My FAVORITE Italian Meat Dish (that most Italians have never heard of)

A few years ago, Eva and I traveled to the tiny Italian region of Molise and discovered an exceptional pork dish that I have been dreaming about ever since. It's a very rare recipe that few Italians have even heard of, but definitely deserves much more attention.

We finally decided that it was time to try and recreate the recipe at home. There's only one catch: Eva knew just as much about it as I did, and since I'm the "meat guy" in the household...

Buckle up, it's time for me to get cooking!

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[PastaGrammar]

We love investigating hidden gems of Italian cuisine! Let us know if there are any amazing dishes from a culture you're familiar with that deserves more attention!

[atlitalian]

What an interesting dish! My family is from Molise and I’ve never heard of pampanella. Although Molise is small, it’s geographically and climatically diverse. This diversity gives rise to different ingredients, cooking techniques, etc., so it wouldn’t be surprising if this is an extremely local dish.

Having never heard of pampanella, other than surmising that it’s delicious, I can’t say much about it, but I can comment on the Molisano notion of what constitutes a “little bit”of an ingredient!

Forty years ago, right after my grandmother died, I realized that my 90 year old aunt, an outstanding cook, was the only surviving family who was raised in Molise and who knew how to make all the family recipes. One afternoon, I asked her how to make our family braciola. She started telling me the ingredients, which included, a “little bit” of lard, salt, pepper, basil, garlic, parsley, etc. When I pressed her on how much a “little bit” might be, she told me go to the store, get some meat, and she would show me.

After she laid out the meat, she covered it with enough lard so that you couldn’t see the meat anymore. The next ingredient was a “little bit” of ground black pepper. For that, she took out one of those circa-1900 grinders with a huge hand crank on top and a drawer on the bottom where the ground ingredient would go. She put enough pepper in that thing to choke a horse, cranked away, pulled out the drawer, and put enough ground pepper over the milky white lard that was already on the meat to completely obscure it from view. Then she looked up at me and said, “See? Just a little bit!” She did laugh when she said it, but went on to explain that, except for baking, she never measured anything. You use what you like.

Parenthetically, my family’s home town is Ferrazzano, and a lot of our family dishes were as spicy hot as anything I’ve eaten in my life. When the locals tell you that some people make pampanella with a “little bit” of hot pepper, that dish could be incendiary!

Thanks for another great episode!

[bernicemellstrom]

FYI: The reason why some people don't know about Molise existence is because until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Italy.

[Azdrail]

As a native Molise inhabitant I am overjoyed that you managed to try true Pampanella and enjoyed it! I always thought it’s a fantastic dish and it’s a shame that it’s not well known. The fact that you Harper went so far and tried to make your own version really shows How much you enjoyed it. I am really impressed and definitely appreciate the effort. As your first try you really did a terrific job. Definitely make the paper more wet next time and keep it on during the whole cooking. Adding pork belly and ribs in the mix when cooking definitely adds more overall flavour to the final product. And yes, panino with pampanella expecially coupled with a ciabatta di grano duro is definitely a thing 😂

[TheHomeDesigner]

My parents are both from San Martino in Pennsilis. We are so proud that Ava and you are honouring our local specialty dish. We make this dish at our home here in 🇨🇦. Our only difference is we pour a 1/4 cup of vinegar into the dish right at the end to add a bit of tang. This is a lovely dish to serve with rapini.

[istvantakacs]

As a Hungarian, a citizen of a land where both sweet and spicy paprika are used in several dishes, I wonder how come this is not a Hungarian dish :))). It has basically no ingredients we wouldn't use for a dish, except white vinegar. It's a must try for me.
Side note: if anyone plans to make the dish at higher temperatures to shorten the time to finish, I don't recommend it. Paprika can burn and become bitter easily.

[Jen-iylq]

Eva's "can I do the honors" and subsequent mamamia hand-flap has to be the ultimate next-level seal of approval. Can't wait to try it and hope you feature more obscure Italian dishes like this one.

