Italian pot roast! Rump or beef roast, first browned in olive oil, then slowly cooked in a carrot, celery and onion sofritto base, with Italian plum tomatoes and red wine.
A few weeks ago my mom and I attended a cooking demonstration by our famous Italian chef, the lovely Biba Caggiano. We Sacramentans are proud to call Biba our own; She has a fabulous restaurant, is the author of several cookbooks and for a time hosted her own cooking show on the Discovery Channel.
One of the recipes that Biba demonstrated with her that evening was her “Stracotto di Manzo alla Fiorentina” or “The Braised Beef of Florence”. In her typically down-to-earth manner, Biba called it “nothing more than a glorified pot roast”.
Italian pot roast
ingredients
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3 1/2 to 4 lb rear or roast beef
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1 teaspoon Saltplus more to taste
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1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
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1/4 Cup Extra virgin olive oil
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1 big carrotdiced (about 1 cup)
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1 big rib celerydiced (about 1 cup)
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1 Middle Red onion, diced (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
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2 cloves garlicfinely chopped
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2 tablespoon freshly chopped flat leaf parsley
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1 bay Sheet
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1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
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3 cups mediocre Italian red wine (we used a Barbera)
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1 (28–Ounce) can speak italian plum tomatoespass through a food grinder to remove the seeds
method
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sear roast:
Cut off some fat from the meat. Pat dry with kitchen paper. Season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
When the oil is hot, simmering but not smoking, add the roast and cook, turning occasionally, until nicely browned on all sides, 10-12 minutes.
Place the meat on a platter.
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Add vegetables:
Reduce the heat to medium. Add carrot, celery and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden brown and beginning to stick to bottom of pan, 10-12 minutes.
Add the garlic, parsley, and sage and stir until the herbs are lightly colored and fragrant, about 1 minute.
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Deglaze pan with wine, return meat to pan:
Add 1 cup of wine and stir quickly, lifting the richly browned caramelized vegetables that stick to the bottom of the pan.
When the wine has almost completely evaporated and the vegetables are thickly coated, return the meat to the pan, turning a few times to coat in the savory base.
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Add remaining ingredients, simmer until tender:
Increase the heat to high, add the remaining wine, bay leaf and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and let the meat turn and baste every half hour or so, until the meat is very tender and flakes when pierced with a fork, about 3-4 hours.
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Turn off the heat and let the roast sit in its juices for an hour:
(You can also put the pot in a 300°F oven and turn the roast every hour.)
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Remove meat, reduce sauce:
Remove the meat from the pot and place on a cutting board, loosely covering with aluminum foil. If the sauce is too thin, bring it to a quick boil and reduce until it has a medium-thick consistency. Taste and season.
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Cut the meat into thick slices:
(it will likely fall apart) and place on warm serving plates. Pour the sauce over the meat and serve hot. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes or polenta.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 697 | calories |
| 42g | Fat |
| 8g | carbohydrates |
| 57g | protein |
