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–+ servings

Beef Bollito

An easy version of this wintery Northern Italian meal of boiled beef with aromatics, vegetables and herby salsa verde.
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Course: main course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: sharing, winter
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Servings:4 people
Author: The Wild Epicurean

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.