Z IS FOR ZAMPONE

Rudi Liebenberg zips up to zed with this delicious pork-and-lentil delight, good for chilly evenings

Zampone is a pig’s trotter stuffed with spiced ground pork. It looks like salami and it’s far simpler to buy this ready-made. If you struggle to get zampone, buy cotechino, which is essentially the same thing, but in a sausage. This is a great winter dish that demands a big red wine. Once you have zampone, all you have to do is cook some lentils and make a smooth potato purée. 500g zampone 300g lentils (I prefer beluga lentils) 4 celery sticks 2 onions 30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil 1 bay leaf 1 carrot, peeled and cut into large chunks 250ml (1 cup) chicken stock Cook the zampone according to the package instructions, either in stock or in the bag — this could take anything from 35 minutes to 2 hours. Soak the lentils in water for about an hour. Drain, rinse and place in a saucepan with 1 celery stick and 1 onion, cut in half. Cover with water and boil for about 10 minutes until al dente. Strain and discard the celery and onion. Dice the remaining celery sticks and finely chop the second onion and place in a saucepan with the oil. Sauté until soft but without changing colour. Add lentils, bay leaf, carrot and stock and cook until lentils are tender. If you have leftover cooking juice from the zampone, add it to the lentils. Add more stock or water if necessary — by the end of the cooking process all liquid should have been absorbed. Season to taste and serve with the sliced zampone. Serves 6 * Suppliers of zampone or cotechino: Gauteng: Gala 011 454 3425, Adriatic 083 393 0303 and Supersconto 011 728 7561; Cape Town: Richard Bosman 083 277 3494 and Giovanni’s Deli World 021 434 6893.

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