Garofolato
This long-braised meat dish, rich in cloves (called chiodi di garofano in Italian), is among Rome’s many disappearing dishes. Once a staple, garofolato is now served in only a few institutions. I visited one of them, Checchino dal 1887 in Testaccio, when I was covering Rome’s vanishing classics for Saveur magazine. Chef Elio Mariani told me it was once a staple among noble servants, who would pinch a few spices from their noble bosses to enrich their beefy stews. Unlikely, considering most Roman peasants ate close to no meat until the mid-twentieth century, a fact that places this recipe firmly in middle-class territory.
11 ingredients
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 3 hrs 40 mins
Garofolato
Ingredients (11)
Ingredients (11)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 250 °F.
Season the beef (2 lb) all over with salt and pepper.
Heat a large, oven-safe Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the meat to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the meat to a plate and return the pan to medium-low heat.
Heat the olive oil (2 Tbsp) until shimmering, then add the garlic (1 clove), celery (1 stalk), carrot (1), and onion (½ medium) and cook, stirring, until very soft and caramelized, 25 to 30 minutes.
Pour in the wine (1 cup) and cook, scraping the bottom of the pot, until the liquid reduces by half, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes (14 oz) and cloves (10 whole), season with salt and pepper, and bring the sauce to a simmer.
Return the meat to the pot. Remove from the heat, cover the pot, and transfer to the oven, turning every 45 minutes until the beef is very tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
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