Peposo Toscano (Slow-Cooked Peppery Beef Stew from Tuscany)

This recipe, from my book Flavors of Tuscany (1998), comes from Dario Cecchini, the internationally famous butcher of Panzano, a village just off the highway through the heart of the Chianti country between Florence and Siena. It is meltingly tender and savory with the quantities of black pepper that season it. Simple but tasty (like most things on the Tuscan table), it was prepared, Dario said, by the masons who worked on Brunelleschi’s landmark dome for Santa Maria del Fiore, the great duomo of Florence. If that is true, they surely didn’t use tomatoes, which didn’t come into general use in Tuscany until the 19thcentury. (The dome was erected in 1436.) Others say the recipe comes from Impruneta, south of Florence on the Arno, a famous center for ceramic production. During the long nights of tending the kilns in which were fired the huge orci, jars for storing olive oil and grain, the workers would prepare the dish to stave off their hunger.

Whichever version of the story is correct (maybe all, maybe none), it’s the kind of simple, meaty dish you could expect from a bunch of guys, cooking together while they pursue their craft. It needs long, slow cooking in an oven or on the stovetop if necessary, but at their merest simmer. It’s best of all cooked in a wood-burning oven but few are the lucky people who possess such luxury. Traditionally, it’s served over crusts of slightly stale country-style bread to absorb the meat juices.

The peposo in the photo was served at the Trattoria da Giovanna, just outside Arezzo on the road to Ancona. There the cook makes it the very old-fashioned way, with no tomatoes. If you want to leave out the tomatoes, increase the wine to 1 cup./

This will make 4 to 6 servings.

  • 2 pounds lean beef stew meat, preferably from the shank, in pieces
  • 10 whole garlic cloves, peeled
  • At least 2 tablespoons freshly crushed (not ground) black pepper, or more if you wish
  • 1½ cups drained whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped.
  • ½ cup robust red wine, preferably Chianti
  • Sea salt to taste

Set the oven on 275ºF.

Combine all the ingredients except the salt in a heavy pot, terracotta or enameled cast iron preferably. Cover the pot and set it in the oven. (Alternatively, put it on the stovetop over very low heat, using a flame tamer.) Let cook for 10 to 12 hours, very, very gently, so that the liquid in the pot just barely simmers. If the liquid starts to cook away, add boilingwater (this is important) from time to time. At the end of the cooking time, the meat should have almost dissolved into a rich and creamy sauce. Toward the end, taste anhd add salt if you wish.

Serve immediately, over lightly toasted crusts of country-style bread if you wish. Plain steamed potatoes also make a nice accompaniment.

 

 

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    3 Comments

  • Reply Ralph April 27, 2019 at 10:38 pm

    Thanks for the recipe, Nancy. I will make that, with the tomatoes. Besides shank, chuck should work well?

    • Reply Nancy Harmon Jenkins April 28, 2019 at 2:35 am

      Yes, I think it would be okay, Ralph. But I do prefer the gelatinous texture that comes from shank. Try it and see–the sauce might not be as clingy to the meat if you use chuck, however. Let me know what happens.

  • Reply J. Scott Shipman August 14, 2022 at 4:31 pm

    Hi Ms Jenkins,

    Hope all is well with you and yours!

    I made this about six months ago, and it was a big hit; thank you!

    Tomorrow morning bright and early I plan to make again, this time using beef cheeks. The meat was on sale at White Oak Pastures and we purchased a few pounds—with this recipe in mind.

    I’ve assembled most of the ingredients for Spanish national dish, just waiting for the weather to cool a bit here in South Carolina.

    Best wishes,
    Scott Shipman

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