Frittola

Butcher's trimmings simmered then fried in lard and kept warm in a cloth-lined basket.

Beef, Veal. Not vegetarian — contains beef, lard, veal.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg mixed beef and veal trimmings, with cartilage and tendon
• 300 g lard
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 lemons, in wedges
• 6 soft rolls

Method

1. Ask the butcher for trimmings rather than a named cut. This dish is made of the offcuts — cartilage, tendon and scraps from boning out — and there is no joint it corresponds to.
2. Simmer them in salted water with the bay and peppercorns for 2 hours, until the cartilage yields to a knife but still has bite.
3. Drain and dry them thoroughly. Cut anything large into pieces you could eat in one.
4. Melt the lard in a wide pan until it shimmers, and fry the pieces in batches until the outsides are crisp and the cartilage has gone translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.
5. LINE A BASKET WITH A CLOTH, tip each batch in, and fold the cloth over. The basket is not presentation — the cloth traps the steam so the pieces stay hot and go soft again on the outside, which is how this is eaten.
6. Salt heavily, squeeze lemon over, and stuff into the rolls straight from the cloth.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes