Bollito misto ( Piedmont)

Fill a huge pot with enough water to cover the meat completely and salt the water, add the vegetables and put onto the stove to boil.

As soon as it boils, add the beef and reduce the heat so that it simmers and allow to simmer for an hour, at which point you add the veal, the chicken and the pork.

As soon as you add the chicken and the veal to the beef, bring a second pot of lightly salted water to the boil and add the tongue, allowing it to simmer.

Should you be using a fresh cotechino (or zampone) put it in a third pot of cold, lightly salted water (after you have pricked it all over) and begin to simmer it around the same time as the veal, and the tongue – remember to loosen the string of the zampone if you’re using that instead of the cotechino.

As soon as the meat is tender, they are done – about an hour and a half but it could be more.

Steam the vegetables quickly and serve everything on a very large platter with a ladle of the well strained broth, and carve at the table.

Make sure there’s plenty of good quality salt, Italian olive oil, one or two of the sauces and bread, even though that’s breaking tradition somewhat because the sauces below are traditionally served.

The Sauces:

If you want to stick to tradition you’ll need to serve the following but any one or two will do: