With all the ground frost, there is very little to see in the vegetable garden right now. The exception is savoy cabbage, which actually tastes much better once it has been hit by frost at least once. Its vivid green, strikingly veined leaves make it the grandest of cabbages.

To my mind, the dish that uses savoy to its best is cazzola (or casoeula). This is a poor man's dish from Milan, and is made with a whole pig's head (snout, cheeks and ears included), the trotters and a few ribs, along with a few fresh herbs and vegetables; sometimes, a specialist salami, salamin de verz, is also added - this salami is very small and rich in fat, qualities that make it ideal for this kind of dish (if you can't get hold of it, luganica is a good substitute).

There are various opinions as to the best way to cook cazzola - purists would say you shouldn't use tomatoes, because they were not too common in Milan historically, but in my opinion tomatoes give it more depth. The dish was traditionally prepared a day ahead and served for lunch the following day.

To make cazzola, preboil the various parts of the animal in salted water for an hour, then drain, pat dry with kitchen towel, and gently sear in a pan in some olive oil, along with the salami, if using. The pig pieces should be left intact and whole, so the snout, ears, etc, are easily discernible. In other words, this is not a dish for the squeamish.

Once you have cooked the meat, put it in a large casserole, add carrots, celery and onions, two tablespoons of tomato purée and white wine to cover, then cook, covered, for an hour. Once the hour has passed, steam the savoy cabbage leaves, and add them to the pot. Carry on cooking over very low heat for two and a half hours. Cazzola is best (and traditionally) served with polenta.
