Brasato di Funghi con Aglianico del Vulture

• 2 ounces lard
• 1/2 cup flat parsley leaves
• 4 fat cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 ounces pancetta
• 1 small, dried red chile pepper, crushed, or 1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
• 2 pounds wild mushrooms (porcini, chanterelles, portobelli, etc.), wiped free of any grit, trimmed, and sliced thick
• Fine sea salt
• Freshly cracked pepper
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 cup good red wine
• 2/3 cup freshly made bread crumbs

1. With a mezzaluna or a sharp knife, mince the lard, parsley, and garlic together to a fine paste.
2. Over a medium flame in a large saute pan or terra-cotta casserole, warm 4 tablespoons of the oil and, in it, soften the pancetta.
3. Add the garlic/lard paste and the crushed chile, sauteing for a minute or two.
4. Add the prepared mushrooms to the perfumed fat, sprinkling on sea salt and grinding pepper generously, and gently saute them, permitting them to dispel their juices for several minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and the wine and bring to a simmer.
6. Cover the pan with a skewed lid and, over a gentle flame, allow the mushrooms to reabsorb their juices and to drink in the wine.
7. Braise them for 20 to 30 minutes or until they are plumped and have taken on the tint of the wine.
8. Over a medium flame, warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small saute pan and saute the crumbs, tossing them about.
9. Present the mushrooms and their juices, dusted with the crumbs, as a first course.
10. A beautiful bread and wine are all they require.
11. Serving them as companion to some other dish is to distract from the pleasure of them.

lard, parsley, garlic, olive oil, pancetta, pepper, wild mushrooms, salt, freshly cracked pepper, tomatoes, red wine, freshly made bread crumbs

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/brasato-di-funghi-con-aglianico-del-vulture-391193 (may not work)