For the videos of this class click here.
Spezzatino means "little broken thing"->stew. In bianco refers to the fact that we are not using tomatoes. This is my mom's recipe! If you serve it with polenta, then I suggest to make it without potatoes.
Ingredienti per 4 persone:
- 1 kg (about 2.2 lb) of beef (manzo) for stew
- 1/2 cipolla (onion)
- 1 spicchio d'aglio (garlic clove)
- 1 carota (carrot)
- 1 stalk of sedano (celery)
- 2 patate (potatoes)
- 1 twig of rosmarino (rosemary)
- a couple of leaves of alloro (bay leaves)
- 1 dado (bouillon cube)
- olio d’oliva
- sale
- Optional: 2 pomodori (tomatoes) or passata di pomodoro (e.g. Pomì)
Procedimento:1- chop the carrot, onion, celery and garlic
2- put in a pressure cooker with a little olive oil over low flame to make a sweat (soffritto). Then add the meat and the bouillon cube
3 -when the meat outside is brown (extra step: in a few years->add a glass of wine and let it evaporate) cover with water and add the [whole] rosemary twig, bay leaves and if you want other spices
4- close the pressure cooker and pressurize (i.e. until the pressure cooker begins to whistle), cook for about 10-15 minutes
5- depressurize, add the potatoes (washed and cut in big chunks) and cook again under pressure for another 10-15 minutes
If you use a regular pot or a slow cooker, cook at low heat for 2-3 hours, covered, mixing from time to time.While it cooks you can do your Physics homework ;)
If most of the water has evaporated, simply add water (you can make the stew more or less thick based on your taste)
6-when it is ready (be sure that both meat and potatoes are cooked and so soft that you can cut them with a fork) add salt if needed
7- you can make the sauce more creamy by mixing a spoon of sifted flour
Buon appetito!
During the Spring 2012 I taught one of many interdisciplinary undergraduate seminars in the Experimental Study Group at MIT. Each class is based on the preparation of a simple delicious dish and on the bite-sized acquisition of parts of the Italian language and culture.
Videography by Graham Gordon Ramsay.
Click here to watch the videos in full resolution. Buon divertimento!
Click here to watch the videos in full resolution. Buon divertimento!
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