Wild Boar Stew with Taragna Polenta

Wild boar stew with taragna polenta is a rustic and comforting dish, typical of the mountainous regions of Italy, where hunting and polenta are traditional elements of the local cuisine. Let’s see how to prepare it together.

Ingredients for wild boar stew:

• 1 kg of wild boar, cut into pieces
• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 500 ml of robust red wine
• 500 ml of tomato puree or peeled tomatoes
• As much meat broth as needed (to taste)
• 2 bay leaves
• Sprigs of rosemary
• Some black peppercorns
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt

Ingredients for taragna polenta:

• 300 g of buckwheat flour
• 200 g of corn flour for polenta
• 1.5 liters of water
• Salt
• 150-200 g of Bitto or Casera cheese (or another hard cheese), cubed
• 50 g of butter

Preparation of wild boar stew:

1. Start by marinating the pieces of wild boar in the red wine with one coarsely chopped onion, the carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and pepper grains for at least 12 hours.
2. After marinating, drain the pieces of wild boar and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Reserve the marinade.
3. In a large pot, sauté the remaining finely chopped onion in extra virgin olive oil, then add the pieces of wild boar to brown well on all sides.
4. Add the filtered marinade and let the alcohol evaporate.
5. Add the tomato puree and a bit of meat broth. Simmer on low heat for about 2-3 hours, checking occasionally and adding broth if necessary.
6. Adjust with salt towards the end of cooking. The meat should become tender and the sauce should thicken. Remove the wild boar from the heat and let it rest while you prepare the polenta.

Preparation of taragna polenta:

1. Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot.
2. Slowly pour in the flours while constantly stirring with a whisk to avoid lump formation.
3. Continue cooking for about 40-50 minutes (or follow the instructions on the flour package), stirring with a wooden spoon until the polenta pulls away from the sides of the pot.
4. A few minutes before turning off the heat, add the butter and cubed cheese, continuing to stir until they are completely melted into the polenta.

Serve the wild boar stew hot on a bed of soft taragna polenta.

Fun Fact

Taragna polenta is typical of Valtellina and other Alpine areas. The name “taragna” comes from the tarai, the long stick used to stir the polenta during cooking. The dish is made unique by the use of buckwheat flour and local cheeses, which give it an intense and characteristic flavor.