A typical winter dish that needs to cook long. We pair it with a Carmignano Santa Cristina in Pilli 2019 Fattoria Ambra rather than a more traditional Barolo or Amarone.
The best beef cuts for this style of cooking are the tougher ones like chuck, round or brisket.
Ingredients for 6 people:
1.2kg chuck steak, 750ml of Carmignano wine (1 bottle), 1 garlic clove, 2 carrots, 2 onions, 2 celery sticks, 2 bay leaves, a bunch of mixed herbs (laurel, rosemary and sage), 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper corns.
Directions:
Clean the vegetables and cut them into cubes. Tie the meat with kitchen twine to hold it together and marinate it in the wine with the vegetables, bay leaves, garlic and some peppercorns. Cover with a plate and let the meat marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Remove the meat from the marinate the next day and dry it with paper towels. Filter the wine and save it for later. Eliminate the peppercorns and bay leaves from the vegetables.
Put the meat in a pot, preferably cast-iron, with the EVOO and braze it on all sides to seal it. Salt to taste. Add the marinade wine, the vegetables and the bunch of herbs. Cover the pot with its top and stew at a low heat, adding warm water when necessary to keep it from drying out, for around three hours or, if you have a meat thermometer, until the center reaches 90°C.
When the meat is cooked and soft, place it on a plate, cover it with foil and let it cool. Once it is cool, remove the twine and cut the meat into slices.
Serve the meat covered with its warm juice and, if you want, you can first warm the slices.
Accompany the meat with mash potatoes.
The pot roast can be made the previous day.
Wine to pair:
(edited by Stefania Vinciguerra)
Carmignano Santa Cristina in Pilli 2019 Fattoria Ambra
Intense ruby red color. Classic nose with notes of small black fruits, cherry and autumn underbrush. Dark spice. Dense texture with youthful but well-integrated tannins, relaxed progression and intense, elegant finish.
Production area: in the Carmignano appellation, the single vineyard Santa Cristina in Pilli (150 meters above sea level), south and southeast vineyard exposure with limestone alberese soil type.
Grape varieties: 75% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Canaiolo Nero, 5% other red varieties. Year of planting of the vineyards 1975 – 1991 – 1999 – 2001. Planting density is 3,300 vines/hectare in the old plantings and 5,000 vines/hectare in the new ones. The type of training is Guyot and spurred cordon, the type of viticulture is certified organic.
Harvest: in the second half of September, starting with Sangiovese and ending with Cabernet Sauvignon, respecting the different needs of the grapes.
Vinification: 35 hectoliters/hectare Maceration on the skins for 15-20 days with temperature control (délestage and pumping over). Malolactic fermentation. One year of maturation in wood: 50% in French oak tonneaux (3.5 and 5 hl capacity), 50% in large Slavonian oak barrels (25 hl capacity). The grape yield in wine is 35 hectoliters/hectare.
Alcohol content: 14% vol.
Serving temperature: 16-18°C.
Recommended food pairings: main courses of red meat, aged cheeses.
Annual production: 25,000 bottles (0.75 liters).
