Bowl of Braised Beef Antique
(click to enlarge)

Beef, Braised in Antique Style


Spain - Aragon   -   Estofado de Vaca Aragonés
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 3 main
***
3 hrs
Yes		 This is a recipe little changed from the earliest Medieval cookbooks. It makes use of aromatic spices popular in Medieval times Serve with rice or boiled potatoes (not Medievally authentic).




2
2
1/2
1/4
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5
1-1/2
1-1/2
1
1
1/4
1/8
1/8
1/8
1
1
------
1-1/2
1/2
1/2
1
------
1
1
#
cl
t
t
---
oz
oz
T
T
T
t
t
t
t


---
T
c
c
t
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T

Beef (1)
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
-- Flavorings
Onion
Bacon, smoked
Capers
Parsley
Pine Nuts
Salt
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Ginger, ground
Clove
Bay Leaf
-- Stew
Olive Oil
Stock (2)
Wine, White
Wine Vinegar
-- Garnish
Parsley - and/or
Egg, hard boiled

While this recipe uses Medieval spices, for a truly Medieval effect you'd want to use a lot more - those who could afford spices used a heavy hand to show off their wealth, but you might find that inedible.

Prep   -   (45 min)
  1. Cut BEEF into the size chunks appropriate for how you will be serving it. 1-1/2 inch or so is usually good.
  2. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Mix with Salt and Pepper and pound to paste in a mortar (the salt and pepper will help mash the garlic).
  3. Massage the paste into the BEEF very thoroughly - yes, I said "massage", not mix.
  4. Chop ONION fine.
  5. Chop BACON fine.
  6. Set CAPERS soaking in cold water to cover to reduce salt.
  7. Chop PARSLEY fine. Mix with Pine Nuts and Salt and pound to paste in a mortar.
  8. Grind CINNAMON and grate NUTMEG. Mix together with Ground Ginger, the Clove and Bay Leaf.
  9. For Garnish, chop PARSLEY and/or EGG as desired (I don't bother with egg, but then I'm not Spanish). Note that in Medieval timse Cilantro would likely have been used rather than Parsley.
Run   -   (2-1/4 hrs)
  1. Heat Olive Oil in a spacious sauté pan and fry Beef, tumbling frequently until lightly browned on all sides. Be very careful the fond that sticks to the pan doesn't burn.
  2. Stir in Bacon and fry stirring for a couple of minutes, then stir in Onion Mix.and continue to fry stirring until onions are softened.
  3. Stir in Spice mix, then Stock, Wine and Vinegar. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and simmer slowly until Beef is tender, 1-1/2 to 2 hours depending on cut.
  4. Drain Capers and stir in along with Pine Nut mix. Simmer a few more minutes. Check liquid and add more Stock if needed (the pine nuts will thicken the sauce somewhat - and see Note-3).
  5. Serve hot with Rice, Boiled Potatoes, or, for medieval authenticity, coarse bread.
NOTES:

  1. Beef:

      Weight is stewing beef trimmed of all excess fat, membranes and tendons. Shoulder clod is good, or round, but that takes longer simmering.

  2. Stock:

      The pattern recipe calls for Chicken broth, but Pork (the recipe is already tainted with bacon, so you don't have to worry about kosher) or Beef stock will work fine.

  3. Thickening:

      This recipe provides rather little sauce. If you want more you can do this Medievally by using more of a strong stock and thickening with some blanched almonds (raw) pounded to paste and added to the pine nut mix..
  4. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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