OUR PIEDMONT KITCHEN - RECIPES

Secondo Recipes

Beef Pot Roast in Barolo [Manzo Stufato al Barolo]

This is a great hearty dish for cold winter nights. Don’t be tempted to substitute the wine with a cheaper or lighter variety as this recipe really works best with a big rich red. You will need to accompany it at the table with an equally good bottle. Note that you need to start this dish the night before you want to cook it as the meat benefits from being marinated overnight.

Ingredients

2½lbs/ 1.25kg beef cut blade roast or other cut suitable for pot roasting

3tbsp olive oil

1 large onion chopped

1 large or carrot chopped roughly

1 stalk of celery chopped

2 large bay leaves

2 cloves of garlic chopped finely

½ tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 bottle of Barolo wine

Cooking Instructions

Place the pot roast in a large deep bowl with the bay leaves, salt and pepper and all the chopped vegetables except the garlic
Pour the bottle of Barolo over the meat, making share all the surfaces of the meat have come into contact with the wine. I normally turn it around a few times in the bowl to make sure. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a plate and leave in the fridge overnight.
Transfer the marinades beef to a large plate and strain the wine marinade through a sieve. Keep the vegetables and the bay leaves.
Pour marinade into a saucepan and cook over a medium heat.
Meanwhile put the olive oil into a flame proof casserole and heat gently over a medium heat.
Add the pot roast to the garlic and turn to ensure it seals and browns on all sides.
Place the heated wine marinade over the beef; add the reserved vegetables, bay leaves and garlic. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to low, cover the pot with a lid and simmer for about two hours.
When meat is cooked transfer it to a cutting board and slice with a sharp knife. Carve pieces into ½ inch [1cm] slices and lay slices overlapping onto a serving plate. Tent this plate with foil.
Drain the vegetables from the wine mixture and Puree them using a blender or food processor or through a sieve.
Return the pureed vegetables to the liquid and stir well to mix.
Boil the sauce uncovered for 10 mins stirring frequently until thick. Pour the sauce over the beef and serve immediately

Osso Buco

This dish is a traditional Northern Italian way to cook veal. I have also tried it with using very thick pork chops and it works well.

Ingredients

4lbs of veal shanks cut 1½” thick

Salt & Pepper

½ cup olive oil

1 cup flour

1 large white onion diced

1 carrot diced

8 garlic cloves minced

I celery stalk diced

½ tsp dry or fresh thyme leave

1 tbsp parsley leaves

3 bay leaves

1½ cups of canned tomatoes, diced but not drained

3 cups of veal stock or low sodium beef stock [or pork stock if cooking pork]

1 cup of dry white wine

Cooking Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. and choose a heavy shallow bottom casserole with a lid for braising the veal shanks.
Heat a sauté pan on the stove over a medium heat.
Place flour onto a large plate and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. It’s a good idea to taste the flour to check that enough seasoning has been added.
Dip the veal shanks in the flour until they are evenly coated on both sides.
Add olive oil to the sauté pan and heat to just below the smoking point.
Add the seasoned veal to the hot oil to seal and turn as needed until they are golden brown on both sides.
Once the veal is browned, remove from the pan and immediately add the diced carrots, celery and onion to the pan and sauté until golden brown.
Add the minced garlic and sauté until the vegetables are translucent.
Add the white wine to deglaze the pan and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to remove all flavourful bits still clinging to the bottom.
Return the veal shanks to the pan and continue to cook until the wine is reduced by ¾
Transfer the veal shanks to the casserole dish then add the diced tomatoes to the pan.
Simmer foe a few minutes then pour all the vegetable mixture from the pan over the veal in the casserole dish.
Add enough veal or beef stock to come ¾ of the way up the sides of the veal shanks.
Add the parsley, thyme and bay leaves to the casserole.
Place the covered casserole into the preheated oven and cook for 45 mins.
Check the casserole to see if enough stock remains to cover ½ to ¾ of the veal shank.
Baste the meat with the juices [they should be simmering gently]
Return the casserole to the oven and cook for another 45 mins.
Remove the casserole from the oven and check that the meat is done – it should fall readily from the bone.
If the sauce is too thin you can return it to a small saucepan and reduce it to the desired consistency.
Transfer the veal shanks onto a serving plate and top with the sauce. The shanks can also be topped with a garnish of gremolata, a mixture of lemon zest, garlic and parsley.

Gremolata

This is a commonly used easy to make Italian garnish, full of flavour when you use fresh parsley. Good with the Osso Buco recipe.

Ingredients

1 tbsp lemon peel grated

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

3 tbsp fresh parsley

Cooking Instructions

Grate the lemon zest taking care to avoid getting the white pith.
Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix together.