June - Green VegetablesCavolo Nero Slow Braised with Beef and Pancetta
Tony Southgate (below right) from Robert Channon Wines Singing Lake Cafe provided this hearty recipe - which serves four - to accompany the June Nude Food Calendar theme. Cavolo Nero Otherwise known as black cabbage or Tuscan kale, this vitamin and iron rich ‘super vegetable’ comes into its own after the first autumn frost and thrives during winter in Granite Belt kitchen gardens.
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Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1kg boneless rib of beef, cut in to chunks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Spanish onions, peeled and sliced
- 3 sticks of celery, cut in to fine slices
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 4 slices of pancetta, cut in to cubes
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole
- 3 bay leaves, preferably fresh
- 4 sprigs of rosemary
- 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 bottle of hearty red wine
For the Cavolo Nero:
- 1 bunch of cavolo nero, washed
- 80g parmesan, freshly grated
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
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Above: Ray Palmer - organic vegetable grower at Symara.
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Method
Heat the olive oil in a large casserole dish. Season. Brown meat in batches. As each batch becomes golden brown, remove and keep warm as you brown the rest. Don’t overcrowd the dish. Pour excess oil out and add onions, celery, carrot and pancetta and cook over low heat till vegetables are light-brown and soft. Add garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, tomatoes and wine and bring to boil.
Return meat to dish and turn heat to very low. Cover and cook for 2 ½ hours.
Transfer meat to serving dish, turn up heat and reduce sauce by a third and season.
To prepare the cavolo nero, blanch for five minutes then add olive oil, parmesan and garlic while still warm. Toss through and serve with the slow-cooked beef.
This recipe serves four and was adapted from ‘A Year in My Kitchen’ by Skye Gyngell by Tony Southgate (right)
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