Tuscan Beef Stew

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Pre-Notes

If you can not find boneless short ribs you can substitute a 5 lb chuck roast, trimmed of fat.

This stew can be made 3 days in advance.

Ingredients

1. 4 pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
2. salt
3. 1 T vegetable oil
4. 1 (750 ml) bottle Chianti
5. 1 c water
6. 4 shallots, peeled and halved lengthwise
7. 2 carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise
8. 1 garlic head, cloves separated, unpeeled, and crushed
9. 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
10. 2 bay leaves
11. 1 T cracked black peppercorns, plus extra for serving
12. 1 T unflavored gelatin
13. 1 T tomato paste
14. 1 T anchovy paste
15. 2 t ground black pepper
16. 2 t cornstarch

Instructions

1. Toss beef and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt together in bowl and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300°F.
2. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of beef in single layer and cook until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total, reducing heat if fond begins to burn.
3. Stir in 2 cups wine, water, shallots, carrots, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, cracked peppercorns, gelatin, tomato paste, anchovy paste, and remaining beef.
4. Bring to simmer and cover tightly with sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, then lid.
5. Transfer to oven and cook until beef is tender, 2 to 2 1/4 hours, stirring halfway through cooking time.
6. Using slotted spoon, transfer beef to bowl; cover tightly with foil and set aside.
7. Strain sauce through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator. Wipe out pot with paper towels. Let liquid settle for 5 minutes, then return defatted liquid to pot.
8. Add 1 cup wine and ground black pepper and bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat. Simmer briskly, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened to consistency of heavy cream, 12 to 15 minutes.
9. Combine remaining wine and cornstarch in small bowl.
10. Reduce heat to medium-low, return beef to pot, and stir in cornstarch-wine mixture. Cover and simmer until just heated through, 5 to 8 minutes.
11. Season with salt to taste.
12. Serve, passing extra cracked peppercorns separately.
13. Can be served over polenta or with crusty bread.
14. (Stew can be made up to 3 days in advance.)

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