As I mentioned in my previous post on how to make Verzini sausages at home, Cassoeula is one of the most iconic dishes from Milan, the city where I was born. Cassoeula is a stew made with pork meat and cabbage. In the past, people would cook pig’s ears and trotters in it too, but I am going “the modern way” and using only meat, rind and sausages. The weather in Milan can get quite cold in winter and this is a deliciously hearty stew that is usually served on soft and creamy polenta. In fact, this is probably THE dish I think of when I think about cold winters. I hadn’t made it in a while, as it doesn’t get very cold here, but after making verzini, I really felt like eating this. If you like pork meat, sausages and comfort food, this is the perfect stew for you. Try it and don’t forget to check out all my other Regional Italian recipes! Enjoy!
Cassoeula
Cassoeula - a stew made with #pork meat and cabbage - is one of the most iconic dishes from the Italian city of Milan.
Ingredients
- 125 gms – 4.5 oz. pork rind cleaned and cut in strips
- 500 gms – 1.1 lbs. pork ribs cut
- 4 verzini sausages
- 200 gms – 7 oz. luganighe sausages
- 1 kg – 2.2 lbs. cabbage roughly shredded
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 120 ml – ½ cup white wine
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
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Cook the pork rind in boiling water for 45 minutes, or until soft. Drain and dry it with kitchen paper and keep aside.
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Wash and roughly shred the cabbage. Do not dry it. Put it in a pot, cover it and put it on a slow fire, to soften for 5 minutes.
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In the meantime, sauté the chopped onion in the butter and extra virgin olive oil until soft. Add all the meat (apart from the rind) and brown it well.
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Put the chopped celery and carrots in the same pot and fry them until soft. Add the tomato purée, 1 tbsp of water, salt and pepper to taste and cook for 3 minutes.
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Mix and cook, covered, for about 1 hour and a half or until the meat is tender and falls off the bone.
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Serve warm with some soft polenta.
Now, this really is comfort food! Even if the weather is going in the opposite direction here in the Northern Hemisphere, I’d find this hard to resist..
Love, love, love casseoula!
What a beautiful dish to serve when the weather is cold out. We don’t get many cold days in Palm Springs, but I’m bookmarking this in case we get one this year.
Yum yum yum! 5 stars for a hearty, flavoursome, winter dish. I first had it at an Italian friend’s place a few weeks ago and have been hankering for it ever since. I’m ever so pleased with the result. Thanks for the pictures Manu, they were very helpful. Highly recommended recipe if you like pork, sausages and casserole 🙂