My Beef Bollito recipe is a delightfully simple dish based on the original meal from Northern Italy. It is a dining experience, most definitely for winter and for carnivores.
Traditionally, Bollito is quite an elaborate affair. A dish of up to seven cuts of meat, which a whole array of sauces can accompany. They include salsa verde, an anchovy and tomato sauce, horseradish sauce, and various mustard sauces, including one with honey and one with candied fruits. (Bagnetto verde, bagnetto rosso, cren, salsa delle api and cougna).
Choice of Meat
Boiled meat does not sound that appetising, but if cooked well – it’s a tasty, easy meal using inexpensive ingredients. We are focusing on one or two cuts of meat for this recipe. Ideally, choose braising beef (brisket, silverside or shoulder). My preferred choice is brisket on the bone. If you want to mix it up, add oxtail or beef shank and a classic Italian sausage flavoured with fennel. Beef Bollito is the Italian answer to pot-au-feu.
The Beef Bollito Broth
Generally, the broth is reserved for cooking small pasta such as tortellini, which is served as the primo piatto. However, I like to add a few potatoes to the broth (towards the end of cooking) and serve them as a side dish instead. I also like to break tradition and serve the meat in a shallow bowl with broth and salsa verde. Whichever option you choose – it’s all delicious.
Method
Many recipes recommend adding the meat to the cold water and bringing it to a boil, which is correct for making a stock. However, for this dish, in my experience, you must add the meat to the already simmering/boiling water to seal the meat and keep it juicy. Skim off any scum to keep the broth beautifully clear. Also, do not add too much salt. This will toughen the meat. The broth has plenty of seasoning, so you don’t need to pre-season the beef. Trust me on this one. Wait until the meat is tender and season at the end or as you add the potatoes. Remember also – your sauces are salty.
Salsa Verde
The recipe below is a simple sauce – I don’t add the traditional cornichons or bread to the sauce. I also only add one egg yolk. I prefer the lighter – I guess more herby version. If you want to add bread, soak a slice (with crusts) in the vinegar before blending it with the rest of the ingredients. You could add a small chunk of cooled boiled potato instead of the bread to give the sauce a smoother, more velvety consistency. Many recipes use the whole hard-boiled egg – again, down to your preference, and it’s always tricky to know what to do with leftover hard-boiled egg white.
Because the original bollito involves so many cuts of meats and sauces, it is often eaten out rather than cooked at home. A winter treat in Piedmontese and Venetian restaurants. However, this paired-down recipe is a great party meal or Sunday lunch. If you want to offer more sauces, I would opt for a good quality honey mustard, the salsa verde and horseradish sauce.
I first spotted the recipe for Bollito in Valeria Necchio’s beautiful book Veneto, where she also features a recipe for beef rissoles – a popular recipe using the leftovers or ‘recupero’ from this dish. I have yet to have leftovers as it is also delicious cold, but I am itching to make her beef rissoles before the summer. I also took notes from the bible of Italian cuisine, Marcella Hazan’s The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Marcella prefered to use the leftovers in a beef salad. Perhaps we should make more so we can eventually get to the leftovers stage.😁
Beef Bollito
Equipment
- 1 Heavy-based casserole dish
Ingredients
Beef Bollito
- 1 K braising beef – ideally brisket on the bone you can also add the Italian sausage and one or two beef shin (marrow bones) or oxtail – this is optional and is in addition to the beef
- 2-3 carrots peeled and cut into 8cm chunks
- 1 large onion studded with 2 cloves
- 2 large celery sticks (with leaves) cut in half
- 2 tsp black pepper corns – or mixed peppers
- 1 tsp whole coriander seeds
- 1 large a handful of flat leaf parsely
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 clove garlic – whole but crushed with the blade of a knife no need to peel
- 3-4 medium potatoes cut into quarters optional
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Salsa Verde
- 120 ml olive oil
- 1 clove garlic – roughly chopped
- 1 large handful of flat-leaved parsley about 5 tbsp
- 1 small handful coriander leaves optional
- 6 anchovy filets – roughly chopped
- 2½ tbsp capers
- 80-100 ml white wine vinegar
- 1 hard-boiled egg yolk optional – you can also use the whole hard-boiled egg
- 1 slice crustless white bread or chunk of cooled boiled potato optional
Instructions
- Add all the bollito ingredients except the meat in a large, heavy-based casserole dish. Half fill with water and bring to a boil. When boiling, lower in the beef (and other meat if using). Bring back to a boil – top up with water to cover the meat. Reduce to a simmer.
- Skim off any scum and top up the water as and when necessary. The meat must remain submerged.
- If you are cooking the potatoes in the broth – add around 2¼ hours into the cooking. This is also a good time to check the broth for seasoning.
- It should take around 2½-3 hours and is ready when the meat is just tender enough to pull apart with a fork.
Salsa Verde
- While the meat is cooking – prepare the salsa verde in a mini chopper or food processor. Blitz all the ingredients until you have a creamy, smooth sauce. Start with half the vinegar and add more until you are happy with the taste. Don't overwork the sauce.
- I like the sauce 'herby', but you can either add a little boiled potato or a slice of crustless bread pre-soaked in the vinegar for a smoother, velvety texture.The egg yolk also adds to the velvety texture, but if you don't like the thought of throwing away the white – add that too. Many recipes do!
To Serve
- You can serve the broth separately as a primo piatto – either as a soup or as a base to cook pasta.
- I prefer to serve the meat in shallow bowls with the meat, vegetables and broth – seasoned with a generous spoonful of salsa verde. The potatoes as a side dish and a big green salad as the primo piatto.
- You can also serve it with honey mustard or horseradish.
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