Soffritto napoletano

Name: Soffritto napoletano
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 180 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: Pork offal (spleen, heart, lung, liver) 2.2 lbs; Tomato purée 3 cups; Triple concentrated tomato paste 10 ¼ tbsp; Water 1 ¼ cup; Lard 2.8 oz; Extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp; Bay leaves 4 leaves; Rosemary 1 sprig; Dried chili pepper to taste; Fine salt to taste

291

Calories per serving

Energy Kcal 291
Carbohydrates g 7.1
of which sugars g 7.1
Protein g 20.6
Fats g 20
of which saturated fat g 7.7
Fiber g 1.6
Cholesterol mg 9
Sodium mg 172

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Serving: 8 persone
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Mario Stefanile ironically wrote that even in Naples, strangely, it gets cold in winter. The humble dishes that farmers used to restore themselves with were almost all concentrated flavors from the land. Simple escarole-based soups that accompany beans or potatoes, perfect for meeting the needs of energy and satiety. But every now and then, one could drink a cup of hot, so-called, octopus broth, which is still sold on the street to passersby wanting to warm up. And then there is another tradition, that of Neapolitan soffritto. It is certainly not the classic chopped vegetables, but a true soffritto of pieces of meat seasoned with tomato sauce, chili pepper, and bay leaf. Again, the protagonists are less noble cuts, those that some might dare to discard, losing out on the luxury of a preparation like this. To make Neapolitan soffritto, indeed, you use liver, lungs, spleen, heart, and some even add the trachea, which are all those parts that make up the so-called coratella. Stefanile continues, trying to reassure those who feel fear or awe towards Neapolitan soffritto, that this is a dish that brings nobility even to the humblest kitchens. Therefore, we decided to dust off the old cookbooks to recreate this ancient and truly tasty Neapolitan recipe. Once the Neapolitan soffritto is ready, all you have to do is choose whether to enjoy it on croutons, as a soup, or as a sauce for bucatini!

Don't miss out on another tasty Campanian first course: the Genovese!

INGREDIENTS: Pork offal 2.2 lbs (1 kg) - (spleen, heart, lung, liver); Tomato purée 3 cups (700 g); Triple concentrated tomato paste 10 ¼ tbsp (150 g); Water 1 ¼ cup (300 g); Lard 2.8 oz (80 g); Extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp (15 g); Bay leaves 4 leaves; Rosemary 1 sprig; Dried chili pepper to taste; Fine salt to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Soffritto napoletano

To prepare Neapolitan soffritto, start by cutting the offal: cut the pieces of spleen, heart, liver, and lung into cubes of 1-1.5 inches (1-2-3).

Transfer everything into a bowl and rinse the pieces well under running water 4, then drain 5 and place on a tray with paper towels 6.

Pat the meat well with more paper towels to dry off excess water 7. At this point, place a saucepan on the stove and heat the oil together with the lard 8. As soon as the latter has melted and the bottom is sufficiently hot, plunge in the pieces of meat 9.

Stir and brown for 5 minutes 10 or until all the pieces have taken on color 11. In the meantime, pour the water into a bowl along with the concentrate 12

and mix well 13, then add to the saucepan 14 and stir. Also, pour in the tomato puree 15

and season with dried or fresh chili, in the quantity you prefer 16, and scent everything with bay leaf and rosemary 17; finally, adjust the salt 18.

Cover with the lid 19 and let everything cook over low heat for 2 hours 20. Then cook for another 30 minutes, but this time without a lid, so as to dry out the cooking liquid a bit... and here is your Neapolitan soffritto ready 21!

Storage

Neapolitan soffritto can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
If you used fresh offal, you can also freeze it, preferably already divided into portions.

Advice

Once cooled, Neapolitan soffritto might become very compact, just like the one sold in butcheries and delis in Naples: simply heat the sauce with a bit of water! Choose whether to enjoy Neapolitan soffritto as a soup in which to dip slices of toasted or stale bread, or to season bucatini, as tradition dictates!

Do you really need all that lard?

The amount of lard present in the recipe might scare anyone. But do not be afraid! Besides being a main ingredient of the recipe, it was never lacking in traditional cuisine. In fact, besides being easily accessible, lard served to provide fats where they were lacking or inadequate. In the Neapolitan soffritto recipe, only very poor meats are used, such as organs that are normally not very tasty. As an alternative, oil could be a substitute for lard; however, it will not give the same creamy texture nor its rustic flavor. Butter could therefore be an alternative, but one must be careful not to burn it during the initial soffritto.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.