2 or 3 lbs. stewing beef, NOT cut in pieces
2 slices streaky bacon
1 tablespoon tomato conserve, diluted with a little broth
1 onion
2 sticks celery
1 carrot
Beef marrow if available
Meat stock
1 oz. butter, all cut small

"With the point of a sharp knife make several small holes in the piece of beef and into these stuff strips of streaky bacon; season with pepper, salt and nutmeg. Having prepared your piece of meat in this fashion, place it in a stewpan with about an ounce of butter, a little beef marrow if available, and the chopped vegetables and allow to brown slowly, turning the meat so that it browns on all sides; then add meat stock nearly to cover it. Cover the stewpan and cook over slow heat for 2 or 3 hours. When half cooked, add the tomato conserve diluted with some of the broth, and continue cooking till the meat^is tender, by which time the broth should be reduced in quantity and thickened. Serve in a dish, surrounded by the broth."

This recipe was taken from "Italian Cooking" by Dorothy Daly. It was published by Spring Books in Great Britain. For the complete copyright-free cookbook see www.archive.org. A variety of recipes can also be found on this website.......... The above recipe ("Manzo in umido") introduces the Meat section of Daly's cookbook. She writes: "The following pages give but a small selection from the numerous ways Italian cooks have of cooking beef, veal, mutton, pork, and the various edible entrails classed in English butchers' shops as 'offal'. To the casual visitor to the country, it might appear that no calf is allowed to grow to maturity, since 'vitello' (veal) makes so frequent an appearance on all menus, but living in the country one meets fairly frequently all the meats eaten in this country of ours, plus several unfamiliar to us, as, for example, young kid, which in taste greatly resembles lamb. Sucking pig and equally youthful lambs are delicacies to be met with in Italy, and, despite their over-richness, they are delicious. Recipes for these have not been given, however, since they are so rarely met with nowadays in England." Photo: Mary Melfi.

Back to main list