Peposo (Tuscan black pepper beef stew)

Tuscan beef stew braised in wine with black pepper

Origin: Impruneta, Tuscany, Italy

From the journey of Black Pepper.

Peposo is a medieval Tuscan dish with a specific and well-documented origin: it was the food of the fornaciai, the kiln workers of Impruneta, near Florence, who produced the terracotta tiles for Florence's famous buildings including Brunelleschi's dome of the Duomo (completed 1436). The workers would place clay pots of cheap beef cuts, wine, garlic, and enormous quantities of black pepper into the cooling mouths of their kilns at the end of the working day, and return in the morning to a slow-braised stew. Pepper was the preservation and flavour agent that made the dish distinctive, and the quantities used were substantial by any era's standards, because pepper remained expensive enough to be used as a signal of wealth in a dish that was otherwise made from the cheapest cuts. This is peasant food that wears its single luxury ingredient (pepper) with pride.

Ingredients

Main

  • 1.2 kg beef shin, chuck, or ox cheek, cut into large chunks (5 cm)

Spice

  • 2 tbsp black peppercorns, very coarsely cracked (not ground)

Aromatics

  • 1 whole head of garlic, cloves peeled and left whole
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Liquid

  • 750 ml full-bodied red wine (Chianti, Sangiovese, or similar)

Cooking

  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Seasoning

  • 1 tsp salt

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Place all ingredients (beef, cracked pepper, garlic cloves, wine, rosemary, olive oil, and salt) directly into a heavy oven-safe pot with a tight lid (a Dutch oven or clay pot is ideal). Stir to combine.
  2. Cover tightly and place in the oven for 3 hours, undisturbed. Do not open the lid during cooking.
  3. After 3 hours, uncover. The beef should be completely tender: falling apart when prodded with a spoon. The sauce should be deep red and reduced. If the sauce is still thin, place the pot (uncovered) back in the oven for 20–30 minutes to reduce.
  4. Break the beef into coarse shreds using two forks or a wooden spoon, mixing the garlic into the sauce (it will have softened to paste). Taste: the dominant flavour should be pepper, followed by wine and beef. Adjust salt.

Notes

Serve over grilled thick-cut Tuscan bread (bruschetta) or polenta. The pepper in peposo is not decoration: use the full amount. This dish is not delicate. It keeps and reheats beautifully for three days, improving each time.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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