Italian cuisine · Meat & Kebab

Stracotto alla Fiorentina

Florentine braised beef that simmers for hours in Chianti with carrot, celery and rosemary until tender.

Ingredients · for 6 servings

• 1.2 kg beef shoulder, whole
• 750 ml red wine
• 2 onions
• 3 carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 500 ml beef stock
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Tie the meat with kitchen twine and season generously with salt and pepper; cut the onions, carrots and celery into 1 cm cubes and crush the garlic.
2. Heat olive oil in a heavy braising pot until very hot and sear the roast on all sides for 10 min until deep brown, then set aside on a plate.
3. Sauté the root vegetables with the garlic in the same pot for 8 min until colored, add the tomato paste and cook for 2 min more until it darkens.
4. Deglaze with the red wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, and let it reduce by half uncovered for 10 min.
5. Return the roast to the pot with the rosemary and bay leaves, pour in the stock, cover and braise in the oven at 150°C for 2.5 hours, turning hourly, until the meat yields to finger pressure.
6. Let the roast rest for 10 min, strain the sauce through a sieve and reduce uncovered for 5 min, then slice the meat thickly and serve drizzled with the sauce.