This homey one-pot meal is reminiscent of the stews you find in Tuscany and Umbria, which are loaded with vegetables, potatoes, and herbs. It’s a great choice if you’re looking for a dish to serve to a crowd; the succulent stew can simmer for a long time—the sauce just becomes richer and more intense—and it’s hard to believe you can get so much flavor from a relatively inexpensive piece of meat. Just be sure to use a Chianti that’s good enough to serve along with the meal.

　　

Ingredients

4 to 6 servings

　　1 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) beef brisket

　　1 (750 ml) bottle Chianti wine

　　4 tablespoons olive oil

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　4 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

　　3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

　　1 celery stalk, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

　　2 garlic cloves, peeled

　　1/4 cup kalamata olives, halved

　　6 ounces green beans, halved

　　4 medium red potatoes, quartered

　　2 sprigs fresh rosemary

　　2 fresh sage leaves

　　1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

　　4 cups (1 quart) low-sodium beef broth

　　

Step 1

Place the beef in a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish. Pour the wine over the meat and marinate in the refrigerator for 3 hours, turning once halfway through.

　　

Step 2

Remove the meat from the wine and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve the wine.

　　

Step 3

In a large Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Season the meat on all sides with salt and pepper. Add the meat to the pan and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the meat to a plate.

　　

Step 4

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the pancetta to the Dutch oven. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, olives, green beans, potatoes, rosemary, and sage. Cook for 3 minutes. Pour the reserved wine, tomatoes, and beef broth into the pan, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the meat to the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until the meat is very tender.

　　

Step 5

Remove the meat and the rosemary and sage from the stew. Put the meat on a cutting board and cut into quarters. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite-size pieces. Add the shredded meat to the stew and heat to warm through before serving, about 5 minutes.

　　Giada at Home by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2010 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.