It’s cold and dark here now where I live. The sun sets early and I come home to a dark and chilly farmhouse in the evenings. To take the chill away I decided to make Stracotto… with pork instead of beef.
The evening routine has changed now… Get home, ditch the uncomfortable business attire and thoughts of the workday, pull on the cozy warm farm clothes and breath a sigh of relief. Let the dogs out to unwind. Come back inside. Start the fire to warm the house. Then back outside with the dogs to feed the goats, horses, chickens, rabbits and duck. Work on some barn chores. Back inside again to tend to the fire. Pour a glass of wine. Start dinner. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until April rolls around.
Tonight’s dinner was easy, due to the fact I prepped it the night before. I had cooked the whole pork roast ahead of time.
I wanted something filling and fitting with the weather and the time change. I came across this recipe of Jamie Oliver’s, and it reminded me of the meals my late Grandmother would prepare. Felt like a prefect meal for bad weather.
I wanted to make some homemade noodles – like she always did. In fact, I’m sure I never once witnessed a store-bought noodle in her house unless she was making macaroni salad for a potluck.
Anyway, I didn’t have the time for the noodle-making on this evening unfortunately, but I did have time to finish the Stracotto, add some penne to it, and top with freshly grated pecorino romano. Do what you can, right? And I had wine…
This kind of food probably looks ugly during the cooking process to some people – until you put it in your mouth. When you cook the meat a day or two ahead, the seasonings and vegetables develop amazing layers of flavors. Things many people can never appreciate. It’s a process.
My attempt at this dish may not have looked quite as nice as Jamie Oliver’s, but it was delicious nonetheless. ~A
