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Beef Braised In Stock And Red Wine
(Manzo Brasato alia Lombarda)
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| What You Need: |
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3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
½ cup coarsely chopped onions
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup coarsely chopped carrots
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup coarsely chopped celery
½ cup dry red wine
8 to 10 half-inch pieces of lean bacon
2 cups beefstock, fresh or canned
3 pounds beef rump or bottom round, securely tied
1½ cups drained canned whole-pack tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the finely chopped garlic, oregano, salt and pepper together and roll the pieces of bacon in the mixture. Then, with a small sharp knife make deep incisions in the beef and insert the pieces of lean bacon in the openings.
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2. In a heavy 10-to 12-inch skillet melt 1 tablespoon of butter with the olive oil over moderate heat and brown the beef, turning it from time to time so that it browns on all sides.
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3. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over moderate heat in a heavy casserole that is just large enough to hold the beef comfortably.
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4. Combine the coarsely chopped onions, carrots and celery on a cutting board and chop them together into very small pieces. (The resulting vegetable mixture is called a battuto; when cooked, it is called a soffritto.)
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5. Stir this mixture into the butter in the casserole and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, or until the soffritto is soft and lightly colored. Place the browned beef on top of the soffritto.
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6. Discard most of the fat from. the skillet, pour in the red wine and boil it briskly over high heat, stirring and scraping in the browned fragments that cling to the bottom and sides of the pan.
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7. When the wine has been reduced to ¼ cup, add it to the casserole with the beef stock, chopped tomatoes and bay leaf. The liquid should come about a third of the way up the side of the beef; if it doesn't, add more stock.
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8. Bring the casserole to a boil over high heat, cover it tightly and braise on the middle shelf of the oven for about 2 hours, or until the meat is tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.
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9. To serve, transfer the beef to a carving board, cut off the strings, and slice the meat. Arrange the slices, slightly overlapping, in a row on a heated platter.
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10. Strain the braising sauce from the casserole through a fine sieve into a serving bowl, pressing the vegetables dry with the heel of a wooden spoon before discarding them.
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11. Skim as much fat as possible from the surface of the sauce, taste and season it with more salt and pepper, if needed. Moisten the slices of beef with a little of the braising sauce before serving them. Serve the rest of the sauce separately in a sauceboat.
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