Maiale alla Zagara
Zagara—flower, in Greek—is the name farmers call their precious agrumi, they, it seems, likening the sweet, spicy perfumes of their oranges and lemons to the scents of blossoms. Thus, citrus fruits are Calabrian flowers. One farmer dared me to try to cook this luscious dish with bergamot rather than oranges and lemons, assuring me that it was the one and only fruit with which the massaie (housewives) braised pork long-ago. Finding none to beg or buy, I cannot tell you how the dish might have been with the ambered flesh and juices of the mysterious bergamot. One day I will.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 8
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
In a saucepan, warm the wine with the citrus juices and the zests just to a simmer.
Step 2
In a mortar with a pestle, grind the peppercorns, juniper berries, and cloves to a coarse powder. Remove the wine from the flame and add the spices and the bay leaves. Cover the pot and permit the liquid to absorb flavor from the spices for 1 hour.
Step 3
Place the pork in a noncorrosive bowl just large enough to contain it. Pour the cooled liquid over the pork, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and permit the pork to rest for two days in the refrigerator. Turn it several times each day.
Step 4
Remove the pork from its bath—reserving the marinade—and dry it with absorbent paper towels. Pat the brown sugar over the surfaces of the pork. In a terra-cotta or enameled cast-iron casserole over a lively flame, heat the oil and brown the pork, sealing all its surfaces. Permit the flesh to caramelize and take on a dark crust without burning it—a task that will take at least 10 watchful minutes. Remove the pork to a holding plate and salt it generously.
Step 5
With the flame still high, add the vinegar to the casserole, stirring and scraping at the residue and permitting the vinegar to reduce for 2 or 3 minutes. Strain the reserved marinade and add it to the casserole and, again, permit the liquid to reduce for 2 or 3 minutes. Lower the flame and add the pork to the casserole. With the liquid barely simmering, cover the pork with a skewed lid and braise it for 45 minutes.
Step 6
Add the sectioned oranges and lemons to the casserole, rolling them about in the sauce. Bring again to a quiet simmer and cover the casserole with a skewed lid, continuing the braise for an additional 20 minutes or until the pork is fork-tender. Permit the whole to cool, uncovered, for 1 hour. Very gently reheat the pork in its sauce. Carve it into thin slices, presenting them on a shallow, warmed platter with the braised fruit and spoonfuls of the braising liquors.
