Beef stew with juniper berries

In her Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy, Domenica Marchetti helpfully has the recipes divided into the four seasons and I had long since earmarked this one to have sometime in winter. It gets a lot of flavor from a marinade that uses a full bottle of wine. It was delicious with beef, though she says it can also be used with boar or regular pork.

The recipe calls for 3-1/2 lbs of boneless chuck, trimmed and cut into 1-1/2" cubes. The cut I got was marked "local beef" at Whole Foods and was very tender for chuck. It was easy to cut into cubes though there were a couple of slabs of fat to remove. You put the meat cubes into a Dutch oven and throw in 1 small thinly sliced yellow onion, 1 peeled and coarsely chopped carrot, 1 large coarsely chopped rib of celery, 4 small sprigs of fresh rosemary, 6 fresh sage leaves, 2 fresh bay leaves (I used dried), 4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, 1 Tbl slightly bruised juniper berries, 1 tsp black peppercorns. Then you pour in the bottle of red wine (she says Chianti, I used a California blend), stir things around gently, cover and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours (I did 22).

To cook the stew, you extract the pieces of meat from the marinade and pat them dry. You strain the marinade into a bowl and throw away the solids, saving the liquid. You brown the meat in 2 Tbl of olive oil, about 5 min. Add more oil if necessary and saute 1 large or 2 medium chopped yellow onions and 1 peeled and finely chopped carrot for another 5 min. Then add a paste made from 1 clove of garlic pressed through a garlic press and 1 tsp salt, cook for another minute or two. Return meat to pot, add a new sprig of rosemary and 1/2 tsp juniper berries, and pour in the reserved marinade liquid, adding water if needed to cover the ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

Since she recommended a saffron risotto as an accompaniment and I want to improve my risotto technique, that's what I fixed, though it's somewhat extravagant for a weekday meal. I did better this time, but it still needs some work. Following Marchetti's directions, I sauteed another chopped onion in butter and oil, sauteed the rice (carnaroli this time), and ladled in the broth a half-cup at a time. Halfway through I added in 1/2 tsp chopped saffron threads dissolved in a half-cup of the broth. She said 20 to 25 min. at medium heat, and I think this is too fast and too hot. I checked Marcella Hazan afterwards, and she says regulate the heat so that the rice cooks in 30 min. My problem is always that it cooks too fast, so I think I need to lower the heat. Also, Marchetti specified 3x liquid to rice but Marcella has 3-1/2x ratio. So a little more time, a little more liquid, and a little less heat next time! Added butter and parmesan at end, of course. A very nice meal with plenty of leftovers.