Ingredients:
1.5kg boneless shoulder of wild boar (or pork)
For the Marinade:
2 bayleaves
4 large sprigs of thyme
3 sprigs of rosemary (about 18cm long)
1 large stick of celery, roughly chopped
300ml full-bodied red wine (Corsican Niellucciu is traditional, but Cabernets, Bomberos etc are fine)
8 cloves
2 medium onions, sliced
6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
12 black peppercorns
1 tbsp juniper berries, lightly crushed
For the Stew:
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
200g small chorizo sausage (or figatellu), cut into 5mm thick slices
2 tsp tomato purée
2 tsp plain flour
100ml red vermouth (traditionally the local Cap Corse)
450ml beef stock
50g dried porcini mushrooms
50g chestnuts, cooked and peeled (or use vacuum packed)
1 tbsp butter
200g mixed wild mushrooms (should include some chanterelles) wiped clean and sliced
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
handful of parsley, shredded, to garnish
Method:
Cut the wild boar meat into 5cm pieces. Place these in a large bowl then whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade in a separate bowl before pouring over the meat. Toss to combine then cover the bowl and set aside in the refrigerator to marinate for 24 hours (stir occasionally).
Set a colander over a clean bowl and drain the meat, reserving the marinade. Separate the meat from the remainder of the solids (reserve these) and set aside. Heat half the oil in a large flame-proof casserole then add the meat and fry in batches until nicely browned all over. Season each batch as you remove from the pan, and top-up the oil as needed.
When all the meat is fried, return to the casserole then add the chorizo and fry until it begins to release its oil (about 2 minutes). Now add the reserved marinade solids and fry until they are soft and well browned (about 6 minutes). Stir in the tomato purée and fry for 1 minute more then scatter the flour over the top and stir to mix. Pour over the red vermouth, the reserved marinade liquid, beef stock, porcini mushrooms and 1 tsp salt. Add ten generous twists of black pepper from a mill then bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer gently for about 90 minutes.
Add the chestnuts at this point, re-cover the casserole and cook for a further 25 minutes, or until the meat is very tender.
Shortly before the stew is due to be ready, melt the butter in a large frying pan, add the wild mushrooms and a little salt. Season with freshly-ground black pepper and fry over high heat, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes.
Stir the fried mushrooms into the casserole. Take off the heat, sprinkle the parsley over the top to garnish and serve.
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