Saturday: First braise of the season

Woo hoo! The season for braises and roasts is starting. Color me happy.

Tonight I braised some brisket (well, Siedfleisch) which we ate with mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and a big green salad.

For the beef:
Brown a seasoned piece of brisket (~600g) well on both sides. Pull out the beef and add some peeled small onions (silver onions), a couple carrots cut into pieces about the same size as the onions, and 50-75g lardons. Brown for a bit, drain off the oil, add back the beef, a couple bay leaves, a bit of red wine, and enough chicken stock to come halfway up the beef. Cover the beef with a piece of parchment (leave room around the side for evaporation) and let simmer until the beef is for tender (a couple hours). Remove the beef and set aside. Remove the onions, carrots, and lardons and set aside. Reduce the sauce a bit, add some of the cooked carrots and puree with a stick blender. Adjust seasonings and add a bit more wine if it's needed. Thicken with potato starch and then serve over the sliced beef.

Wow, what excellent food. Great beef, well prepared (if I do say so myself!)... mmmm, happy.

Wine: Quinta op Coa 2005 Douro from our mixed box. This took a bit to open up, but ended up being quite enjoyable.