Manzo Peposo (Peppered Beef)

Photo: William Meppem

A Tuscan dish that involves cooking chunks of beef slowly in red wine, garlic and lots of black pepper. Recipe: Danielle Alvarez

Ingredients 
  • 1kg beef chuck, chopped into 2-3cm dice
  • 1 tbsp black peppercorns
  • 2 tsp flaked salt
  • 500ml decent red wine (something you would drink)
  • 8 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup yellow or white polenta
  • 1/2 Chicken stock cube
  • 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine

Preparation
  1. Place your diced beef in a mixing bowl.
  2. Toast the peppercorns in a small sautee pan over medium heat until they smell fragrant. Tip them into a mortar and pestle and crush them coarsely. (You can also crush them on a chopping board using a small heavy pan if you don't have a mortar and pestle.)
  3. Add the peppercorns and all remaining ingredients, except the tomato paste, to the beef and mix until combined. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge overnight. 
Method
  1. When you're ready to cook, preheat your oven to 155C fan-forced (175C conventional).
  2. Tip the entire contents of the bowl, plus the tomato paste and 200ml of water, into a medium-sized, enamel-coated Dutch oven (or stainless-steel pan with a tightly fitting lid) and bring to a simmer on the stovetop. Stir a few times to incorporate the tomato paste and when it's simmering, put the lid on and pop it into the oven.
  3. Cook in the oven for 2 hours, then remove the lid and continue cooking for a further 15-30 minutes until the meat is tender and the liquid reduced.
        Polenta
        1. About 30 minutes before the beef is ready, place the dry polenta in a stainless-steel pot and add 2 cups of water and stock cube. 
        2. Heat the pot until it starts to bubble, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often until polenta starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. 
        3. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 to 6 minutes. When polenta is too thick to whisk, stir with a wooden spoon and add in the butter or margarine
        4. Polenta is done when texture is creamy and the individual grains are tender. 
        Serve
        Remove the beef from the oven and serve on top of soft polenta.

        Serves 4-6