Stomaco alla Milanese

Much of our food falls under the designation of semi-authentic.  With a daily changing menu and whimsical ordering, it's not always practical (or desirable) to recreate Italian standards with all possible accuracy.  And so, when I publish this page, it will be the first use of the phrase "stomaco alla milanese" in all of Google's registers.  But this is just a classic dish with one small and logical substitution, and we think that even the purists of Milan couldn't resist the satisfying, grandmotherly flavor.

We start with the stomach of our 500 pound sow.

Anyone that has ordered "buche" tacos knows how delicious pork stomach can be.  Tripe is the obvious point of reference, and the inspiration for this recipe, but in my opinion it fares poorly by comparison.  Pork stomach offers greater textural variety, and combines a similarly deep and earthy flavor with a milder odor.  It is less like offal, and more like meat.

After a quick parboil, I cut the stomach into ribbons.  In this photo you can see the different shades and textures in each strip.  In a few hours, the lighter meat will melt in your mouth while the darker remains toothy.

I cooked the stomach in the style of trippa alla milanese.  I sweated down a great quantity of yellow onions in butter, olive oil and water.  An hour later, when the onions were completely soft and still colorless, I added the sliced stomach along with garlic, sage, and just enough chopped tomatoes to tint the sauce into a creamy red.  From that point on, I cooked it more or less like risotto, stirring frequently on a low flame and adding stock whenever the pan got dry.  It was about four hours before the darker strips of meat softened.  By that time the vegetables had melted into delicious nothingness.

To serve, we add soft butter beans (cooked separately in stock), more butter, and toss with conchiglie pasta, garnishing with Parimigiano-Reggiano and parsley.  One stomach only goes so far, so I don't expect it to remain available for more than a night or two.