Arista de maiale is a real classic from Tuscany. It is best to use a rack of pork loin, because the bones add extra flavour to the dish.
In the big old kitchens of Tuscan fattorie, the meat was usually roasted on a spit before the open fire place, using a girarrosto. With the decline of open fire places as a cooking spot, and the introduction of ovens in households, this habit almost vanished. The meat is nowadays usually prepared in the oven. But lots of country folks still don’t have an oven in their kitchen, and then the dish is prepared on top of the stove. As the meat doesn’t move as on a spit, the preparation got the name morto, dead… ((La Cucina Toscana, Parenti, p. 166))
Ingredients
- 500 g of pork loin
- battuto made up of celery, carrot and onion (30 g each), 2 garlic cloves and some flat-leaved parsley
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 glass dry white wine
- branch of thyme and rosemary
Put the meat in a pot together with the battuto, the olive oil, the thyme and rosemary. Leave to marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours. Remove the meat and the battuto from the pot. Heat the olive oil and brown the meat on all sides. Add the battuto and let simmer for a few minutes. Pour in the glass of white wine, cover with a lid and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add some stock or water if the preparation gets too dry. Remove the meat from the pan and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. Carve into slices and put on a serving dish. Pour the meat juices into the cooking pot, stir and sieve the liquid over the meat.
Serve with oven-roasted potatoes, and plain-cooked cannellini beans (see here for the basic preparation).
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