Pork neck Sicilian style

The neck of a piglet is a great way to prepare tender and tasty meat for grilling or cooking in the oven. A spicy tomato sauce tops off the meal.

Ingredients for six

1.2 kg pork neck

Cooking stock

1 litre water; 1 tbsp salt 1-3 peperoncino chillies; (or normal, to taste) 1 carrot 1 tomato 1 handful of black pepper 4 bay leaves of basil for garnish

Sauce ingredients

1 teaspoon of good quality tomato paste, for example Mutti. 1 tsp brown sugar 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, to taste

Bring the stock to the boil. Meanwhile trim off the excess fat from the pork neck. You can also cut the meat if it is very long, so it will fit better in the pan.

Place the pork neck in the pan and bring to the boil for 35-40 minutes. Remove from the heat and return the meat to the pan to simmer. Place in a cold water bath to cool the meat as quickly as possible. Leave to rest overnight in the fridge to season.

Remove the pan to the heat. Bring the meat to room temperature and start to cook over high heat. Strain the stock once after it has boiled for a while. The aim is to make about three tablespoons of the finished stock.

Weigh the sauce ingredients in another saucepan and remove from the heat. Cook gently, as the tomato will crumble easily. Once the stock has come to the boil, add the tomatoes to the sauce to taste. The rest can be frozen and cooked in the fridge.

Obtain the pork neck on the barbecue or under the oven resistance and cook over a more moderate flame at +150C for half an hour. Slice the meat crosswise into a serving dish and spoon the tomato sauce over the meat. Garnish with basil leaves.