Although it's September and spring has sprung, the chilly nights linger and the food that I crave is the comfort food of winter.
Not dull and stodgy but rich, warmly spiced, exotic and enticing. The recipe below for Agrodolce-Roman beef, meets all the criteria.
I have taken this recipe from my cookbook A Southern Woman's Kitchen. There it features in the slow-cooker section.
I have adapted my original recipe to make it suitable for oven cooking.
It is quick to assemble, there is no need to pre-brown the meat and once in the oven it gently cooks to tender perfection.
Like all casseroles, it is probably more delicious a day or two after its initial cooking.
The combination of two contrasting flavours, acid and sweet, in the same dish is a very old culinary practice. Honey with vinegar and verjuice was used together to season dishes in ancient Roman times.
Many meat dishes cooked in wine or beer have dried fruit or red fruit jelly in the sauce. Sweet and sour ingredients enhance rich meat and game dishes and this juxtaposition of flavours has been a feature of many cuisines.
Agrodolce-Roman beef. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
Agrodolce-Roman beef
Serves 6-7
Ingredients
1.2kg blade or chuck steak
150g streaky bacon, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
¼ cup flour
1½ cups red wine
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
½ cup beef stock
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp juniper berries, crushed
2 large sprigs thyme
¼ cup raisins
salt and freshly ground
black pepper
50g dark chocolate (roughly chopped) preferably 70% cocoa solids.
fresh thyme leaves to garnish
Method
Preheat the oven to 170degC.
Trim the beef of excess fat and cut into 4cm pieces.
Place beef, bacon, onion, garlic and carrot in a large lidded casserole dish (8-9 cup capacity). Sprinkle the flour over the top and toss to combine.
Mix red wine, red wine vinegar, beef stock, cinnamon and nutmeg together and pour over the meat and vegetables.
Stir in the juniper berries and tuck the sprigs of thyme down into the liquid.
Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for about three to three and a-half hours, until the beef is meltingly tender.
Half an hour before serving, remove the thyme stalks and add the raisins. Cover with lid and continue cooking for the final 30 minutes.
Check seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in the chocolate and leave for a few minutes to melt through the sauce. Garnish with fresh thyme.
Serve with warm soft bread for soaking up the fragrant juices. A crisp side salad is the perfect accompaniment.
In the slow cooker
If you want to cook Roman beef in your slow cooker, reduce the total liquid by half a cup, (the beef stock to quarter of a cup and the red wine to one and a-quarter cups).
Very little evaporation takes place during slow-cooker cooking.
Cook following the times and settings suggested below.
Crockpot: Low 9-10hrs High 4½ to 5hrs
Slow cooker: Low 8-9hrs. High 4 to 4½hrs
Speedy slow cooker: Low 6 to 6½hrs. High 3¼ to 3½hrs.
Unfortunately, slow cookers are becoming hotter and cooking times shorter.
The convenience of gentle all-day cooking is no longer guaranteed.
Shopping for a ''slow'' slow cooker is a real minefield.
There is no way you can tell until you get it home and try it, to determine whether you have purchased a slow model or a ''speedy'' one.
On high, the food in the slow cooker will eventually bubble around the edges but on low it should not boil vigorously.
If your slow cooker is boiling on low you will probably need to use the ''speedy'' slow cooker times.
In my latest Crockpot and Slow Cooker book I give cooking times for all three: crockpot, slow cooker and speedy slow cooker, for every recipe.
