In 2008, rostin negàa earned municipal classification as a signature dish of Milan. At its core, the dish comprises three fundamentals of Milanese cuisine: butter, wine, and veal.
Butter in the north
It is not a novelty that butter is the top condiment of most northern dishes, often used in sautés and fried dishes instead of oil. Many, especially among the elderly, still today at home do not even contemplate using oil in the kitchen, unless, as Mr. Gianni, a genuine Milanese, tells us "just to season the salad!”. It is no coincidence that Lombardy is the largest producer of milk in Italy with more than 40% of national production.
Wine in Lombard cuisine
Wine has always been a fundamental ingredient of Lombard cuisine, ideal for its long and low heat cooking, such as braised meats, roasts, and stews like the famous cassoeula. Other traditional dishes that include the use of wine in cooking is the Valtellina lavècc ribs, where the marinated pork ribs are cooked for hours with wine in the lavècc, a special soapstone pot; the "bruscitti", which is a braised meat cut finely and cooked in wine and fennel seeds, historically obtained from stripping the meat from leftovers; or what Mr. Gianni calls the "risotto traa su de vin", which is a risotto with only broth, Grana Padano cheese and butter, then colored with a little wine. In the past, wine was often added just like this, simply to elevate and color a poor dish with few ingredients.
Veal Milanese style
Main courses in Lombardy are essentially meat-based, although there is no lack of fish dishes from the lake and river, given the geography of the region. But among all the meats, at least in the area of Milan, the most widespread and favorite in the kitchen is certainly veal, which we find at the base of numerous symbolic dishes of the city: just think of the Milanese cutlet and ossobuco, as well as mondeghili and rostin negàa.
Rostin and not rustin
It is often written rustin but in reality, it is just the pronunciation: it is written rostin negàa, which means drowned roasts. They are prepared with knots of veal, obtained from the saddle, between 2 and 3 centimeters high, then floured, browned in butter, herbs, and bacon (to flavor), wet and drowned in wine, hence the name, and finally cooked for about an hour continuing to add broth.
Artusi's dead roast
Pellegrino Artusi talks about rostin negàa among the roasts of the recipe n°526 as a dead roast (taken from the soffegar la carne in Francesco Cherubini's Milanese 1839 dictionary): "a Milanese variant is the rost negaa soffogato. There are traces of it especially in Lombard publications, with scattered and lost references linked to the revival of gastronomic regionalism, in the drowned roast of veal. In the way I am about to explain, you can cook all sorts of meat, but the one that lends itself the most, in my opinion, is the milk veal. Take a nice piece in the loin that has also joined the stone. Roll it up and tie it with a string (another variant to be considered) so that it is more collected and put it on the fire in a trowel with fine oil and butter, both in small quantities. Brown it on all sides, salt it halfway through cooking, and finish cooking it with the broth in such a way that there is little, or no sauce left. You will enjoy a roast that if it doesn’t have the scent and flavor of that made on the spit it will be tender and delicate in response.
My mother’s recipe for rostin negàa
Ingredients
4 veal knots about ½″ high
3 oz. of butter
sage
rosemary
dry white wine
broth
salt
pepper
flour
Method
Flour the knots slightly shaking them well to remove any excess flour.
Melt the butter in a large pan, in which the knots can be in one layer.
Add the meat by making it color on both sides.
Add sage and rosemary, salt on both sides, and put a handful of pepper.
Continue cooking with the pan covered and over very low heat, continuously wetting with white wine and, alternatively, with broth, turning the knots.
At the end, the sauce should be abundant, dark and fragrant. Serve with mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, rice, or polenta.
Pairings
Rostin negàa loves to find itself on the plate in combination with other classics of Milanese cuisine, such as polenta and rice. But no less are other more classic side dishes, such as roast potatoes or even better, mashed potatoes. An essential accompaniment is a good glass of red wine, better if Lombard, robust and full-bodied like the ones from Valtellina.