Polenta with Braised Beef
Seduction. It’s important whether you’re talking about the start of a meal, a song, or hey…even a new blog! This bad boy is a kickass appetizer but also versatile enough to serve as a main course (just serve polenta warm, don’t chill or cut into squares). The tunes for this one are a selection of songs that get me hooked right at the intro….just like this dish does . WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Hit PLAY and get COOKING!
Polenta with Braised Beef
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups instant polenta
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
1.5lb chuck roast, cut into 2” cubes
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
For the polenta:
* if serving as an entrée… make the braised beef first, omit spreading the polenta on the sheet pan, chilling, and cutting into squares
- Bring chicken or vegetable stock to a boil
- Add polenta to stock and whisk for 5 minutes until fully incorporated and take off heat
- Stir in butter and parmesan cheese
- Spread polenta onto a parchment lined sheet pan and refrigerate for at least an hour
- Once chilled, cut polenta into squares
For the beef:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat
- Season beef with salt and pepper and add to pot searing it on all sides, then remove it from the pot
- Add onion and garlic to the pot and cook for 5 minutes
- Add tomato paste and cook for a 1-2 minutes
- Add red wine and beef stock, deglaze the pot
- Add reserved beef back to the pot and throw in the herbs de Provence
- Cover, place in oven, and cook for 1.5 hours
- Remove beef from the pot, remove bay leaf, return pot to stove and reduce by half while you shred the beef, return shredded beef to the pot with the sauce
- Top polenta with shredded beef and get your eat on!
Photo credit: Mark Ward