Bollito misto

Bollito misto (Italian: [bolˈliːto ˈmisto]; lit. 'mixed boil' or 'mixed boiled meat') is a classic northern Italian stew, resembling the French pot-au-feu, typically consisting of various tougher cuts of beef and veal, cotechino sausage, and a whole hen or capon, all gently simmered in an aromatic vegetable stock.

Bollito misto

Bollito misto served with spinach, mostarda vicentina, purée, and balsamic vinegar jelly
Type	Stew
Course	Secondo (Italian course)
Place of origin	Italy
Main ingredients	Beef and veal, cotechino, whole hen or capon
Media: Bollito misto

Bollito misto and its many regional variations are eaten throughout Italy; it is particularly popular in Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, and Lombardy. The meat is sliced thinly and served with mostarda, and a green sauce – salsa verde – and other sauces.

History and description

One-pot stews have long been common to many cuisines. Those using a mixture of meats include the French pot-au-feu, the Belgian hochepot, the German Pichelsteiner, the Spanish cocido and the South American puchero.^[1] Bollito misto is a comparable dish from Italy.^[2]

Anna Del Conte writes in her 2001 Gastronomy of Italy that the mixture of meats in a bollito misto varies by locality. In Piedmont and Lombardy beef is the main ingredient, and in Emilia-Romagna pork products – cotechino and zampone – take first place. Del Conte stipulates, "A classic bollito misto should include beef, veal, chicken, tongue, a cotechino and half a calf's head". The meats are added to the pot at different times, depending on how long they take to cook.^[3] Chefs and food writers from Italy and elsewhere prescribe widely differing ingredients:

Cook/writer	Beef	Veal	Poultry	Sausage	Ref
James Beard	Brisket	Tongue	Capon	Cotechino	[4]
Biba Caggiano	Brisket; tongue (optional)	Rump; calf's head (optional)	Chicken or capon	Cotechino	[5]
Antonio Carluccio	Brisket	Cheek and tongue	Boiling chicken	Cotechino	[6]
Elizabeth David	Silverside	Fillet; calf's head and feet	Capon or turkey	Cotechino	[7][n 1]
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall	Brisket or shin; tongue	–	Boiling hen	Cotechino	[8]
Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers	Tongue	Silverside (optional)	Capon or boiling fowl	Cotechino or zampone de Modena	[9]
Sophie Grigson	Brisket, flank or shin	Tongue; shoulder or brisket	Chicken	Cotechino and/or zampone	[10][n 2]
Marcella Hazan	Brisket or rump; tongue	Brisket or rump; half a calf's head	Chicken	Cotechino	[11]
Alastair Little	Shank; tongue	Shank; foot	Capon or chicken	Cotechino or zampone	[12]
Anton Mosimann	Tongue; brisket, rump or chuck	Shoulder; foot (or pig's trotter)	Chicken	Cotechino	[13]
Claudia Roden	Brisket; tongue	Rump or shoulder; foot (or pig's trotter)	Chicken	Cotechino	[14]
Jody Scaravella	Chuck	Shoulder	Capon or turkey (optional)	Cotechino	[15][n 3]
John Torode	Salt beef; tongue	Shank	Chicken	Cotechino	[16]
Alice Waters	Brisket; tongue	–	Chicken legs	Fennel sausages	[17]

According to Larousse Gastronomique, the meat is cooked in stock with onions, carrots and celery and served with vegetables such as carrots, turnips and celeriac cooked in a little of the strained stock.^[18] Depending on the region, bollito misto is accompanied by different sauces.^[3] The two most frequently served are salsa verde and bagnet ross or salsa rossa (a tomato sauce). According to Del Conte, the best-known bollito misto, the Piedmontese gran bui, is served with at least three sauces, with saussa d’avie (made with honey, walnuts and mustard) in addition to salsa verde and salsa rossa. In the Veneto, bollito misto is accompanied by peverada,^{[n 4]} and in Lombardy mostarda di Cremona is served along with salsa verde.^[3]

Restaurants that offer bollito misto often serve it from special trolleys with each of the various meats in its separate compartment full of hot stock. The meat is removed from the stock and carved individually for each customer; this prevents the meats from drying out.^[3]