Northern Italian Beef Stew Recipes

ITALIAN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350"F
• In a large cast iron dutch oven add a lug of olive oil and sear the garlic cloves until golden all over. Transfer to a plate.
• Add the onion to the pan and saute until it starts to caramelize, about 15 minutes.
• Then add the beef cubes to the pot with the onions and sprinkle with the flour over the top. Toss to coat well all over and cook for a few minutes.
• Add the thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and cloves to the pot together with the red wine.
• Bring everything to a gentle simmer and add the garlic cloves back to the pot. Cook for 10 minutes until the wine has reduced a little.
• Stir in the fire roasted tomatoes, sea salt and the water. Cover with a tight lid and transfer to the preheated oven for 2 hours.
• After 2 hours have passed, carefully add chopped carrots, rainbow carrots, potatoes and mushrooms to the stew, give it a gentle stir, cover and cook another 25 to 30 minutes until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through and the meat falls apart when stabbed with a fork.
• Meanwhile clean the scallions and cut them in half. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Toss to coat and pan sear them in a cast iron skillet until nice golden charr marks form. About 3 minutes.
• Ladle the beef stew into bowls, sprinkle with the parsley and a nice drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Divide the scallions between bowls and serve hot with lots of crusty garlic bruschetta to soak up all the gravy.

CROCK POT ITALIAN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Mix the flour and garlic powder together.
• Pat the meat dry and season with salt and pepper. Dredge the meat into the flour mixture to coat.
• In a large cast-irons skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Brown the meat deeply for about 3-4 minutes on each side; crust should form. Remove from heat.
• Now, place the browned meat in the bottom of a large crock pot. Add the remaining ingredients except the mushrooms. Stir with a wooden spoon.
• Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 4 1/2 hours. Add the sliced mushrooms. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes or so.
• Enjoy with your favorite Italian bread or even homemade challah!

ITALIAN BEEF RAGU

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Pat beef dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over high heat in a heavy pot or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. Add beef and sear each piece on all sides until browned; about 3 minutes total. If browning in batches, remove each batch to a plate and set aside.
• Turn stove down to medium low and add remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil.
• Add the garlic and onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Next add the carrots and celery and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir well to combine. Pour in the wine to degraze the pan and allow to boil for about a minute, then add the tomatoes and stir to combine.
• Add the remaining ragu ingredients into the pot and then add the browned beef along with any collected juices.
• Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil, then cover with a tight fitting lid (or aluminum foil) and place in the hot oven for around 3 hours, or until the meat becomes very tender. Stir occasionally. If too much liquid evaporates during the cooking process and the sauce becomes too thick, add a splash of water or beef stock to loosen the sauce to your desired consistency.
• Remove the pan from the oven shred the meat with two forks on a rimmed baking sheet. Discard the bones (if using shanks or oxtails). Return meat into the sauce. Skim off any excess fat with a serving spoon.
• Add Worcestershire sauce or balsamic vinegar, season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaves.
• If the sauce is too loose, simmer uncovered to reduce the sauce. Alternatively, you could also add a slurry of flour and water to quickly thicken the sauce. [See Note 5]
• Serve with pasta, polenta, gnocchi, or grilled Italian bread.
• Refrigerate leftovers for up to a week or freeze in an airtight container or zip top bag for up to 3 months.

TUSCAN BEEF STEW WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• Make stew
• In heavy, large saucepan over moderately high heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add onion, carrot, and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add beef and sauté, stirring occasionally, until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add wine and thyme, stir well, and bring to boil. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper, then lower heat to moderately low, cover, and simmer, stirring every 15 minutes, until beef is tender, about 2 hours.
• While beef is simmering, make polenta
• Pour olive oil into large serving bowl and swirl to coat. Set aside.
• In heavy, large pot over moderately high heat, bring stock to boil. Lower heat to moderate and slowly add polenta, stirring constantly. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until polenta thickens and pulls away from sides of pan, about 10 minutes. Transfer to oil-coated serving bowl and keep warm.
• Serve
• When beef is tender, use tongs to remove tomato skins (if desired) and thyme sprigs. Transfer stew to large serving bowl. Serve polenta alongside.

NORTHERN ITALIAN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef in batches in hot oil until browned completely, about 5 minutes per batch. Remove browned beef cubes to a plate lined with paper towels, keeping skillet over heat and retaining the beef drippings.
• Cook and stir onion, celery, and carrots in the retained beef drippings until just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir mushrooms and garlic into the onion mixture.
• Pour red wine into the pan; bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking the mixture until the wine evaporates, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir tomatoes into the mixture.
• Return beef to skillet with potatoes, basil, thyme, marjoram, and sage. Pour beef stock and tomato sauce over the mixture. Bring the liquid to a simmer.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer until the beef is very tender and the sauce is thick, 4 to 6 hours.