(; ) is an Italian stew, resembling the French pot-au-feu, typically consisting of various tougher cuts of beef and veal, , and a whole hen or capon, all simmered in an aromatic vegetable stock.
and its many regional variations are eaten throughout Italy; it is popular in Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, and Lombardy. The meat is sliced thinly and served with mostarda and .
One-pot stews have long been common to many cuisines. Those using a mixture of meats include the French , the Belgian hochepot, the German , the Spanish and the South American . is a comparable dish from Italy.
Anna Del Conte writes in her 2001 Gastronomy of Italy that the mixture of meats in a varies by locality. In Piedmont and Lombardy beef is the main ingredient, and in Emilia-Romagna pork productsâ and âÂÂtake first place. Del Conte stipulates, "A classic should include beef, veal, chicken, tongue, a and half a calf's head". The meats are added to the pot at different times, depending on how long they take to cook. Chefs and food writers from Italy and elsewhere prescribe widely differing ingredients:
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. Depending on the region, is accompanied by different sauces. The two most frequently served are and or (a tomato sauce). According to Del Conte, the best-known , the Piedmontese , is served with at least three sauces, with (made with honey, walnuts and mustard) in addition to and . In the Veneto, is accompanied by , and in Lombardy is served along with .
Restaurants that offer 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.