2021 Giro d’Italia - Stage 3: Biella to Canale
Another day in the hilly Piedmont region and the day was cool and rainy. Similarly, here in the mid-Atlantic, it is cool and rainy. Biking in the cool weather is invigorating, but add some rain to the mix and a measly mile can start to feel like an entire marathon. Suddenly, you feel every bump in the road, the aches somehow seem deeper, and you start to get chilled as the wind assaults your soggy body.
Luckily, the Piemonte pastures are home to 2 delicious items, among many others, cows and Barolo wine. Today’s stage offering is a lovely, hearty and aromatic Beef Braised in Barolo. The recipe I’ve sourced is from Lidia Bastianich’s, “Lidia’s Italy”. Cookbooks which have recipes broken down by region are like manna from heaven when trying to plan a month full of Italian meals. As this dish cooked throughout the day, the aromas permeated the entire house and everyone started getting very hungry.
The beef, slowly braised in Barolo wine and with some vegetables, is truly rich, and soft but still toothsome (not soggy). While the meat rests, you cook down the remaining beef juices, wine and residual offerings from the vegetables; until all you are left with is a thick, juicy, and robust finishing sauce for the meat. I grabbed a very nice bottle of a 2011 Barolo for us to enjoy with the meal. When cooking a dish with wine, you should use a more affordable option (not cheap, and still something you could enjoy drinking), but pair the meal with a more refined bottle of the same variety.
Beef Braised in Barolo adapted from, Lidia’s Italy, Lidia Bastianich
~3 lb chuck roast
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions ~1/2 lb
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
4 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
Rosemary, 2 sprigs
4 or 5 large sage leaves
Pinch of grated nutmeg
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
Barolo wine
Heat 2 tbsp of evoo in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Dry and season your beef liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the beef in the pot and get a nice, deep sear on each side, about 3-5 minutes per side, and remove the beef to a casserole dish to hold.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
Meanwhile, peel and quarter the onions, and rough chop the carrots and celery into 2-inch segments and prepare/measure out the remaining items.
When the beef has been browned and removed from the pot, add in all other ingredients, except for the wine, and saute in the beef juices and remaining oil for a few minutes.
Lower the heat to medium-low and push all of the vegetables to the side and return the beef to the pot, ensuring it completely touches the bottom surface of the pot. Pour in the bottle of wine and cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid and place the pot into the oven and flip the meat every 30 minutes, cooking for about 3 hours, until the meat reaches 180 degrees. Then, remove the meat to a cutting board to cool and transfer the whole roasted vegetables to a casserole dish and cover to keep warm.
While the meat rests, return the pot to a burner over medium-high heat and reduce the pan sauce until thickened. Then pour the sauce, through a fine mesh strainer, into a bowl.
Thickly slice the beef, serve with some roasted vegetables, and pour the sauce over the sliced beef.
______________________________
Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
Comments