Sunday, December 12, 2010

Sunday Dinner

*My mom and I at Saint Peter's Square. I felt this photo was much nicer homage to Italy than my stew that, while beyond delicious, doesn't look very pretty when captured via iPhone. I really need a good camera Chianti Marinated Italian Beef Stew
courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 1/2 to 3 pound beef brisket
1 (750 ml) bottle Chianti wine
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (4-ounce) piece pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 stalk celery, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) kalamata olives, halved
6 ounces green beans, halved
4 medium red potatoes, quartered
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sage leaves
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups beef broth
Directions
Place the beef in a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish. Pour the wine over the meat and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the meat over and marinate for another 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the meat from the wine and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve the wine.

In a large Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Season the meat on all sides with salt and pepper. Using tongs, place the meat in the pan and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes each side. Remove the meat and add the remaining oil. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, olives, green beans, potatoes, rosemary, and sage. Cook for 3 minutes. Pour the reserved wine, tomatoes, and beef broth into the pan, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the meat to the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until the meat is very tender.

Remove the meat and the rosemary sprigs from the stew. Place the meat on a cutting board and cut into quarters. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite-size pieces. Add the shredded meat to the stew and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes.

*This stew is abundant with taste, the down side is the time. Start early, maybe even the day before (which is what I did). In my case, the brisket needed several hours to become fork tender (cooking time may vary). This recipe is going in my box, will definitely make again.

4 comments:

  1. lovely photo + sounds like a lovely meal :)

    xo Alison

    ReplyDelete
  2. that sounds REALLY good. and that picture is charming :)

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  3. just made this for dinner. amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. this sounds lovely, I will definitely try it!

    ReplyDelete

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