This Tuscan recipe has always intrigued me and when I found some recipes in my cooking magazines, I jumped at the chance and here is the Tuscan peposo, also called fornacina, or rather peposo all’imprunetina whose brand is registered with the Trademark and Patent Office of the Chamber of Commerce of Florence.
The recipe for PEPOSO originated in the 1400s when this dish was given to artisans and workers employed in the brick and ceramic kilns. It was cooked in earthenware pots with low-quality, often smelly meat, and therefore cooked with plenty of garlic, pepper, and a lot of wine to cover the amount (GOODBYE ROMANTICISM though, sigh sigh). Legend connects this dish also to the construction of Brunelleschi’s dome when perhaps due to a delay in the workers’ payment, they decided to go on strike for a few days. Upon their return to work after being paid, it was also necessary to use the beef stored during the strike days that probably started to …smell. Food could not be wasted, so it was cooked as mentioned above with lots of garlic, pepper, and wine!
Since then, Tuscan peposo has been cooked using poor cuts of meat with slow cooking that makes the meat tender and flavorful, making this recipe famous and known worldwide.
After the discovery of America, tomatoes arrived and have been used in Tuscan cooking since the 1800s. So… the peposo doesn’t have anything to do with it!!!
OK OK after research, cooking, photos, polenta, tastings…this meat recipe that I’ve prepared is a fake! Oh well…I’m not going to throw it out, forgive me and prepare the TUSCAN PEPOSO, peposo all’imprunetina, peposo alla fornacina (at this point, I don’t know how to correctly name this recipe) because it is delicious, aromatic just right, very tender, a true delight!
I also leave you the recipe for braised beef in red wine a recipe I often made in my trattoria IL TERZO CERCHIO here in Bologna, perfect for warming us during the winter…which will arrive sooner or later!!
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I have opened a channel of recipes open to everyone and free on WhatsApp with no notifications, and no sound, which you can join by clicking on the link here https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHbGIn9cDDig7Cw2x0F and every day you can read a sweet recipe and a savory one!
TUSCAN PEPOSO
On the blog, I have already prepared and published some Tuscan recipes and while waiting to gather them in a single post, I also suggest:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4/5
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
Ingredients for TUSCAN PEPOSO RECIPE
- 1.76 lbs beef chuck (muscle)
- 5.3 oz peeled tomatoes
- 2.1 cups red wine (type Chianti)
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- as needed vegetable broth
- 1/2 onion (chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 sprig rosemary
- as needed extra virgin olive oil
- as needed salt
Tools for TUSCAN PEPOSO RECIPE
#adv
- Knives
- Terracotta Pans
- Wok
Steps
1) For this recipe, I cut the beef chuck into chunks as if to make a stew, maybe mine are too small!
2) In a pan (I used the wok), I put a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and when it’s hot, I added the garlic cloves and the chopped half onion.
3) I sauté the mixture for a few minutes, then add the chunks of beef chuck, browning them for a few minutes to seal the juices of the meat.
4) I also added a sprig of rosemary, then I poured in the good quality red wine and about a ladle of broth (I used the ready-made one in brick).
5) I season with salt and cook covered at moderate heat for about 2 hours.
6) At this point in the cooking of the Tuscan peposo, I add about 1 heaping tablespoon of tomato paste and after stirring, continue to cook for about another 50/60 minutes, removing the lid at the end of cooking.
7) The sauce will clearly start to thicken, coating the cubes of beef chuck with this glossy fragrant sauce!
8) I was craving polenta (in Bologna today it’s raining and foggy on the hills) and I prepared it very quickly using the quick one and added it to the freshly made Tuscan meat dish… Enjoy your meal with TUSCAN PEPOSO!
Annalisa
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Annalisa says …
1) The Tuscan cuisine has very ancient recipes and, like most Italian regions, a rich and varied variety of sweet and savory preparations of great goodness!
2) I found several peposo recipes with small variations such as the addition of tomato paste instead of peeled tomatoes, aromatic herbs added like thyme, bay leaf, and rosemary, but clearly, red wine and black peppercorns cannot be missing.
However, reading the preparation registered and regulated at the Chamber of Commerce on Wikipedia, I realized that THE REAL PEPOSO all’imprunetina or alla fornacina has no kind of tomato at all, and this greatly confused me! In short, call it whatever you want and I apologize to the Tuscans, but prepare it because the dish is delicious!
There is also a variant called peposo alla viareggina, where the calf’s or pig’s trotter is cooked along with peppercorns taken from the salami.
3) I decided to serve it with a soft polenta that would soak up the sauce, and I believe it completes and balances the taste… Thank you all for stopping by my blog! Annalisa
P.S. You can find information and curiosities in this article but also in this other write-up on peposo and also on this website.
