(Garlic Roast Beef)
My husband's Aunt Enza has played an important role in my life as a born-again Tuscan. We often dine at her home on Sundays for a traditional family lunch. The main course is usually what Enza calls magro, which can actually mean meatless but in Enza's lexicon signifies merely a lean or fatless choice cut of beef, sliced thin, lightly sauced with meat juices, and topped with golden brown cloves of garlic. Because Italian home cooks in cities rarely had ovens until the postwar period, meats were often cooked on top of the stove, as is Enza's. It's faster than oven-roasting and a perfect technique for people who love rare "roast" beef.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
In a small heavy Dutch oven just large enough to hold beef rub meat with pepper and drizzle with oil. Add bay leaf and garlic and let mixture stand, covered, 15 minutes.
Step 2
Discard bay leaf and brown beef with garlic over moderate to moderately high heat, turning it to brown evenly and regulating heat as necessary. When garlic is golden brown remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Continue browning meat on sides and ends until a meat thermometer registers 130° F. for medium rare meat, 20 to 25 minutes.
Step 3
Return reserved garlic to pan and remove from heal. Let beef mixture stand, covered, 20 minutes and add salt to pan juices. Serve meat, sliced thin, with salt, garlic, and pan juices.
