze them at a high heat, turning frequently to ensure they do not burn. Pour in the wine and water, cover and slowly simmer to reduce to 1/3 (this may take hours). Filter the glaze when it is still hot.
Preparing the foam : Boil the potatoes in water, when done blend them with 150g of the water used for boiling, the EVOO, saffron, salt and pepper. Put the blend into a whipping siphon, load the later with a gas cartridge and store in the refrigerator. Before use warm the siphon bain-marie at 60°C for 20 minutes.
For the caramelized onions : Peel then slice the onion not too thinly. Place then in a broad pan with the brown sugar and then mix in the balsamic vinegar. Cook at a low heat occasionally stirring delicately until the liquid has almost evaporated. Store in a bowl covered in plastic wrap until needed.
For the pork roast : Tie the roast with kitchen twine and marinate it in a bowl where the white wine, water, salt, brown sugar and chestnut honey have been mixed together. Put the meat in a pan with high sides and pour the marinade over it. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 140°C for around four hours or until the roast has an interior temperature of 70°C. If you have a thermostatic oven you can do prepare this by air-sealing the tied roast with the marinade and cooking it with the water at 68°C for 18 hours.
Let the roast cool in its juices before removing it from the pan. Remove the twine, dry the meat with paper towels and then cut it into slices 3-4cm thick rubbing each slice with EVOO.
Warm the siphon with the potato foam bain-marie at 60°C for 20 minutes.
Prepare each plate with a bed of caramelized onions, cover them with the foam then place the meat on top and cover it with a few spoons of gravy.
*Excellent even raw, thanks to their ‘sweetness’, red Bassano onions appeal even by those who do not like the strong and sharp flavor of normal onions. They have been cultivated throughout the province of Vicenza since the XIV century and were very popular until the 1950s, when they began to fall out of fashion and the onion growers of Vicenza preferred to produce the more profitable white onions.
Wine to pair:
Le Bessole Corvina Veronese Igp Accordini Igino
Le Bessole is the name of the first 3 hectares vineyard owned by the Accordini family and it is also the name of a very well structured and balanced Corvina wine which amazes for its similarity to Amarone. Intense ruby red color. Red fruits, macerate cherry, with soft hints of cocoa and coffee to the nose. Spicy to the palate, it is soft and full bodied and reveals complex and powerful sensations. Production area: Colline di Moron, a hilly area in the boundary between San Pietro in Cariano and Negrar (Verona).
Grape varieties: Corvina Veronese 90%, Corvinone 10%
Alcoholic content: 15% vol.
Serving temperature: 16-18°C.
Suggested food pairing: bitter and sweet at the same time, it can accompany savoury dishes, as risotto, red meat and aged cheese.
