This is a recipe that at home my mom uses to make quite often, it’s not difficult and it’s also quite cheap since we are not using the “best” cuts of the beef 🙂

It’s a classic recipe through all Italy I think, and it can be a simple but tasty dish for your Sunday lunch, for example next to a good polenta 🙂

Let’s see the ingredients!

INGREDIENTS (4 people):

• 600/650 g of beef meat (chuck, flat iron, brisket, plate, round: these are the most used)
• 1 white onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 rib of celery
• 1 chili
• 300/400 g potatoes
• 150 g peas
• 1 glass of dry white wine
• 250/300 ml of tomato sauce
• salt
• white flour
• freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil

1. First of all wash the meat, remove the blood, cut the fat in excess and then cut the meat into big pieces, about 3-4 cm.
2. Then chop the onion, carrot and celery into small pieces, take a cocotte/casserole, heat the olive oil (and if you want some butter too) and then add the vegetables. Let it cook at low heat for about 10 minutes, until they are soft and the onion became transparent.
3. Meanwhile dust the meat cubes with flour, just a little bit, then take a pan, add a drop of oil and when it’s hot sear the meat into it, at high heat and on all sides.
4. Once all the meat is seared and the vegetables are soft, add the meat in the cocotte/casserole.
5. Set the heat high and add the wine, and let it simmer until the wine has reduced.
6. Now that the alcohol has gone, set the heat on low, add the tomato sauce and the chili, season with salt and let it simmer very slow, covered. The meat should stay always covered with sauce, so if during the time the sauce should reduce, than you can add some hot water.
7. After about one and half/two hours (it depends from which cut you chose and from which animal, in my case almost 2 hours and half in the end) add the potatoes cut into cubes, and after other 15/20 minutes add the peas too, and season with freshly ground black pepper.
8. After 10/15 minutes from the moment you added the peas, control if the potatoes and the peas are soft enough: if yes, then you are ready 🙂
9. The perfect pairing is with polenta 🙂 and with a glass of red wine, of course 😉 Enjoy!

PS: if you have it and if you know how to use it, you can cut down half of the time by using a pressure cooker 🙂 my mom uses it often for this recipe 🙂

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Products used:

Beef: Angus from “Terra Pannonia”