Le Signore delle Verdure.

Mark and I are just back from Rome… literally yesterday. We spent three weeks in the Eternal City and, like our three weeks prior in France and Switzerland, it is never enough. But we have to come home sometime, right? And we will go back…

When choosing the locations for the apartments we rent, the first criteria is that it must be near a market. In Paris, we were just steps from the Marché de la Bastille. In Zürich, we were a couple of blocks from the market in Oerlikon, where our friends live. And, of course, in Rome we chose to be half a block from the historic Campo de’ Fiori market — daily except Sunday. We have chosen this neighborhood the three times we have been here — it’s not just close to the market but also near many things we want to see: museums, churches, historic sights.

Fifteen years ago, at the market, we met produce vendors Franca, now 92, and her daughter Sonia: I call them Le Signore delle Verdure (the Vegetable Ladies). That was an autumnal visit — we bought porcini several times and I wrote about it then in my post, Arrivederci Roma. I visited them every day. Years later, we had another fall visit, and I bought more porcini, plus pears, apples, small green tomatoes, and squash. This year’s trip was a spring visit: peas, spring onions, fava beans, artichokes, strawberries, cherries, apricots, loquats, and lettuces for salads. Their selection is wonderful.

Whenever I tell them what I’m going to make, without hesitation they put together all the vegetables I needed for my intended recipe. They are literally handing me the recipe as they gather the ingredients. No need to measure or weigh — they just know. If you ever need vegetables or fruit when in Rome, please visit them — they are the best!

When I told them I had bought coda di manzo (oxtail) at the butcher shop to make Coda di Vaccinara, a traditional Roman oxtail stew — Franca immediately asked, «Arrosto o in umido?» (roasted or braised). As our apartment had no oven, I told her I’d make them on the stove top. Within seconds, Sonia started putting together my recipe: two small onions, three ribs of celery, two medium carrots, a branch of Roma tomatoes, and, of course, potatoes to mash for serving. No instructions from her but a brief affirmation: “You know what to do.”

That said, I checked several recipes online. My innovation has one thing that I didn’t see in any other: diced guanciale. We had bought a fairly large piece of it when we first got to Rome to make carbonara, amatriciana, and gricia — three of the traditional Roman pastas. We needed to use it up, so I put it in the stew; you could use pancetta instead, or skip it completely. The final addition to this recipe is dark chocolate. I did see that in a couple of recipes, and thought it was a nice idea, especially as we had a really good bean-to-bar chocolate shop (Amir Roma) just down the street. It adds a silky depth to the stew.

This is another dish that doesn’t exactly scream “summer“ but, as you know from my risotto post a couple of weeks ago, hot weather doesn’t stop me from good food. One of the delights of this recipe is that there will be plenty of sumptuous leftover sauce to serve over pasta the next day, perfect with just a grating of fresh cheese on top.

~ David

Coda alla Vaccinara

David Scott Allen, Cocoa & Lavender

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Ingredients

  

• 4 pieces oxtail, about two inches thick
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced guanciale
• 2 small or 1 large onion, finely diced
• 3 ribs celery, coarsely grated
• 2 medium carrots, coarsely grated
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 6-8 Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped (2 cups)
• 1 cup passata
• salt and pepper
• 2 ounces chopped dark chocolate, 70-72% cacao
• creamy mashed potatoes for serving

Instructions

 

• Season the meat with salt. Add the oil and the guanciale to a Dutch oven and cook until the guanciale has rendered its fat and begins to turn golden. Add the meat and brown it well on both sides.
• When the meat is brown, remove it from the pan, then add the onion, celery, and carrot, and cook until onion is soft. Add the white wine and bring to a boil. Cook briskly until the liquid is reduced.
• Nestle the meat into the vegetables and add the chopped tomatoes, passata, and season with salt and pepper. The meat might not be covered but that’s okay.
• Cover and cook over low heat for about 4 hours, turning the meat once, and adding water if it gets too dry. (I did not need to add any water.)
• At the end of cooking, stir in the grated dark chocolate to blend the flavors.
• Serve over creamy mashed potatoes.

Notes

Serves 4.

Leftover sauce can be refrigerated and reheated, served over pasta with a grating of Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano.