Bollito Misto

For the past month or so, I have been crippled by a severe case of allergic contact dermatitis -- first on my shins, later spreading to the rest of my body, irritating every available patch of skin below my face. It was a bitter comedy of errors, with each course of treatment resulting in worse and worse outcomes until a specialist finally determined that I was violently allergic to a common over-the-counter ointment. Funny how sometimes the cure is far worse than the illness.

The last two weeks were supposed to be my first vacation this year. Much to my chagrin, I spent almost every minute of that time house-bound and incapacitated. One of the tragedies of losing that rare "me" time was that I was unable to do cooking of any sort, nor could I write, eat out, or take the time to explore farmer's markets. I have only just started the road to recovery, so bear with me as I try to catch up.

I admire both the technical sophistication of haute cuisine and the rustic comforts of simple home cooking. My book is focused on the latter, which is why I was delighted to come across the Italian tradition of bollito misto. The literal translation is "boiled mixed", called thus because it is quite literally a boiled mixture of whatever you want for dinner.

I first heard of it on Gourmet magazine's Diary of a Foodie show, in episode 28 titled "Bovine Rhapsody". The program featured a Tuscan family that raises Maremmana cattle the old-fashioned way. They put their home-grown beef into a pot of water, along with whole tomatoes, whole onions, basil and parsley. The mixture simmered for two hours until the meat was tender. That's bollito. The meat was removed from the broth and served with salsa verde, home-made mayonnaise and boiled, peeled potatoes. Simple, slow food.

If you consult the recipes of top chefs, you will encounter far more exotic variations. Giada De Laurentiis's recipe adds celery, bay leaf, carrots, beef stock and calls for a Gorgonzola sauce as an extra condiment. Iron Chef Mario Batali's recipe incorporates an arsenal of meats such as calf's tongue, veal shank, beef cheeks, beef sausages, capon and turkey breasts on top of the beef brisket. It is said that King Vittorio Emanuele II used to sneak away from the royal court with his friends to grab a bite of bollito; it is likely that his Highness was addicted to the seven-meat version like Batali's. Impressive, but the humble farmer's version is far more appealing to me.

Here is my version.

Bollito Misto
Serves 4-6

1 lb beef brisket (or any other kind of meat for stewing), whole or cubed
1 large tomato, whole
1 large onion, coarsely chopped into large chunks
1-2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 cup baby carrots
4 cups of water
a couple of sprigs each of basil, parsley
salt, to taste

1. Put all ingredients except for the salt into a large pot and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to a simmer.
3. Skim off any impurities (i.e. scum) that rise to the surface. Continue until the broth is reasonably clear.
   
4. Add more water if necessary to ensure that all the ingredients are submerged.
5. Simmer for 2 hours.
6. Add salt to taste. (1 tsp was appropriate for me.)
7. Serve the meat and vegetables with or without the broth. (I personally liked the broth a lot.)
   

If you have time to make the aforementioned salsa verde, mayo or boiled potatoes as accompaniments, feel free to do so.