Stufato
When I was working in Italy last year I was so lucky to be able to try some amazing food. Every day I was able to choose from so many great dishes for lunch and try some things that I never tried before. In seven weeks I don’t remember tasting anything that I didn’t like.
I remember when I tried stufato, which means stew in Italian, I was completely blown away with the amazing flavours, and I came back to the office and told them they had to teach me how to make this dish. They were quite surprised as this is a quite regular dish in Italy but I was given a recipe from a grandmother of one that I worked with.
So when I came back home this was one of the first things that I tried to make, and I have to say it tasted almost as good.
This dish is fairly simple to make but it just takes time on the stove. But I can tell you that on a Saturday afternoon when you have finished, the kitchen is clean and the stew is simmering and the smell fills the house …. it’s worth every minute.
You can also leave out the potatoes in the dish and serve it with polenta. And this is one of those dishes that is even better the day after so I recommend making a healthy portion.
- 1,5 kg Beef chuck, cut to cubes
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Carrots
- 2 large yellow Onions
- 2 stalks Celery
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 cans whole Tomatoes
- 1 cup Red Wine
- 4 cups Beef Stock
- 3 sprigs fresh Rosemary
- 6 sprigs fresh Thyme
- handful fresh Parsley
- 250 gr button Mushrooms
- 500 gr small Tomatoes
- Salt & Pepper
- Start by cutting the meat in fairly small cubes, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Chop the onions, carrots and celery .
- In a large pot heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat and brown the beef. Take your time and do it well because this will add tremendous depth of flavor to your finished stew. When the beef is ready, it takes about 15 minutes, remove it and set aside.
- Add 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil to the pot, and then add the crushed garlic, chopped onion, celery and carrots. Saute until softened.
- Add the rosemary, thyme and beef, and then pour the red wine over and let it cook for about 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes which you crush and beef stock, bring to boil then lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 2 hours.
- Cut the potatoes and mushrooms in half, add to the stew and simmer for another hour.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with good bread.
English