Carbonade Valdostana

Ingredients

• 800 g beef shoulder, chuck, or brisket, sliced 5 mm thick across the grain
• 800 g onions, sliced
• 750 ml robust red wine, Donnas or Chambave preferred; one full bottle
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 whole cloves
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp fine salt
• ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 tbsp lard or neutral oil, lard preferred for browning
• For the polenta
• 200 g coarse yellow cornmeal
• 800 ml water
• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. 1
   Set a heavy cast-iron or enamelled pot over a medium-high flame. Melt the lard (or heat the oil) until shimmering. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, brown the beef slices briefly on each side. Remove and set aside. The surface of each slice should be mahogany, not grey.
2. 2
   Reduce the heat to medium. Add the sliced onions to the same pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to colour — 10 to 12 minutes. They need not be caramelised; they will complete their transformation during the braise.
3. 3
   Return the browned beef to the pot, layering it among the onions. Season with the salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Pour the entire bottle of red wine over the contents. The wine should come level with, or just cover, the meat and onions. This is where the dish lives or dies: too little wine and the stew scorches and stiffens; the full bottle is the measure, not a suggestion.
4. 4
   Bring the pot to a bare simmer — a few lazy bubbles at the surface — then cover, reduce the heat to its lowest setting, and braise undisturbed for a minimum of 2 hours, and up to 3. At the end, the onions will have entirely dissolved into the sauce, thickening it without flour or roux. Press a slice of beef with a spoon: it should yield without resistance.
5. 5
   Taste the sauce. Adjust salt. The gravy should be dark, glossy, and wine-stained — fruity, faintly sweet from the dissolved onions, and warmed through with cinnamon and clove. If it appears thin, remove the lid and raise the heat briefly to reduce, stirring gently.
6. 6
   For the polenta: bring the salted water to a rolling boil in a heavy saucepan. Pour in the cornmeal in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to low and stir frequently with a wooden spoon for 35 to 40 minutes, until the polenta pulls cleanly from the sides of the pan and holds its shape when a spoonful is dropped onto a plate.
7. 7
   Serve the carbonade over or alongside a generous mound of soft polenta. The stew is notably better the following day, reheated gently, as the spices and wine deepen overnight.