Italian Food/Wine Word of the Day: Cinghiale
....Or as they spell it  in Campania--- cignà le
Cinghiale, the famed Italian wild boar (part of the Sus or pig genus) is normally seen sporting a dark brown to black bristly coat, rather pronounced tusks, sharp teeth and a bad attitude. These wild beasts have in the past wreaked havoc on the Italian countryside, not in the least by pillaging vineyards and farmers' fields of their precious crops, even eating lambs and fawns. This has led to the Italian tradition of the wild boar hunt, or "la caccia" in Italian. Perhaps you recall the famous Italian dish Chicken Cacciatore which is derived from the word.  And this is precisely where the wild boar typically ends up... in delicious, often rustic, regional recipe. These frequently truculent boar are served up in traditional regional fare in many areas of Italy in recipes ranging from salamis and stews to ravioli fillings and risottos. Want to try your hand at cooking wild boar at home? This recipe from Saveur sounds delicious. If you travel with us to Campania we might pay a visit to Locanda di Bu where you could sample the local flavor of the cinghiale.
Vineyard Adventures is happy to plan your trip to Italy so you may experience first-hand what makes wild boar so special to the Italians. Email us.
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