Fricandò
Braised Beef with Carrots
This is a historical
recipe. This dish is said to have been
brought to France by Catherine de Medici's cooks when she married the
would-be-king of France, and was then brought back to Italy with
Napoleon. Indeed, I made a similar dish when I explored Florentine cuisine. It's a very basic braise, but absolutely delicious. I
enjoyed the technique of stuffing the beef with prosciutto and carrot,
though I couldn't actually taste it or notice it when I ate it.
The British Museum Cookbook's recipe called for top round. However, my supermarket messed up and sent me top blade instead - a much more marbled cut. It worked really well. I think any cut of meat suitable for braising should work.
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Braised Beef with Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 lbs top round roast or another cut for braising
- 3 slices of prosciutto
- 5 carrots, 1 julienned and 4 chopped
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 celery sticks, chopped
- 1 1/4 cups Marsala wine
- 2/3 cup veal, beef or chicken stock
- salt & pepper to taste
Directions
Cut three very deep incisions on the roast, lengthwise. Place one slice of prosciutto into each incision and then add the julienned carrots you can fit. Tie closed with kitchen string.
Melt the butter in a dutch oven or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and beef and saute, stirring frequently, until both meat and vegetables are lightly browned. Add the Marsala wine and stock, bring to a boil, cover, turn heat down to low and simmer for 2 hours.
Remove the meat from the pan and keep warm. Using an immersion blender, pure the vegetables. Alternatively, transfer them to a blender and pure or do so by hand using a potato masher. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Slice beef and spoon vegetable sauce on top.
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Adapted from a recipe in Michelle Berriedale-Johnson's The British Museum Cookbook
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