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Tuscan style chasseur pluck, with mushrooms

(Coratella di agnello alla cacciatora, con funghi, alla toscana)

One pluck (liver and lights) of a milky lamb; 4 medium size onions cut in thin slices; a well tied and tighten bunch composed by: a bunch of sweet marjoram and one of calamint; a glass of white wine; 5 or 6 ripe tomatoes; 10 spoons of olive oil; 1/2 kg of boletus mushrooms; salt and pepper.
Cut the pluck in pieces, dividing some "cannelli" along their length in order to clean them completely. Rinse again and again and insistently changing the water various times, then leave in a container, for one hour, under a trickle of water, leaving it running.
Take a saucepan and brown the onions together with the oil and the bunch of calamint and marjoram, over a medium heat, turning very often. In the meanwhile, peel and clean the mushrooms, with care and without washing them, then cut them in pieces not too small. After 7 or 8 minutes the onions in the saucepan will take a good hazelnut colour, drain and dry in a cloth the pieces of pluck and put them in the pan together with the onions, leaving out, at the moment, liver and heart. Increase the heat, brown for 7-8 minutes continuously turning, then bathe with the white wine, let evaporate turning a little bit, then add liver and heart, brown for 2-3 minutes more, then add the tomatoes (which have been previously put in a blender forming a sort of purée), lower the heat and cook slowly, with a lid, for 7-8 minutes more.
At the right time add also the mushrooms, the same turning and mixing, boil newly and adjust the heat very low, taste and add, if necessary salt and pepper, cook for 10 minutes covering the pan with a lid, then take out from the heat and serve very hot.
The pluck is formed by the internal apparatus of the lamb, starting from the thyroid gland (sweetbreads throat) to the liver included. It is a great variety of meats which have, at the same time, a great variety of flavours. So that the pluck results very interesting, especially if cooked in a simple way, for example fried; if it is cooked in a more elaborate manner, for example with herbs and boletus mushrooms, it becomes superb, even if this type of meat belongs to the category of food (entrails) which are normally related to the poor and popular eating.

A Giuseppe Alessi recipe
Translated by Gianna Toni


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