Peposo – Tuscan Red Wine Beef Stew

Peposo is a traditional Tuscan Beef Stew originating from Florence. It truly is the simplest stew you'll ever make yet it has so much flavour. Made with garlic, lots of black pepper and a whole bottle of red wine, good and solid served with creamy polenta.

Peposo is one of our favourite Tuscan dishes (ok, we know we have many favourites) but this recipe transports you straight to Florence.

It's so utterly simple that you can't go wrong.

We know what you're thinking, it's too simple?

But trust us, don't be tempted to throw in any herbs, veggies, chopped tomatoes or stock don't not until you've made this the traditional way at least once and you'll know exactly what we mean when we say it's solid the way it is!

What does it taste like?

There's one whole bottle of red wine in this stew (Chianti or Sangiovese) so it's so rich in flavour with a good spicy kick from the black pepper (hence the name Peposo).

It may seem like a lot of pepper but don't be put off, it mellows as it cooks in the red wine enough to give the stew some heat.

The meat is tender but not completely falling apart, it still has a little bite to it.

And because the beef isn't dusted in flour like a lot of other stews the sauce doesn't thicken the same as other beef stews you may be more familiar with.

Again, trust us it's still good this way and solid with creamy polenta or crusty bread.

How to make Peposo (Tuscan beef stew) – step by step

Heat the olive oil in a large pot, brown the beef on all sides for a minute or two (you might need to do this in batches so there is enough room) (photo 1).

Add the beef and juices back to the pot (if browning in batches) and add the red wine, garlic, salt and pepper (photo 2-4).

Cover the pot with a lid and simmer on a medium-low heat for 1.5 hours, uncover the pot and continue to simmer the stew for another 1.5 hours until the liquid has reduced slightly (photo 5-7).

Top tip: once the stew is uncovered check it every so often and give it a stir to make sure it doesn't stick or the meat at the top dries out.

The beef should be tender but not completely falling apart. Serve with creamy polenta and crusty bread (photo 8).

Serving suggestions

Traditionally this beef stew is eaten with some crusty bread but we often serve it with creamy polenta slow cook polenta (30 minutes rather than 5 minutes) so it's extra smooth and creamy, so good!

Other than creamy polenta grilled or baked polenta is also good served with this! Follow our recipe for baked polenta fries and cut the polenta into bigger slices instead.

You could also serve this stew with cannellini beans warmed up in a saucepan or roasted or mashed potatoes and lots of crusty bread!

Top tips for making this pepper beef stew

• The stew sauce is quite thin but that's how it should be but if you prefer a thicker sauce whisk 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 1-2 tsp of water then add it to the stew at the end of cooking to thicken.
• Traditionally this stew is cooked in a terracotta pot but we like to use a Dutch oven. You can use any large pot you have as long as it has a lid to cover it.
• Use any good stewing beef for this, traditionally beef shank is used, we use beef chuck cut into chunks.
• Use freshly ground black pepper don't use pre-ground pepper that you can buy at the supermarket because it doesn't taste the same.
• Whatever you do do not use cooking wine! Use Chianti or Sangiovese red or a good red wine that you would happily drink.

More Italian recipes you might like

• Pasta Al Forno (Baked Pasta)
• Italian Beef Ragu – A Classic Recipe
• Eggplant Parmigiana (Parmigiana di Melanzane)
• Walnut Sauce – Salsa di Noci
• Italian Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Shoulder

Ingredients

Makes 4 - 6 servings

• 2 lbs beef chuck (or shank or stewing beef (1 kg) cut into 1 inch cubes)
• 1 bottle red wine (Chianti or Sangiovese if possible)
• 6 whole garlic cloves (peeled)
• 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes or kosher salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot, brown the beef on all sides for a minute or two (you might need to do this in batches so there is enough room).

2. Add the beef and juices back to the pot (if browning in batches) and add the red wine, garlic, salt and pepper.

3. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer on a medium-low heat for 1.5 hours, uncover the pot and continue to simmer the stew for another 1.5 hours until the liquid has reduced slightly.

4. Top tip: once the stew is uncovered check it every so often and give it a stir to make sure it doesn't stick or the meat at the top dries out.

5. The beef should be tender but not completely falling apart. Serve with creamy polenta and crusty bread.

Kitchen notes

• The stew sauce is quite thin but that's how it should be, if you prefer a thicker sauce whisk 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 1-2 tsp of water then add it to the stew at the end of cooking to thicken.
• Traditionally this stew is cooked in a terracotta pot but we like to use a Dutch oven. You can use any large pot you have as long as it has a lid to cover it.
• Use any good stewing beef for this, traditionally beef shank is used, we use beef chuck cut into chunks.
• Use freshly ground black pepper don't use pre-ground pepper that you can buy at the supermarket because it doesn't taste as good.
• Whatever you do do not use cooking wine! Use Chianti or San Genovese red or a good red wine that you would happily drink.