Recipe for Giacomo's "Cretoni"
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
1 pound of ground pork
1/2 cup white wine
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons crushed fennel seeds, more if you like
1 to 1.5 cups unflavoured breadcrumbs
salt, pepper
1. Use a Dutch oven or similar (you'll be letting this simmer for at least 90 minutes. I used a dutch oven
2. Very lightly saute diced onion in the olive oil and butter, about 7 minutes on medium-low heat
3. Add salt and pepper to taste...about 1 teaspoon of salt
4. Turn up the heat a bit to a bit more than medium and add ground pork.
5. Keep breaking up the pork
6. As the pork starts browning (just a couple of minutes) add white wine and milk.
7. Keep stirring everything and mix in your crushed fennel seeds. i like the seeds crushed, but not powdered.
8. You want enough heat to get things hot, but you don't want to fry the pork or burn the white or milk, so once it's hot, turn down the heat to low.
8. This is where you'll need to play it by ear....start adding unflavoured breadcrumbs in small batches, always stirring well. The breadcrumbs will give the cretoni structure, but too many breadcrumbs and it'll dry out.
9. You're going to keep heating this at low, covered, for at least 90 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes to mix everything. And each time you do, consider adding breadcrumbs if it looks like it can take it. Remember, once it cools and goes into the fridge, it will dry up.
10. After at least 90 minutes, let it cool before placing in fridge or freezer.
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