Italian Style Meat & Potatoes

The term meat & potatoes is a very comforting term in many ways. It means getting back to the basics, whether it be food related or just things in general. For food, meat and potatoes means good, basic comfort foods, and is quite literally meat and potatoes. The world has many different versions of this too. We all need comforting and we all have those go-to foods that take us to those safe places we are looking for.

Larry, being a Kansas boy, is very much a meat & potatoes kind of guy, though he allows me to indulge in just about any culinary experience I choose to explore. Me, being the California girl, I get bored with just meat & potatoes. I need something with more flavor and more pizzazz. So I compromised and made an Italian version of meat & potatoes. It was the best of both worlds. 🙂

I started off with a combination of both my own marinara sauce mixed with a store-bought version and went from there.

Italian Meat & Potatoes

4 lbs brisket or London broil

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil

butter

2 celery ribs, diced small

2 carrots, diced small

1/2 onion, diced small

1 jar marianara sauce

3-4 tomatoes, diced

1 TBSP garlic

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp thyme

1/2 cup dry red wine

Cut the meat into strips and season with salt & pepper to taste. In a hot skillet or a Dutch oven, add the olive oil and a little butter to cook and brown the meat. When the meat is browned, remove it from the heat and set aside.

In the same pan, adding more olive oil and/or butter as needed, add the onions, carrots and celery and cook for about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Then add the tomatoes, garlic and herbs and continue to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Add the wine and the marinara sauce and mix together well. Then re-add the meat to the mixture cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer for about 3 hours or until the meat is tender. Stir frequently.

When the meat is tender and everything is cooked, serve it all over some creamy mashed potatoes. I also added some garlic and herb cheese bread and a smooth red Malbec to complete the meal. !Perfecto!

Who says the basics have to be boring? Liven them up a bit and make life more interesting. 🙂

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.