P
Italian · Molise
Polenta di Molise con Spuntature
Molise's winter polenta service: coarsely-milled yellow polenta cooked for 60-90 minutes in the traditional paiolo (copper pot), served on a wooden board (the 'spianatora') and topped with a slow-braised tomato sauce of pork spare rib tips (spuntature) — the short, cartilage-rich rib ends that cook long in tomato, onion, wine, and lard until collapse-tender and the braising liquid is concentrated and glossy. The polenta is poured directly onto the board and the meat and sauce ladled over — no plates, communal eating.
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the spuntature
1 kg
pork spare rib tips (spuntature)
short, cartilage-rich rib ends
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
400 g
1 medium
onion
finely sliced
Your own market
100 ml
dry red wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
50 g
lard
not olive oil
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
fine sea salt
Your own market
For the polenta
300 g
coarse-milled yellow polenta
not instant, not fine-milled
Your own market
1.5 litres
water
Your own market
1 tbsp
fine sea salt
added aggressively during cooking
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Melt the lard in a heavy-based pot — a wide, deep saucepan or a traditional paiolo if available — over a medium flame. Add the onion and cook until softened and translucent, without colouring. Add the spuntature in a single layer and brown on all sides until deeply coloured. This is done when the fat around them is clear and the surface of each rib tip is uniformly mahogany.
2
Pour in the wine and allow it to reduce almost completely, scraping up any sediment from the base of the pot. Add the crushed tomatoes and enough water to just cover. Season with salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover partially, and braise for a minimum of 2 hours, turning the spuntature occasionally, until the meat pulls from the cartilage without resistance, the collagen has dissolved into the sauce, and the liquid has concentrated to a glossy, thick coating — this is where the dish lives or dies: a sauce that is thin or a rib tip that still holds any resistance is an unfinished dish.
3
When the spuntature have approximately 60 to 90 minutes left, begin the polenta. Bring the salted water to a rolling boil in a large pot — copper if available. Pour the coarse polenta in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps forming. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting.
4
Stir the polenta continuously with a long wooden spoon for the full 60 to 90 minutes. It will thicken progressively; adjust heat so it maintains a slow, volcanic bubble without burning. Season further with salt as needed — the polenta must be aggressively salted throughout. It is ready when it pulls cleanly from the sides of the pot and a spoon drawn through it leaves a furrow that holds its shape.
5
Pour the finished polenta directly onto a clean wooden board (the spianatora) in one confident motion, spreading it to an even layer with the back of a wetted spoon. Ladle the spuntature and their concentrated sauce over the polenta immediately. Serve at once at the board, communally — the polenta should steam visibly and the sauce should hold its gloss without running.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Spuntature from a named heritage breed (Nero di Caserta or Mora Romagnola); stone-ground coarse polenta from a single Molisano mill; home-rendered lard from the same animal.
02
Estate — Well-sourced pork spare rib tips from a butcher who sells the short cartilaginous ends specifically; a regional coarse-milled polenta with provenance; good-quality commercial lard.
03
Market — Standard pork spare rib tips; any coarse (not fine, not instant) yellow polenta; commercial lard — the dish remains fully itself at this level provided the cooking time is not shortened.
04
House — The one substitution the dish cannot absorb: instant or fine-ground polenta, or a braise of under two hours. All other compromises are recoverable; these are not.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. The rib tips yield completely when pressed with a spoon — the cartilage has dissolved and no resistance remains in the meat.
◇Sight. The braising sauce coats the back of a spoon in a glossy, concentrated layer and does not run when the spoon is tilted.
◇Touch. The polenta pulls cleanly from the sides of the pot and a furrow drawn through it holds its walls without collapsing.
◇Smell. The finished polenta has a deep, toasted corn fragrance — raw or floury notes indicate insufficient cooking time.
◇Where it lives or dies. The spuntature must braise until the cartilage has fully dissolved into the sauce and each rib tip yields without resistance — a thin sauce or under-tender pork cannot be recovered at service.
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VI
What to Pour
A robust, tannic southern Italian red — the collagen-rich, pork-tomato depth of the spuntature and the earthy weight of slow-cooked polenta require a wine with sufficient structure and dark fruit to hold its own: a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo or a similar central-southern red of the same weight and character.
The whole pairingPillar VII
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance