Spicy Beef Marrow Stew

Spicy Beef Marrow Stew

     Months back, we brought these dried serrano peppers from Kensington Market and we've been wacking our brains wondering what to do with them.  Last week, I decided to sit down and do some serious research on mexican/cuban beef stews and I swear, not one single recipe of the same dish is identical.  One used red wine, another used water.  One had sausages, another used only beef chunks.  Some were ready in 30 mins, others were ready in a few hours. Not wanting to follow one particular recipe, I noted down some key ingredients and went off to our local grocer to further inspire me.
    Amazingly, I found these sausages labeled as "Extra Hot Mexican Sausage." (raw) Bingo!  Next, I found beef shank still attached to its marrow! Bingo! Bingo!  This two meats will spend some quality time with my beloved dutch oven pot.  One pot wonder!

Prior to simmering for 2.5hrs.

Ingredients:
3 Sausages (decased) of your choice
1 beef shank with marrow (about 1 large steak size)
5 pieces of dried serrano peppers
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 spanish onion, roughly chopped
1 chicken bouillon
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cup of can tomato with juices
2 potatoes, peeled & chunked
paprika, salt & pepper, chili powder

Prepare beef shank: Pat dry beef, salt & pepper both sides.  Spinkle paprika & chili powder on both sides.  Next, lightly apply all purpose flour on both sides.  This will crisp and brown beef easily.  Set aside.

Directions:
1.  Medium to high heat, brown sausages, cook out most of its juices. I added paprika to meat to cook with.  Your choice to do the same or not. (approx. 5mins) Take it out and set aside.
2.  Sauted onion and garlic with 5 dried serrano peppers. (approx. 5mins)  Take it out and set aside.
3.  In the same pot, brown beef shank with marrow, 2 mins each side.  Take it out and set aside.
4.  By now, your pot should be burnt at the bottom.  Still on medium-high heat, de-glaze pot with red wine, a splash of worcestershire sauce, & chicken bouillon.  Be sure to scrap all the goodness from the bottom of pot.
5.  Once all brown bits from pot has been scraped off, sauce stirred, add your ingredients previously cooked back into same pot, add your potatoes  & 1 1/2 cup of can tomato with juices.
6.  Add stock or water to barely cover ingredients.  I added about 1/4cup of water.  Just to give you an idea.  I also added one stick of celery to stock just because I had it.
7.  Add a dash of paprika, chili powder, salt and pepper for good measure.  Once sauce comes to a simmer, turn heat down to low, cover pot and simmer for 2.5hours.

If you want to enjoy this dish at its best, eat it the next day!  The potatoes overnight will thicken the sauce naturally.  Its great with pasta or rice.  Mr. ate 3 plates of this in one sitting. :D

Bolognese Sauce

I truly admire Italian food.  Their complexity of favours made up of a few simple ingredients.  Of course, time plays a major role. It was the episode where Anthony Bourdain travels to Maples, Italy that made me really appreciate true Italian food.  Italians care about their food! They care for their tomatoes! Their wide variety of pasta! Their local ingredients!  They pride themselves in their simple tomato sauce, homemade mozzarella cheese, fine extra olive oil, sprinkle of backyard grown basil, > woodbaked pizza.  Oh, just a note, they don't have pre-grated parmesan cheese that come in plastic bottles ready to spinkle over dishes! True Italians use the freshest of the freshest ingredients.  That's why, as simple as their dish can be, its also quite complex in favour.

So this weekend, with company over, I shall make Italian Bolognese Sauce served overtop of gluten free pasta.  A trip to our locate grocery, a few simple ingredients, a well used, well loved dutch oven pot sitting nicely on the stove, I will attempt to bring Italy to our home.  This recipe is adapted from Chuck William's "William Sonoma - Cooking at Home" with a few twist of my own.

Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
60g of smoked pancetta, diced
1/2 large yellow onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk all diced finely
1 pound of lean ground beef, 1/2 pound of ground veal
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cup milk
1/8 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg
1 can of top grade Italian plum tomatoes with juice (450g) (I used a bit more tomatoes than 450g since I did add more meat than original recipe)
Salt

Directions:
Over medium heat in a dutch oven pot, heat up olive oil, butter, garlic.  Add in pancetta 1 min later.  Once pancetta renders off some fat, add in onion, carrot and celery and saute until soften.
Next, add beef and veal. Break up meat in pot, stir, mix just until meat is no longer pink.  Do not allow meat to brown or harden.
Add in wine and simmer until it evaporates.  Then add in 3/4cup of milk and nutmeg.  Simmer until the milk is absorbed.
Add can of tomatoes with juice, salt.  Break up tomatoes, stir.  Bring sauce to simmer then turn heat to very low, cover pot and let it simmer for 4hrs.  Stirring occasionally.
In the last 45mins, stir in the remaining milk in 3 additions, to allow the sauce to absorb the milk.
Simmer for another 20mins for extra measure.  Serve over your favourite pasta :D..

Veggies & Meat simmered in milk & wine prior to tomatoes.

Magic happens 4hrs later. :D yumsss.. though I think it was longer than 4hrs .. for good measure :D