Chef Graziella
Acquacotta Maremmana
The humblest soup in Tuscany, born from the wild Maremma where shepherds and charcoal burners transformed water, onions, stale bread, and an egg into sustenance. Proof that poverty teaches better than plenty.
Culinary Explorer
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Peposo all'Imprunetese
Created by
Beef braised in a river of Chianti with a startling quantity of black pepper. The dish that Brunelleschi's workers ate while building the dome of Florence. Five ingredients. Five hours. Nothing else.
Soups & Stews
Italian, Tuscan
Make Ahead
Comfort Food
20 min
Active Time
5 hr cook•5 hr 20 min total
Yield6 servings
This is not a stew you cook. It is a stew you assemble and forget. Terracotta workers in Impruneta would place an earthenware pot beside the kiln at dawn, filled with nothing but beef, wine, garlic, and an amount of pepper that seems reckless until you taste the result. By evening, after hours in the residual heat of dying coals, they had dinner.
There is no browning, no fond, no soffritto. The method violates everything I usually teach about building flavor from the bottom. And yet it works, because the wine does the work that technique would otherwise accomplish. Two full bottles submerge the meat, and over five hours they reduce into something concentrated and magnificent.
The pepper is not optional, and the quantity is not negotiable. Three tablespoons of whole peppercorns sounds like a mistake. It is not. The long cooking softens their bite while preserving their warmth. What emerges is pepper transformed, no longer sharp but deep and almost sweet. The Florentines call this dish peposo for a reason. If you are timid about pepper, cook something else.
The workers who supplied terracotta tiles for Brunelleschi's dome of the Florence Cathedral in the 15th century are credited with inventing peposo. They placed their pots at the mouths of the kilns where temperatures hovered around 180 degrees Fahrenheit, the heat too gentle to boil but sufficient to braise meat over an entire workday. The dish has not changed since.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
beef shank
Quantity
3 pounds
cut into 3-inch pieces, bone-in
Chianti or dry Tuscan red wine
Quantity
2 bottles (1.5 liters)
whole black peppercorns
Quantity
3 tablespoons
garlic cloves
Quantity
12
peeled and left whole
whole cloves
Quantity
6
fresh sage
Quantity
4 sprigs
fresh rosemary
Quantity
2 sprigs
San Marzano tomatoes
Quantity
1 can (14 ounces)
crushed by hand
kosher salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| beef shankcut into 3-inch pieces, bone-in | 3 pounds |
| Chianti or dry Tuscan red wine | 2 bottles (1.5 liters) |
| whole black peppercorns | 3 tablespoons |
| garlic clovespeeled and left whole | 12 |
| whole cloves | 6 |
| fresh sage | 4 sprigs |
| fresh rosemary | 2 sprigs |
| San Marzano tomatoescrushed by hand | 1 can (14 ounces) |
| kosher salt | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy terracotta pot with lid, or 6-quart Dutch oven
- •Flour and water paste for sealing (if using terracotta)
Instructions
- 1
Assemble everything raw
Place the beef pieces in a heavy terracotta pot or Dutch oven. Add the whole peppercorns, garlic cloves, whole cloves, sage, and rosemary. Pour in the crushed tomatoes. There is no browning. There is no soffritto. You do not sauté anything. This is the entire method: everything goes in together, raw.
The absence of technique is the technique. Kilnworkers had no time to stand at stoves. They assembled the pot before dawn and left it to cook in dying heat while they labored. - 2
Add the wine
Pour in both bottles of wine. The meat should be completely submerged. If it is not, add more wine. Do not substitute broth. Do not add water. The wine is the cooking liquid, the sauce, and the soul of this dish. Sprinkle the salt over everything.
- 3
Begin the slow cooking
Cover the pot tightly. If using terracotta, seal the lid with a paste of flour and water to prevent steam from escaping. Place in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Walk away. The stew will cook for at least 5 hours, possibly 6. Do not open the pot to check. Do not stir.
Starting in a cold oven mimics the slow temperature decline of a cooling kiln. The meat relaxes into the wine without the shock of sudden heat. - 4
Test for doneness
After 5 hours, remove the lid. The meat should be deeply dark, nearly purple from the wine, and falling from the bone at the slightest touch of a fork. The liquid will have reduced by half or more, becoming thick and glossy. If the meat still resists, cover and return to the oven for another hour.
- 5
Adjust and serve
Taste the sauce. It should be intensely peppery, almost aggressive. This is correct. The pepper mellows as the dish rests but should remain assertive. Remove the herb sprigs. Serve in wide bowls with thick slices of unsalted Tuscan bread to soak up the dark, winey sauce. The peppercorns are meant to be eaten. They will be soft from the long cooking.
Chef Tips
- •Beef shank with the bone provides the richest sauce. The marrow dissolves into the wine, creating body that boneless cuts cannot match. Ask your butcher to cut the shanks crosswise into thick rounds.
- •Use a wine you would drink. This does not mean expensive, but it does mean honest Chianti or Sangiovese, not the industrial wine sold in jugs. You taste every shortcut in a dish this simple.
- •Authentic peposo contains no tomato. I include a small amount because it rounds the acidity of the wine, as many modern Tuscan cooks do. Purists may omit it. I will not argue.
- •The peppercorns must be whole. Ground pepper would become harsh and acrid over five hours. Whole peppercorns soften and become almost creamy. They are meant to be eaten with the meat.
- •Serve with unsalted Tuscan bread or, if unavailable, any crusty bread with minimal salt. The bread exists to transport the sauce from bowl to mouth.
Advance Preparation
- •Peposo improves dramatically after a night in the refrigerator. The flavors marry and deepen. Reheat gently, covered, in a 300-degree oven until warmed through.
- •The stew keeps refrigerated for up to five days. The fat will solidify on top and can be removed before reheating if desired.
- •Peposo freezes well for up to three months. The texture of the meat remains tender because it was already falling-apart soft before freezing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 220g)
Calories
285 calories
Total Fat
8 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
105 mg
Sodium
870 mg
Total Carbohydrates
7 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
40 g
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