PicoBlog

Coda alla vaccinara is quite ubiquitous in Roman trattorias, especially in the Testaccio neighbourhood - a former slaughterhouse district. A quintessential Roman dish, yet definitely not as famous outside of Italy as treats like carbonara, this stew is made with a beef cow’s tail and braised with vegetables such as carrots, celery, onion, and cooked in a rich tomato sauce and wine for a long time.

The oxtail meat cut belongs to what would often be called a ‘quinto quarto’, a fifth quarter of an animal, referring to offal, parts which historically were mostly consumed by less wealthy communities. However, it is the offal that provides a foundation for some of the most important elements of Roman cuisine.

Coda alla vaccinara recipe

Serve: 2

Roughly chop white onion, carrot, celery stick, and mince garlic. Cut guanciale into cubes.

Lightly coat a Dutch oven with vegetable oil. Over a high heat start with browning all the oxtail sides. While the pieces are browning, the meat is going to stick - it’s fine - don’t move them around, they’ll come off once are ready and caramelised. After the first step set the meat aside in a bowl.

In the same pan where the oxtail was cooked, sauté guanciale over medium heat. Once it turns crispy and golden, add minced garlic, stir and cook for around 3 minutes. Add chopped vegetables and cook for another 10 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with red wine by scraping the bottom of the pan, and reduce the liquid by half. Add seared oxtail, passata and tinned tomatoes, and pour the chicken broth to cover the meat. Mix and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Simmer over low to medium heat with a lid on. Let it cook for around 3 hours stirring occasionally until the meat gets tender. Add water if the sauce gets too thick and the meat is not tender enough to avoid the sticky bottom of the pan.

Serve with cicoria ripassata (recipe down below), and fresh bread.

Cicoria ripassata

Cicoria ripassata is a classic vegetable side dish that can be found on numerous Roman restaurant menus. People eat it as a second dish, but it’s also often found on a pizza.

The side dish is a sautéed Roman chicory that is first boiled quickly to mellow the bitter taste, then cooked in a pan with dry red chilli, garlic, and olive oil (ripassata refers to this specific preparation process).

Cicoria ripassata recipe

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 bag chicory

• 3 small red dry chillis

• 2 garlic cloves

• extra virgin olive oil

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Thinly slice garlic.

Blanch chicory in water for around 4 minutes (until tender) and drain well.

Warm some olive oil in a pan and cook garlic and dry red chilli. Once the garlic gets golden add chicory, season with salt and black pepper, mix and let it cook for another couple of minutes.

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