Fabio’s American Home Kitchen
Fabio Viviani
I tried this stew out a couple of weeks ago (and haven’t posted it till now – sorry!) and while it wasn’t bad, at all, I wouldn’t call it a favorite either. Don’t get me wrong, it was very good. But it also calls for pitted black olives which are marinated in an extremely salty brine. At least those are the only pitted black olives that I know of. If you know of others, I’ll just say that I guess it’s an Italian thing because I never saw pitted black olives that were marinated/cured any other way. Because of the saltiness of the olives, if I ever make this stew again, I would decrease the amount of salt the recipe calls for. The stew itself, on it’s own, wasn’t salty at all. But once you combine it with the olives, then it needed some “adjustment,” in my opinion.
I’ll tell you, though, what *was* fun was lighting the marsala on fire. That was pretty cool. And shouldn’t you have fun while you’re cooking? I know I enjoy the heck out of cooking, so this adds a little extra fun into the preparation.
Ingredients:
2½ pounds beef round, cut into 1½ inch cubes
¼ cup flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup Marsala
1½ cups red wine
½ cup beef stock
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 to 6 sprigs fresh thyme tied with twine
One 1-inch long strip of orange peel
1 cup button or cremini mushrooms, halved
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup pitted black olives
½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Dust the beef with flour.
Melt the butter with the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the meat and brown it until the outer red color is gone, which can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it!
Increase the heat to high, add the Marsala and, with the help of a long match, set the alcohol aflame and let it burn out.
Add the red wine and let it bubble fast for about half a minute. Add stock and bay leaf. Season with a dash of salt and pepper and add the bouquet of thyme and orange peel with the mushrooms and garlic. Turn the flame as low as possible, cover the pan with at least 3 layers of parchment paper, and then place the lid over it.
Cook the stew for about 3 hours. Five minutes before serving remove the thyme bouquet and add the pitted black olives. Taste for seasoning, add parsley for color, and serve with crusty bread or boiled rice.
Dinner With Diana 