[Tuckerclan]

You guys have the best rapport with your audience. I feel as if I could come over to your house for lunch. I feel like I've known you for ages. Great food and fantastic videos, even the editing. Love you guys, Buon appetito.

[SynergoAltrocinema]

You guessed! Here in Molise, panpanella is typically used to stuff a sandwich. It's street food, after all.

[paulagratefulnoend]

Oh Eva and Harper!!!! You continue to send me to the grocery every Sunday with these recipes!!! Va Bene! ❤

[sooz]

Country style Pork ribs were always my favorite go to pork to use. I worked as a grocery clerk and I could pick up a pack when I needed them. Then one day the price per pound doubled and it not only broke my heart but my wallet and I could only afford them rarely. With three growing boys to feed it took more than I could usually afford. Now that they're grown and gone I may give this a shot for me!! 😂 Thank you Harper and Eva as well, great video offering. ❤

[jonsher]

You stole my heart with this video. My beautiful wife was born less than 40 km away from San Martino in Pensilis, in a town called San Bartolomeo in Galdo, and that region is so hilly and rural that it takes nearly two hours to drive between the two. San Bartolomeo is in Campania's far northeast corners, just several km from both Molise and Puglia, but the people there look like Molisano -- short, beautiful and with almond-shaped, light-brown eyes (though my wife is a green-eyed exception). They also are closer to the regional Molisano capital of Campobasso then they are to Benevento or the closest Puglian city of Foggia. And my mother-in-law makes cavatello exeactly as they do in Campobasso, rolling each piece with her thumb.

Many were traditionally shepherds and nomadic and the paths they took historically can still be seen from the air.

I've never been to San Martino in Pensilis but I've been as close as Larino, where I sourced the best olive oil I ever tasted, made communally in a manner that dates back centuries. That town also has a historic bakery whose bakers would collect the risen doughs from each households, the matriarch of each who would mark the top with her large house key -- so the baker would know which breads belonged to which houses.

[sagnotron]

My partner’s father was from Molise. I fell in love with this dish when I had it too!!! I’m so happy to see it on here 🥹🥹🥹🥹

[johnNJ]

I made Pampanella for Sunday dinner. My girlfriend was skeptical about using so much paprika. But everyone absolutely LOVED it!!! It is amazing! I used pork loin and baked it in the oven at 300F for 2.5 hours covered with aluminum foil. It was so tender and tasted amazing. This is a recipe that will be a part of the regular rotation. Thank you so much for introducing Pampanella to your audience! It's great!!!

[cruelabduhl]

I will definitely try this. The fact you can make sandwiches out of it means I can use the leftovers for work lunches, and the Hungarian in me was excited to see a dish with so much paprika in it.

[maxvasher]

Having visited my Italian family in Castropignano 2 years ago, I can tell you that Molise DOES exist and it's beautiful. Nonetheless, this dish is new to me and I can't thank you enough for bringing me a new dish from my ancestral home. Grazie mille!!!

[rainwaterd]

We now live in Abruzzo bordering Molise.... Everytime we go to some fabulous place in Italy we come home happy we live in Abruzzo/Molise.

[wtfomg]

Amazing, never heard of Pampanella. The beauty of Italian cuisine is it's so regionally diverse. Even from town to town you find different signature dishes. This is why you cannot have the complete Italian cuisine experience without going out of the way and find all these hidden gems.

[ThomasD]

Completely agree about the moisture content of US meats. Any sort of auto braise technique (e.g tagine, etc) often gets too soupy. One approach is to let your meat air dry in the fridge for a day prior to use.

Add some ginger, use hotter peppers and this is a south Indian (Goa) Vindaloo recipe.

[acrossthepond]

Harper, you did all the things I always do when cooking something new, questioning myself, re-checking, moving things from one dish to another. I loved to see that! You are both amazing. My Husband and I spend a lot of time in Italy and when missing it in between visits, you are my go-to so my heart doesn't get too heavy. Thank you both.