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Simple & Delicious Braised Meat with Polenta

by Micaela Harrasser

Today I am sharing this easy and super delicious way to cook your meat. It’s also lighter than other approaches! The technique is called ‘braising’ and consists of cooking your meat first via dry heat – you just fry it to seal the juices and get that lovely dark color. Next, you cook it in a liquid – in this case a combination of red wine and stock. It’s so delicious!

If you like your veggies, you can add them in big chunks (otherwise they will melt) as I did. They will absorb all the flavors becoming simply sensational!

For the meat, make sure to choose a cut that is good for roasting – usually something not too lean nor too fatty.

You can pair the meat (and veggies) with polenta, as I show here, or with other sides! Good examples include rice, couscous, mashed potatoes or just a nice bread. You want to use something that soaks nicely the liquid! Enjoy!

[ratings]

Simple & Delicious Braised Meat with Polenta

Serves: 2x as main Prep Time: Cooking Time: Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

  • 400g good quality beef (not too lean)
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 small carrot
  • 1 small celery stick
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • 250ml red wine
  • 250ml water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • polenta
  • salt and pepper a generous pinch
  • butter a small piece

Instructions

  1. Using a pressure cooker (otherwise add 1h to the cooking time), sear the meat in hot oil on both sides until browned.
  2. Add the roughly chopped onion, carrot and celery and the wine.
  3. Cook on high heat until the alcohol has evaporated (i.e. you don’t smell it anymore).
  4. Add the vegetable cube stock, the water and the bay leaf.
  5. Close the pressure cooker and once it starts whistling cook for 1h (cook for 2h if using a slow cooker or normal pot).
  6. Remove the lid, take out the veggies and carve the meat into 1cm-thick slices.
  7. Place them back into the sauce and cook for an extra 30 min (also to reduce the sauce)
  8. During this time, prepare the polenta according to the packet’s instructions (usually add the polenta flour to boiling water and whisk until all incorporated).
  9. Once the polenta is ready, add a small piece of butter and cover with a lid. After 5 minutes, stir well the polenta one last time and plate.
  10. Add the meat and the sauce on top of both the meat and polenta, and enjoy!

Notes

Storage: it keeps in the fridge up to 3 days. You can also freeze it if you used fresh meat.

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