About 20 years ago, the late chef Antonio Carluccio invited me to his home for dinner. After drinking a few glasses of whiskey (his favorite drink), he emerged from the kitchen with a pot of polenta and immediately poured it onto the wooden farmhouse table. Then he made a well in the center and poured a pot of thick beef ragu into it. It was grand and extravagant, completely new to me, but I’ve made it several times since in Antonio’s memory.
You can use any cut of beef suitable for slow cooking, from the flank to the shank to the cheek. I prefer my ragu hand-cut into smaller pieces rather than minced.
timing
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
service
Four
material
For ragout
- 1 tablespoon corn or vegetable oil
- Cut 400-500g of beef into 1/2-1cm cubes.
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves of grated garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped oregano or thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon soft flour
- 100ml red wine
- Canned cut tomatoes 400g x 1
- beef stock 500ml
- Enjoy with freshly grated Parmesan cheese
for polenta
- Whole milk 700ml
- 2 cloves of garlic (grated)
- 1 bay leaf
- Quick cook polenta 70-80g
- 90g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Method
- Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and fry the beef over high heat for a few minutes until browned.
- Add onion, garlic, oregano or thyme and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, then slowly stir in the wine, canned tomatoes, and stock.
- Bring to a boil, season to taste, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the lid and check that the meat is tender. If not, continue to simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season again if necessary.
- When the beef has about 30 minutes left to cook, make the polenta.
- In a heavy saucepan, bring the milk to a boil and add the garlic, bay leaves and seasonings.
- Simmer very gently for about 15 minutes, then remove the bay leaves and whisk in the polenta.
- Reduce the heat to as low as possible and cook very gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Add Parmesan cheese and cook for another 5 minutes. It should have the consistency of creamy mashed potatoes.
- Serve a la Antonio Carluccio, pouring the polenta directly onto a clean table with the ragu in the middle, or use a clean large wooden cutting board.
- Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.