Beef Stew with Creamy Polenta
This is a very traditional dish, delicious and particullarly suitable for winter nights…
. 1 kg of beef chopped into cubes (neither big, nor small ones)
. 400 g of peeled tomatoes
. 1 laurel leaf
. leaflets of thyme
. 1 onion finelly chopped
. 1 clove of garlic chopped
. 1 small carrot finelly chopped
. salt
. ground pepper or red pepper
. 6 juniper berries
. olive oil
Heat some olive oil in a great pan. Fry the meat, until golden all parts. Take the meat off the pan and add some olive oil if necessary. Fry the onion until it becomes transparent with the chopped garlic. Add the carrot, the juniper berries and the meat. Mix well, add the tomatoes, a small quantity of warm water, the laurel leaf, the thyme, salt, pepper put on the lid and allow to cook in very low heat for 1 hour and a half or 2 hours. The beef will become very tender….When the stew beef is almost done you can prepare the creamy polenta:
. 1 l of water
. 1 teaspoon of coarse salt
. 1 cup of polenta (I use the fast preparing one, that cooks in 5-8 minutes)
. 1 tbsp of olive oil
. 4 tbsp of grated parmigiano or grana padano
In a small pan bring the water to boil. When it starts boilling, add the coarse salt and let the polenta fall like rain, mixing well and continuously with a wooden spoon, until it’s cooked. Turn off the heat, add the oil, mix well and add the grated cheese. Serve with more grated parmigiano with the beef stew just prepared….
