April – Italian Nebbiolo
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients:
Marinated Beef
● 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
● 1 sprig thyme
● ½ small onion, sliced
● pinch salt
● pinch ground pepper
● 1 small bay leaf
● 1 cup dry red wine (preferably the Nebbiolo)
● 2.25 lbs beef chuck, trimmed and cubed
Stew
● 1 tbsp vegetable oil
● 1 tsp all purpose flour
● 1 tbsp tomato paste
● 1 cup beef or chicken stock
● 1 small handful white button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
● 1 tsp unsalted butter
● 1 small handful white pearl onions, boiled and peeled
● 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks, then poached until tender
● 1 small potato, peeled, cut into chunks, then poached until tender
Method:
Marinated Beef
Mix everything together and marinate overnight.
Remove beef from marinade and pat dry. Reserve marinade.
Stew
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed Dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat.
Brown the beef on all sides; this can be done in batches if there is not enough room in the bottom of the pot.
Turn down heat and return all beef back to pot. Sprinkle the flour over beef and continue cooking until flour is lightly browned.
Add tomato paste and continue to cook for five minutes.
Add marinade , all marinade contents, and stock to pot.
Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer until beef is tender.
Remove beef from sauce. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on the marinade ingredients to remove all liquid. Reserve liquid, discard the solids.
Return beef and liquid to the pot.
In a separate sauté pan, heat the butter over medium high heat. Sauté mushrooms until cooked.
Add mushrooms, pearl onions and carrots to the stew. Simmer over low heat until vegetables are warmed through and flavours have blended. Season with salt and pepper.
Pair with: Italian Nebbiolo with Grape Skins