Stracotto di manzo alla romana
Roman style beef stew
Stracotto alla romana beef stew is a real winter serving, but for of the Judeo-Roman tradition it is a classic main dish often prepared for Shabbat. The beef is braised in the tomato sauce for hours to make it tender, until the meat almost falls apart. Tradition calls for serving the meat as a main dish and using the leftover sauce for pasta the day after.
It may seem like a very simple dish characterized by a few ingredients. There are no herbs, carrots, celery and garlic only bay leaves and sliced onion. However, the flavor will be deep and the meat very juice, if you get the right cut of meat.
Make sure you get a muscle cut like the shoulder knuckle
Ingredients
4 persons (main dish)
Cooking time : 3 hrs
1 kg beef muscle cut into pieces, 3×3 cm
2 white onions
extra virgin olive oil to taste
salt to taste
3 bay leaves
1 kg peeled tomatoes or tomato passata
1 glass of red wine
Salt to taste
50 gr. parmesan flakes (optional)
Put plenty of extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan
Season the meat lightly with salt and brown the pieces on all sides with the bay leaves
Next, chop the onion finely and to the meat, cook at medium heat until the onion becomes soft
Pour in the red wine and continue cooking until the wine is evaporated
Add the tomatoes and stir well
Let it simmer at low heat for at least 3 hours. Adding water if the dish gets too dry, and stir occasionally.
Season with salt and serve smoking hot with the best bread you can get
Tips
The short list of ingredients for this dish is related to the sometimes limited ingrediencies available for the jews in the ghetto, historically. Today it is prepared in the same way, both because it is tradition, but also because the taste of few, good elements is appreciated.
Check out this video link, it is so simple to make that you will get even if it is in italian.
When that is said, you don’t have to stick to the above simplicity if you want to take it in your own direction, for variation. You can boost the dish with some additional ingredients, to hit an even broader audition and also add even more debt to the dish: Add sliced carrots and celery stalks together with the onion, and/or your favorite herb like rosemary or thyme. You can also add cinnamon for another Jewish touch.