The flavor in this dish comes primarily
from the wine and vegetables with the beef just
rounding it out. It's a good example of "meat in
a minor key". It can be served with pasta or
rice instead of polenta but the polenta has a
special creamy texture that goes beautifully
with the chewy meat and tender vegetable.
Stew
1 tsp. light olive oil with a dash of toasted
sesame oil
12 ounces beef round, trimmed of all fat and cut
in 1 inch cubes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce Canadian bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/3 cup chopped celery
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup ARIEL Cabernet Sauvignon
1/2 cup low sodium beef broth, preferably
homemade
1/2 cup low sodium diced tomato
1 tsp. arrowroot mixed with 1 Tbl. ARIEL
Cabernet (slurry)
Polenta
3 cups cold water
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable
2 bunches collard greens, washed, stemmed and
lightly steamed
Preheat the oven to
350F.. Heat 1/2 teaspoon of the oil in an oven
proof skillet. Brown the meat on all sides and
remove from the pan. Pour the rest of the oil
into the same pan and fry the onion until it
starts to wilt, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the garlic,
Canadian bacon, carrots, celery, herbs, salt and
pepper. Turn the heat to medium and cook for 5
minutes stirring so the vegetables don't brown.
Return the meat to the pan, pour in the wine,
broth and tomatoes and add the bay leaf. Cover
and bake for 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven.
Discard the bay leaf and add the slurry. Bring
to a boil to thicken.
Before the stew is
done, start the polenta in a large saucepan.
Stir the cornmeal into the boiling water in a
slow, steady stream, keeping the water boiling.
Add the salt and pepper after the cornmeal has
been added. Stir, scraping the bottom and sides
of the saucepan often, until the polenta is
thick and pulls away from the sides of the pan
cleanly. This will take 25 minutes for coarsely
ground cornmeal and 5 to 10 minutes for regular
cornmeal.
To serve: Spoon the
meat sauce over the polenta and sprinkle with
chopped fresh parsley. Served with the steamed
collards on the side. Enjoy with ARIEL Rouge or
Cabernet Sauvignon.
Serves 4
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