Polenta and braised beef

To make polenta and braised beef, start by marinating the meat, which must rest for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight. Dice the carrot, celery and onion (1). These vegetables should be plentiful, as they will form the base for the sauce used to dress both the polenta and the braised beef.

To prevent the cloves from ending up among the vegetables, with the risk of being passed through with them and making their flavour too pronounced, here are two useful tricks: if you have a tea infuser, place the cloves inside it (2) and leave the infuser to steep in the wine.

Alternatively, stick them into a larger piece of carrot. Once the marinating time is over, the larger piece of carrot will be easy to identify and you can easily remove the cloves.

Take a large bowl and place the meat in it (if you wish, you can tie it with kitchen string first). Arrange the garlic clove, rosemary sprig and bay leaves on top (3).

Then add the previously chopped vegetables (4), the cinnamon stick, if you enjoy its flavour, and the wine (5). If you intend to cook the braised beef in a slow cooker, 250 ml will be enough.

Leave the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight if you have time. Once the meat has marinated, set aside the rosemary sprig (6) and bay leaves. Remove the cloves and cinnamon stick.

Pass the rest of the marinade through a sieve (7) to separate the vegetables from the wine. Set both aside.

Take the meat and season it generously with salt on all sides. Season it with pepper as well. Heat the oil and butter in a heavy-based pot (8). Add the meat and brown it gently on all sides (9). This will take at least 5 minutes.

Once it has taken on colour, add the vegetables from the marinade (10) and sauté them over a low heat for a couple of minutes. Season them lightly with salt too, then turn the heat up to high and deglaze everything with the red wine from the marinade (11), waiting a couple of minutes for the alcohol to evaporate.

Then follow the cooking instructions below, depending on whether you are using the slow cooker (3.a) or the traditional pot (3.b).

Once the meat has been deglazed with the wine, turn off the heat and transfer everything – meat, vegetables and cooking juices – to the slow cooker. Arrange the bay leaves and rosemary sprig on top of the meat (12).

Cook the braised beef in the slow cooker for 11 hours on low (or for 5 hours on high), without ever opening the lid. At the end of cooking, turn off the slow cooker (13).

After deglazing the meat with the wine, reduce the heat to low again, add the reserved rosemary and bay leaves, and cover the pot with its lid.

Cook the braised beef for 2 and a half hours, turning the meat from time to time and checking, especially during the final half hour, that the cooking juices do not dry out too much. If necessary, loosen them with a ladleful of stock or, if unavailable, hot water.

Once the braised beef is cooked, remove the rosemary sprig and bay leaves (14). Remove the meat and keep it warm. Pass the cooking juices through a food mill (15).

If the sauce seems too watery, boil it on the hob for 5 minutes to thicken it (16).

To make the polenta, place a pot with 2 litres of water on the hob. When it comes to the boil, add salt and pour in the cornmeal in a steady stream, stirring immediately with a wooden spoon.

Add the oil straight away as well. Cook the polenta for 50 minutes/1 hour over a low heat, stirring continuously (17). The polenta is ready when it comes away cleanly from the sides.

Meanwhile, slice the braised beef. When the polenta is ready, immediately pour it onto a wooden board or divide it directly among individual plates, garnishing it with slices of braised beef and some of its sauce (18).

Serve the polenta and braised beef immediately, as a main dish or a substantial second course.