My ninety-third recipe with the Wednesday with Donna Hay group is Slow Cooked Beef Ragu, was chosen by Sarah, and is found in Donna Hay's recipes online here.
The ingredient list: beef brisket, olive oil, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, carrot, rosemary, red wine, beef stock, water, tomatoes, red wine vinegar, tomato paste, creamy polenta, and parmesan cheese.
We are deep into winter here, so any sort of slow cooked warm comforting meal is always appreciated, and the extra heat from the cooking devices over a long period of time is always appreciated as well. In summer I might not be so appreciative. That said, it would taste wonderful any time of year.
The meat business all came together easily and simply with easy-to-find ingredients (these cuts of meat are always on sale this time of year so that was also a good deal for right now). The meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender and nicely flavored by the vegetables and seasonings. I had never made polenta before so this was an novel experience for me. The recipe specified "instant polenta" but I could not find that so I went with just regular polenta (which is basically just cornmeal). I googled a link for making creamy polenta from scratch and used this one here. It took longer than instant polenta, but I think it worked out fine (and after all, when one cannot locate an ingredient, one has to go with the "next best").
The flavor of the meat, vegetables, broth over the creamy polenta was good thing...definitely a hit here and yes, I would make it again.
Wonder what the others thought? You can find that by clicking here. Next week is Gaye's choice, Dukkah Roasted Chicken with Couscous and Tahini Yogurt found in Donna Hay's Magazine, Dec/Jan 15. Join us and leave a link to your post at the new website on Wednesdays, no commitment required.