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.
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Spezzatino di Manzo
Created by
The Italian grandmother's answer to beef stew: chunks of chuck braised with patient soffritto, good wine, and San Marzano tomatoes until the meat surrenders and the sauce becomes something worth sopping bread in.
Soups & Stews
Italian
Weeknight
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
30 min
Active Time
2 hr 30 min cook•3 hr total
Yield6 servings
Spezzatino means 'broken into pieces,' and that is exactly what you do. You take a piece of beef chuck, you cut it into chunks, and you braise it slowly until it becomes tender enough to cut with a spoon. Every Italian region has its version. Every family argues about theirs.
This is not French boeuf bourguignon with its refined technique and careful presentation. This is cucina casalinga, home cooking, the kind of dish that simmers on the back of the stove while you do other things. The house fills with the smell of braising meat. The children ask when dinner will be ready. The answer is always the same: when it is done.
Flavor in Italian dishes builds up from the bottom. The soffritto of onion, carrot, and celery is your foundation. The browning of the meat creates the next layer. The wine deglazes and adds depth. The tomatoes bring brightness. Time does the rest. You cannot rush this. You should not want to.
Spezzatino appears in Italian cookbooks dating to the late 19th century, though country cooks had been making versions of it for centuries longer. The dish reflects the practical wisdom of contadini who could not afford tender cuts: tougher, cheaper muscles become silken through slow braising. Each region claims its own version, from Tuscany's spezzatino with white wine and sage to the tomato-rich versions of the south.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
beef chuck
Quantity
2 1/2 pounds
cut into 2-inch pieces
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
1/4 cup
yellow onion
Quantity
1 medium
diced
carrot
Quantity
1 medium
peeled and diced
celery stalks
Quantity
2
diced
garlic cloves
Quantity
2
peeled and lightly crushed
dry red wine
Quantity
1 1/2 cups
San Marzano tomatoes
Quantity
1 can (14 ounces)
crushed by hand
tomato paste
Quantity
2 tablespoons
beef broth
Quantity
2 cups
warmed
fresh rosemary
Quantity
2 sprigs
bay leaves
Quantity
2
kosher salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| beef chuckcut into 2-inch pieces | 2 1/2 pounds |
| extra virgin olive oil | 1/4 cup |
| yellow oniondiced | 1 medium |
| carrotpeeled and diced | 1 medium |
| celery stalksdiced | 2 |
| garlic clovespeeled and lightly crushed | 2 |
| dry red wine | 1 1/2 cups |
| San Marzano tomatoescrushed by hand | 1 can (14 ounces) |
| tomato paste | 2 tablespoons |
| beef brothwarmed | 2 cups |
| fresh rosemary | 2 sprigs |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| kosher salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | 2 tablespoons |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 6-quart Dutch oven or braising pot with tight-fitting lid
- •Wooden spoon
- •Tongs for turning meat
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the meat
Remove the beef from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Cold meat does not brown properly. Pat each piece completely dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Moisture is the enemy of browning. If the meat is wet, it will steam instead of sear.
Choose beef chuck with visible marbling. The fat melts during braising and creates richness. Lean meat makes dry stew. This is not the place for expensive cuts. - 2
Brown the beef
Heat the olive oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Working in batches to avoid crowding, brown the beef pieces on all sides, turning every few minutes. Each piece should develop a deep mahogany crust. This takes 4 to 5 minutes per batch. Remove the browned meat to a plate. Do not skip this step. Do not rush it.
If you crowd the pan, the temperature drops and the meat releases liquid instead of browning. Two or three batches are not too many. The crust you build here is the foundation of your stew's flavor. - 3
Build the soffritto
Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the pot. There will be browned bits stuck to the bottom. This is good. Stir the vegetables, scraping up those bits as the vegetables release their moisture. Cook until the onion is soft and golden and the vegetables have melded together, about 12 minutes. Add the crushed garlic cloves and cook one minute more. The garlic perfumes the soffritto. It must not burn.
Flavor in Italian dishes builds up from the bottom. One can often trace the unsatisfying taste of would-be Italian dishes to the reluctance of cooks to execute the soffritto thoroughly. Give it time. - 4
Add wine and reduce
Pour in the red wine. It will sizzle and steam. Stir vigorously, scraping up any remaining browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the wine simmer until it reduces by half and you can no longer smell raw alcohol, about 5 minutes. The sauce should be syrupy.
- 5
Add tomatoes and broth
Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Pour in the warmed beef broth. The liquid should come about two-thirds of the way up the meat when you return it to the pot. Add the rosemary sprigs and bay leaves. Return all the browned beef and any accumulated juices to the pot. Stir gently to settle everything.
The broth must be warm. Adding cold liquid to hot meat toughens the exterior. This is basic science, but many cooks ignore it. - 6
Braise slowly
Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and reduce heat to the lowest setting. The surface should show only occasional lazy bubbles, not active boiling. Boiling toughens the meat. Braise for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, checking occasionally and stirring gently. The meat is done when it yields easily to a fork but still holds its shape.
You may braise this in a 300°F oven instead of the stovetop. The surrounding heat is more even. Either method works if you maintain that gentle simmer. - 7
Adjust and finish
Remove the rosemary stems, bay leaves, and garlic cloves. Taste the sauce. If it is too thin, remove the lid and simmer over medium heat until it thickens to coat a spoon. Adjust salt and pepper. The stew should be rich and deeply flavored, the meat tender, the sauce substantial but not thick like gravy.
- 8
Rest and serve
Let the stew rest off heat for 10 minutes. The flavors settle and the meat relaxes. Serve in warm bowls, scattered with chopped parsley. Accompany with polenta, crusty bread, or boiled potatoes. Nothing more is needed.
Chef Tips
- •Ask your butcher for beef chuck with good marbling, cut from the shoulder. The fat is not a flaw. It melts during braising and creates the velvety texture that defines proper spezzatino.
- •The garlic here is restrained. Two cloves, crushed and removed before serving. It perfumes the dish without overwhelming. If you want more garlic, you are making something else.
- •This stew improves overnight. Make it the day before you plan to serve it. The meat absorbs more sauce as it rests, and the flavors deepen considerably.
- •Serve with soft polenta, allowing the sauce to pool into it. Or serve with good bread for sopping. Pasta is not traditional here, though no Italian grandmother would criticize you for breaking the rules in your own kitchen.
Advance Preparation
- •The stew can be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated. It improves with time. Remove any solidified fat from the surface before reheating gently.
- •Spezzatino freezes well for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat slowly, adding a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 350g)
Calories
580 calories
Total Fat
35 g
Saturated Fat
11 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
22 g
Cholesterol
150 mg
Sodium
810 mg
Total Carbohydrates
9 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
50 g
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