Inspired by the Lidia Bastianich’s latest book and Bill Buford i made this simple peposo .
More or less followed the Buford’s recipe and used a claypot (as suggested by another italian cooking maven – Nancy Harmon Jenkins – her recipe for peposo can be found here).
The braising took 11 hours but could easily go to 12. The temp was a bit tricky. It probably makes sense to start on 275F, letting the pot to come to the boil slowly on the stove before putting it into the oven. and then gradually lower the oven to about 250F. Though obviously it defeats the whole idea of "…put it into the oven at low-to-medium temperature (about 225°F), and don’t take it out until the next morning…" A possible solution to do as Buford does, and then in the morning to make appropriate adjustments.
I found that a bottle of wine for 3lb of meat (Lidia uses 4 cups for 2lb) is too much. I actually removed the lid for the last three hours or so. Next time will start with 2cups.
And the garlic – either leave it whole or mince very carefully – i was sloppy expecting the garlic bits to melt into braising liquid but they didn’t and looked quite unattractive. And if you’re using beef shanks try to get rid of all connective tissue – or at least fish it out before serving…
Interesting that the recipe brought famous Wolfert’s pork coddled in olive oil to mind, another tuscan dish btw. Same short list of ingredients – just pork instead of beef, and olive oil for red wine!
So it seems appropriate to serve peposo with beans – as Paula serves her pork and Lidia suggests for the beef as well.
So it seems appropriate to serve peposo with beans – as Paula serves her pork and Lidia suggests for the beef as well.
I used Rancho Gordo’s Rio Zape to keep the color scheme. And adapted Wolfert’s recipe for tuscan beans – couple of bay leaves, two garlic cloves, and quartered jalapeno (the latter is nothing to do with Paula). It took me about 3 hours as i kept the liquid barely simmering but the result was outstanding – the creamiest beans ever all of them staying intact.
To round the dinner there were some greens on the table and a nice cheese – Creama Kasa, rich and creamy but still tangy.
It’s really interesting to make peposo with tomatoes (see the Jenkins’s recipe above). I think they will bring a pleasant silkiness to the dish (remember that the meat used for peposo should be lean and there is no olive oil used)
