photo credit: VirtualErn

Beef braised with Italian red wine – Stracotto al Barolo – is one of my favorite comfort foods!  This Piemontese Pot Roast is cooked in Barolo red wine.  Barolo is sometimes referred to as the king of wines, for its rich flavor and wonderful aroma.  Barolo had admirers throughout Europe as early as the 1700′s.  If you can’t find Barolo, Chianti makes a fine substitute.

Although this is “only pot roast”, with Italian bread and a crisp, green salad, this is most certainly company fare.  I prefer to use chuck for this recipe for the best flavor, but you could also use eye of round or rump roast.  You want about four pounds for this recipe.

Rub the been all over with salt and pepper.  Sliver up a few garlic cloves and put these into little slits that you cut into the meat.  Cover a skillet with olive oil and brown the meat VERY WELL over fairly high heat.

You now want to place the meat in a pot that is just big enough to contain the meat.  In that, put 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter.  In this you will saute 3 tablespoons each of chopped red onion, carrot and celery and a minced garlic clove until the vegetables soften.  Add a little of your red wine to deglaze the pan, and put the meat back in.  Add the remainder of your bottle of wine and 4 ounces of chopped canned tomatoes.  Boil for one minute and remove from heat.

Cover tightly and place on the middle rack of a 350 degree oven and braise for about 2 1/2 hours – turning and basting every half hour or so.

When your beef with Italian red wine is fork tender, remove it to a cutting board.  If your sauce needs thickening, boil it up a bit until it thickens.  Adjust for salt and pepper and slice the meat.

It looks especially nice if you overlap the slices on a platter and then pour the sauce over the top.

Your guests will be thrilled with Italian Stracotto al Barolo!
Mangia Bene!

We know from a poem that dates back to the 1500′s that Panzanella goes back many centuries.  Now, tomatoes had not been introduced way back then, but when they came along, they were quickly utilized in Panzanella and today you will not find it without tomatoes.

To make Panzanella, you need good crusty, very stale rustic bread and it should be salt-free.  The bread should be anywhere from a day to a week old.  Do not use any bread that has preservatives in it.  The bread should be sliced thickly and allowed to dry completely.  This is a wonderful fresh Italian summer salad that takes very little effort to put together.

The main components of the salad are olive oil, red wine vinegar, red onion, tomatoes, cucumber, basil … and of course, the bread!  Although i prefer it without, many recipes are starting to inlcude pieces of mozzarella cheese in the salad.  It is thought that this may have started in honor of the Italian Flag – red, white and green.  With or without the cheese, it is just a refeshing gourmet Italian delight!

I happen to love red wine vinegar, so this is one of my favorite Panzanella recipes.  It comes from La Vecchia Bettola – a charming trattoria on the outskirts of Florence.

Fresh Italian Stale Bread Salad: Panzanella

Put 4 cups of water and 1 cup of red wine vinegar in a bowl.  Add six slices of 2 or 3 day old coarse rustic bread, preferably unsalted, and let it soak for 15 minutes.

Now drain well and squeeze all the the excess liquid from the bread and crumble into small bite size pieces in a large salad bowl.

Add a head of romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped and a red or sweet onion that has been halved and thinly sliced.  Next add a cucumber that has been peeled, cored, seeded and thickly sliced.  Now take 3 of the best tomatoes you can find – I like the Ugly tomatoes for significant flavor!  Coarsely chop the tomatoes and add to the bowl.  Throw in a few handfuls of fresh basil leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/4 cup olive oil.  Toss this very well.  In the Tuscany region, this step is done using your hands.  Judge the consistency for yourself and add a little more oil if you like.  Wonderful served with a Chianti or other brisk, young red wine!

See how gorgeous this is and how to make it right here!

Mangia Bene!