Cacciucco is one of the main dishes of Livorno cuisine – born like many others, with the intention of not wasting food. Tradition has it that this traditional soup was born from the fisherman’s need to save unsold fish, which would be taken home, cooked with tomatoes and served over bread rubbed with garlic. And this particular recipe for cacciucco di terra serves as a reinterpretation of the famous dish, made with meat instead of fish, also born in Tuscany (in the Maremma area), and fuelled by the need to use every last bit of food for sustenance. This recipe also uses chicken giblets, which were cooked together with other pieces of pork and beef, and left to cook for a long time in an earthenware pan with onions and red wine.
Chicken and pork instead of fish
Cacciucco di terra is a rich dish, though the meat used to prepare it isn’t exactly what we’d call valuable: Chicken giblets and pieces of pork are certainly not exclusive or expensive cuts. But all together, with the tomato, bacon and wine, makes this recipe a structured and dense dish.
Slow-roasting: the secret to tender meat
An earthenware pan, thinly sliced onions that suffer slowly in the oil and their unmistakable scent dispersed in the air. And then the aroma of sage and rosemary that blends with that of the meat that sizzles before being covered in wine and left to cook slowly for hours, until its texture becomes as tender as possible, until its flavour blends with that of the wine and herbs. In this way the meat becomes soft and succulent, cooked over a gentle heat for a long time.
Meat Caciucco: The Recipe
Serves 8
Ingredients:
50 g bacon, 3 medium onions, 3 cloves of garlic, 1.5 kg chicken with its giblets, clean and chopped, 250 g pork, 250 g beef, 2 cups red wine, 600 g tomato sauce, Sage, Rosemary, Salt, Pepper, Extra-virgin olive oil, Parsley, 1 kg bread, sliced
Method:
In an earthenware pan, brown the sliced onions, bacon and 2 cloves of garlic (peeled and cleaned) in two tablespoons olive oil. Add the chicken giblets, the previously chopped pork and beef to a blender. In another earthenware pan, brown the chicken pieces in 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Add the sage, rosemary and then the wine. Add the other meat, tomato, salt and pepper to the chicken, stir well and cook over a low heat for an hour and a half, adding more water if necessary. Separately, grill the sliced bread and rub with the remaining clove of garlic. Once the meat is ready, add the chopped parsley and place two slices of bread on each plate and cover with the sauce and meat to serve.