Brasato Al Barolo

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds of beef (rump roast or any similar cut should work. You want a nice chunk of meat, lean but with a bit o

1 bottle of Barolo wine. If you don't have Barolo, you may

1 large onion

2 carrots

2 stalks of celery

3 ounces pancetta

1/4 cup white flour

3 tablespoons butter

shot Cognac

1 garlic clove

1 half stick of cinnamon

3 cloves

4 peppercorn grains

2 bay leaves

1 twig of rosemary

Preparation

12 to 15 hours before cooking: finely chop the carrots, onion and celery.

Take the meat (if the cut is very tender, you may want to tie it with string so that it doesn't break down during cooking) and rub it with salt.

Put the meat in a bowl or pot along with the chopped carrots, onion and celery, then pour the whole bottle of Barolo and add the spices. You can just dunk the spices in the liquid or tie them in a little gauze/cotton bag (if you do, they will be easier to remove later on; if not you'll have to fish them out: you don't want to bite into a clove or a hard cinnamon stick). The container ideally should be sized so that the meat is submerged as much as possible. Cover with a plate and let it marinate for at least 12 hours in a cool place, turning it a few times so that it soaks up the wine uniformly.

After 12 hours remove the meat from the wine marinade and let it drip dry, then cover it with flour (I put flour in a plate, then pat/press the meat in it on all sides so that it's uniformely covered)

Heat up the butter and the finely chopped pancetta. Cook the pancetta for a bit (you want to melt some of the fat), then add the chunk of beef and brown it on all sides over medium/high heat. After the meat is browned on the outside, add the whole red wine marinade and bring it to a boil. Let it boil over medium heat, covered for about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low (I usually remove the spices at this point) and continue simmering covered for at at least 2 hours, turning the meat every 30 minutes so that it cooks uniformly on all sides. You want the wine/vegetable sauce to reduce a bit but not evaporate completely.

After the meat is cooked, take it out and put it on a heated plate. Remove the spices from the sauce if you haven't done so already. If you want a smoother sauce, remove it from the heat and pour it in a blender to chop up/smooth the vegetables to the desired consistency. Return the blended sauce to the pot. If you want/have to thicken it a bit, you can add a bit of flour, but it shouldn't be necessary. Add the cognac, turn up the heat and let it cook for a bit over high heat so that it reduces further and the cognac evaporates. You may want to taste and see if it needs salt (the salt on the meat and the pancetta should be enough, b

Remove the string from the meat if it was tied, then slice it up (it should be very tender), put it on a serving plate and generously pour the sauce on top

Ideal side dish is polenta but mashed potatos also work very well.