Slow-cooked beef stew with potatoes, peas, and carrots — Italian comfort food on a cold day. Different in every region; this is a Tuscan-leaning version. Rich, simple, made for crusty bread.
Spezzatino
Slow-cooked beef stew with potatoes, peas, and carrots — Italian comfort food on a cold day. Different in every region; this is a Tuscan-leaning version. Rich, simple, made for crusty bread.
Ingredients
Method
- Pat the beef chunks dry, season generously with salt and pepper. Dust lightly in flour, shake off excess.
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high. Brown the beef in batches on all sides — don’t crowd or it’ll steam. Set aside.
- In the same pot, add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and rosemary. Cook 10 minutes until soft.
- Pour in the wine; let it reduce 3 minutes, scraping up the brown bits. Return the beef to the pot.
- Add tomatoes and enough water to barely cover the meat (about 2 cups). Bring to a simmer.
- Cover and cook over low heat 1.5 hours. Stir occasionally.
- Add the potatoes; continue cooking 30 minutes until potatoes are tender and the meat is falling apart.
- Stir in the peas; cook 5 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt.
- Fish out rosemary. Serve in shallow bowls with crusty bread. A glass of the same red wine you cooked with.
Notes
A piece of parmesan rind dropped in for the long simmer adds depth (fish it out at the end). Peas only need to warm through — adding them too early turns them grey. Better the next day, like all stews.