Spezzatino

Beef cut small and browned in batches, then left alone for three hours.

Beef. Not vegetarian — contains beef.

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg beef shin or chuck, in 4 cm cubes
• 40 g plain flour
• 1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 300 ml dry red wine
• 400 g tinned tomatoes
• 500 g potatoes, in large chunks
• 2 bay leaves, 1 sprig rosemary
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt

Method

1. Dry the beef cubes thoroughly on a cloth and toss them in the flour.
2. BROWN THEM IN BATCHES, four or five at a time, in a hot pan. This is the step people rush and it decides the whole dish: a crowded pan drops below searing temperature and the meat releases its juice and stews grey, and no amount of later cooking puts that colour back.
3. Soften the vegetables in the same pan, scraping up what has stuck.
4. Return the meat, add the wine, and let it reduce by half.
5. Add the tomatoes, herbs and enough water to come level with the meat. Cover and cook on the lowest heat for 3 hours.
6. ADD THE POTATOES FOR THE LAST 40 MINUTES ONLY. In from the start they disintegrate and thicken the whole pot to paste.
7. Season at the end and rest it 20 minutes off the heat. Better the next day, and the sauce sets to a jelly when cold, which is the sign the shin was the right cut.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes