Sunday Dinner: Italian Pot Roast with Polenta

I have to do a quick post to tell you about this. Last night I made a beef chuck roast braised in wine with tomatoes, and I put it on a bed of polenta. It was absolutely the best thing ever; in fact, I think if I had to choose a last meal right now, this would be it. The beef was falling-apart tender in the thick, rich-tasting sauce, and the polenta was buttery and creamy. Every single mouthful was a delight.

Thanks to Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes for the pot roast recipe. It's from Biba Caggiano, whose old HP cookbook called Northern Italian Cooking I've had since the 80s. I've made the Beef Braised in Barolo Wine out of that book for years; this new recipe is very similar—but even better! The HP book is out of print, but there's a newer one called Biba's Northern Italian Cooking that I imagine would be similar.

Elise had suggested pairing the pot roast with rice, mashed potatoes, or polenta. As it happened, I had bought some organic, stone-ground corn from the Moore's at farmers' market last week, so naturally that's what I went with.

If you're a meat eater, please try this meal as soon as possible.

Here's a link to Biba Caggiano's pot roast recipe, courtesy of Simply Recipes.

And here's one for the polenta. I got it from 1,000 Italian Recipes, by Michele Scicolone. It doesn't require the lengthy, constant stirring that some polenta recipes do, because you mix the cornmeal first with cold water, by which easy means you avoid the lumps that can appear when you pour it directly into boiling water.

Polenta
From 1,000 Italian Recipes

4 cups cold water
1 cup coarsely ground yellow corn meal, preferably stone-ground
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, bring 3 cups water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, salt, and remaining 1 cup water.

Pour the mixture into the boiling water and cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the polenta is thick and creamy, about 30 minutes. If the polenta becomes too thick, stir in a little more water.

Stir in the butter. Serve immediately, topped, if desired, with ragù of your choice (I suggest Italian pot roast!).