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Original Italian name: Spezzatino
Place of origin: Northern Italy
Beef stew is one more Italian meat stew variation after a stew with the lamb. The beef stew with tomatoes, red wine and peas originally came from Northern Italy where braised and boiled meat dishes are very popular. Spezzatino is a typical north Italian dish consisting of beef slowly braised in a red wine with vegetables and herbs.
This dish is perfectly served to lunches or dinners. It goes well with boiled or mashed potatoes as a side dish.
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
Preparation time -5 min
Cooking time- 1h 40 min
1 kg braising or stewed steak, cut into large cubes
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
500g passata
2-3 tablespoon tomato puree
250ml (1 cup) beef stock
250ml (1 cup) red wine
2 garlic cloves, crushed
300g shelled fresh peas
2-3 tablespoon plain flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme
salt and freshly milled black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 160â—¦C (325 â—¦F).
Put the flour in the shallow dish and season with salt, pepper and thyme. Add the beef cubes and coat well.
Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole. Add the beef and brown on all sides over a medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. Remove the beef and drain on kitchen paper.
Add a little olive oil in the pan. Then add the chopped onion and cook gently for about 3 minutes until softened. Then stir in thepassata , tomato puree, wine, stock and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, return the beef to the pan and stir well. Cover the casserole and cook in the preheated oven to 160â—¦C (325 â—¦F) for 1 hour.
Afterwards add peas and sugar to the casserole. Return the casserole to the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes more or until the beef is tender. If you using thawed frozen peas instead of fresh add them 15 minutes before the end of cooking.
Garnish with fresh thyme before serving. Serve hot.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Spezzatini di qualsiasi cosa… I’m in heaven! Another great example of Italian cuisine Larissa, thank you
Braising meats with wine just makes them so soft and develop such a rich flavour. Nothing really compares! Thanks for the ideas on side-dishes!
Hi Marta, it was delicious!
Looks beautiful!