P
Italian · Milan, Lombardia
Cassoeula Milanese di Maiale e Verza
Milan's winter feast: pork parts (ribs, cotechino, trotters, tail) braised with Savoy cabbage until the collagen dissolves into the braising liquid and the cabbage absorbs the pork fat completely. Eaten on the feast of Sant'Antonio Abate (17 January) when the first frost has sweetened the cabbage. The cassoeula is inseparable from the Lombard winter table — it requires all parts of the pig and a full afternoon of cooking. The word derives from the ladle (cassoeula) used to serve it.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
600 g
pork ribs
separated into individual ribs
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
300 g
cotechino or verzino sausage
left whole
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2
pork trotters
split lengthways by the butcher
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1
pork tail
cut into two or three sections
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1.2 kg
Savoy cabbage
frost-sweetened, January–February; outer and inner leaves separated
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the soffritto
1 large
onion
finely chopped
Your own market
2 stalks
celery
finely chopped
Your own market
1 medium
carrot
finely chopped
Your own market
60 g
unsalted butter
Your own market
1 splash
red wine vinegar
a few drops, stirred in at the end
Your own market
500 g
white polenta
to serve; not buckwheat taragna
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Set a wide, heavy braising pot over a moderately high flame. Working in batches and without added fat, lay the ribs, trotters, and tail sections flat in the dry pot. Brown each piece on all sides until the fat has partially rendered and the surfaces are deep golden. Remove each batch and set aside. The pork should smell of rendered lard and toasted meat, not steam.
2
Discard all but a thin film of the rendered fat. Reduce the heat to low. Add the butter and, once it has melted into the fat, add the onion, celery, and carrot. Cook the soffritto slowly, stirring occasionally, until it is soft, pale gold, and without any raw edge — the onion should be fully translucent and the butter fragrant with cooked vegetable.
3
Return all browned pork — ribs, trotters, and tail — to the pot. Add just enough water to come halfway up the meat. Bring to a bare simmer, cover, and braise gently. This is the step on which the dish lives or dies: the heat must remain low enough that the collagen from the trotters and tail dissolves slowly into the liquid, building the silky, unctuous braising sauce that will carry the cabbage. A rolling boil will tighten the proteins and yield nothing but grey, dry meat. The liquid should tremble, not bubble; after roughly one hour the trotters will begin to yield visibly at the skin.
4
Add the outer cabbage leaves, pressing them down into the braising liquid. Cover and continue the gentle braise for 30 minutes. The outer leaves should soften and begin to collapse, taking on the colour of the cooking fat — a pale, translucent green-gold.
5
Nestle the cotechino or verzino whole among the pork parts, submerging it partially in the liquid. Add the inner cabbage leaves on top. Cover and braise for a further 15 minutes. The cotechino should be heated through and firm to a gentle press — it must not split or go soft.
6
Remove the lid. Stir in a few drops of red wine vinegar. Taste the braising liquid: it should be fat, sweet from the cabbage, and rounded by the vinegar. Serve directly from the pot onto white polenta, ladling the cooking liquid generously over each portion.
From the canon — Polenta is the principal cooked grain preparation of northern Italy — from the Veneto through Lombardy, Piedmont, Trentino, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Polenta — The Correct Technique and Regional Variations →
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Trotters and tail from a heritage-breed pig (Nero di Parma, Cinta Senese) reared outdoors; cotechino from a single artisan producer; Savoy cabbage from open ground after the first genuine frost.
02
Estate — Free-range pork from a known regional farm; good-quality commercial cotechino; frost-sweetened Savoy from a market grower in January or February.
03
Market — Supermarket pork ribs, trotters, and tail of reliable provenance; packaged cotechino; Savoy cabbage purchased in season (January–February) and rested overnight in a cold space.
04
House — Any available pork cuts provided at least three different parts are present; standard supermarket cotechino; Savoy cabbage in season — summer cabbage is inadmissible at any rung.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The braising liquid trembles but does not bubble; after the first hour, the skin of the trotters begins to yield and a light film of collagen coats a spoon drawn through the liquid.
◇Sight. Outer cabbage leaves are fully collapsed and pale gold-green before the inner leaves are added.
◇Touch. The cotechino resists a gentle press and has not split — it is heated through but still slightly firm.
◇Smell. The rendered pork fat during the initial browning smells of lard and toasted meat, not steam — confirming proper rendering rather than poaching.
◇Where it lives or dies. The braise must be held at a bare tremble throughout: only sustained, patient low heat dissolves the collagen from the trotters and tail into the silky sauce that defines the dish.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Agave spirit
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year