Peposo - Tuscan Red Wine Beef Stew

We’re taking a trip to Florence with this traditional Tuscan Red Wine Beef Stew - Peposo. With only a few ingredients, it’s super simple but still packed full of flavour from the red wine, garlic and lots of black pepper. You can serve it on a bed of mashed potatoes or creamy polenta for a delicious and comforting winter meal. 

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 500g stewing beef
• 300ml Chianti red wine (or enough to completely cover the meat)
• 1 level tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 sprig of sage
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 200g polenta 
• 2 knobs of butter
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fine sea salt

Method

1. ​Add a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to a frying pan and add the garlic. Let the garlic sizzle away and gently cook with the oil for around 5 minutes to 7 minutes, until slightly golden.
2. Generously season the beef with salt and then add it to the garlic oil. Move the heat to a medium-high heat and sear the beef. 
3. Grind the whole black peppercorns in a pestle and mortar until they're lightly crushed - you don't want them too fine.
4. Add the lightly crushed black peppercorns to the pan and stir them in.
5. Tie together the bay leaf, sage and rosemary with butcher string to create a herb bouquet and add it to the pan. 
6. Once the beef has a little bit of colour all around, add in the wine until the meat is completely covered. Lightly cover the pan with the lid (leaving a small gap) and let it slow cook for 2 to 3 hours. Check it every so often and give it a good stir. After 2 to 3 hours the beef should be nice and tender and the wine will have reduced to create a glassy wine sauce. 
7. When the beef is almost ready, prepare your polenta or mashed potatoes. 
8. Cook the polenta according to the packet instructions. Then add two knobs of butter and a pinch of salt and give it a good stir all together until the butter has completely melted.
9. To serve, spoon some polenta onto your plate to create a base and top with the beef and the sauce from the pan. 

Watch the recipe video

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