Red wine braised beef with soft polenta

Ingredients

For 1 serving

• Beef eye of round150 g
• Red wine120 ml
• Carrots60 g
• Celery40 g
• Onion60 g
• Polenta (cornmeal)60 g
• Extra virgin olive oil1 tablespoon
• Bay leavesto taste
• Clovesto taste
• Saltto taste

Contains: celery, sulphites,

In season: October – March

Method

1. Peel the carrot, string the celery and peel the onion, then roughly chop them into pieces of about 1 cm. Pat the beef dry with kitchen paper and season with salt.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based casserole over medium-high heat and brown the meat for 2 minutes per side, until well browned all over; add the vegetables and let them cook for 5 minutes, until they start to soften.
3. Pour in the red wine, add the bay leaf and cloves, bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook over low heat for about 2 hours 20 minutes, turning the meat every half hour and adding a little hot water if it gets dry, until the meat is very tender and a fork goes in effortlessly.
4. With about half an hour to go, bring the water for the polenta to the boil, salt it and pour in the polenta in a thin stream, whisking; cook over low heat, stirring often, for the time on the packet, until soft and creamy.
5. Lift out the meat, remove the bay leaf and cloves and blend the cooking juices and vegetables with a stick blender until smooth; if the sauce is too thin, reduce it for a few minutes over medium heat.
6. Slice the beef about 1 cm thick, cutting across the grain, and serve it on the polenta with the sauce spooned over.