Tocco is a Ligurian term that means meat sauce, or ragù, and is an example of frugality: The meat is gently stewed. The resulting sauce is used to season pasta, rice, or polenta, while the meat serves as a second course with the vegetable of choice.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours,
Ingredients:
- 1 pound (500 g) rump roast from beef or steer
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves (1/4 teaspoon dried)
- 1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 3 tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 1 tablespoon flour, lightly toasted in a skillet
- 5 ladles hot broth
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation:
Cube the meat.Mince the garlic and rosemary, and sauté them in the butter until the garlic begins to color. Add the meat and cook, stirring, until it is browned. Then add the red wine, which is more tannic than the white, and then the tomatoes. Stir in the flour, reduce the flame, and simmer for about a half hour. Then add sufficient broth to cover the meat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer the meat until it is quite fork tender. Put the sauce through a strainer or food mill (or blend it), and use it to season pasta, rice polenta, or whatever you prefer, while the meat (with a little sauce) will work nicely as a stew, for a second course, with the vegetable of choice.
Couple of things: If you do this with polenta, serve the meat and the sauce together. Also, other recipes call for the piece of meat to be left whole, which will mean a longer simmering time.
A wine? Red, and I might go with a Chianti Classico even though it's not Ligurian.
