Sardinian meat stew with potatoes and onions

I saw this recipe mentioned on Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes, Ep. 2,
about 15 minutes in, posted recently in alt.binaries.multimedia.cooking.
It's a simple stew of wild boar (I used beef), potatoes and onions and
"mountain herbs" baked for an hour. I've made it a couple of times--it's
easy and very, very good.

Stein suggests it's an ancient recipe, made by the Roman Legionnaires.
It's simple enough for that to be credible, although since potatoes
originated in the Andes and did not arrive in Europe until 1565
(Wikipedia), some other starchy component must have been used classically.

The recipe: season and brown stew meat in large or small chunks. If using
the more flavorful but tougher cuts, braise for an hour in red wine to
tenderize, or possibly just marinate overnight. (On Stein's show, the meat
was placed raw into the stew pot, but browning or searing is an easy way
to kick up the flavor.)

Then prepare a Sardinian "mountain herb" mix. I couldn't tell what this
was, but I used an Italian sounding concoction of fresh basil and thyme,
dried oregano, black pepper, and ground rosemary and fennel seed. Use the
fresh herbs whole.

Next, film a casserole or other covered dish with olive oil, toss in half
a dozen unpeeled garlic cloves and some herbs and herb mix, and then
assemble layers of peeled and thickly sliced potatoes, meat and very
coarsely chopped onions, topped by more herbs and mix and a little salt.
I've used baking and boiling potatoes--either is fine. Continue building
layers of potatoes, onions, beef and herbs, but no more garlic.

Finally, pour the braising liquid, or marinade, or a bit of red wine over
the top. Not too much, just enough to moisten the dish, maybe half a cup.
Then drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil. Don't drizzle each layer or
the dish will be too oily.

Bake covered in a medium oven for about an hour. Let rest a few minutes in
the pot, then turn out onto a serving platter to mix the dish. Be gentle
with the potatoes which will be very soft.

The house will be filled with a wonderful, powerful aroma during the last
half of baking, but warn your diners about the garlic peels.

asd wrote on Wed, 22 Aug 2007 17:13:49 GMT:

a> I saw this recipe mentioned on Rick Stein's Mediterranean
a> Escapes, Ep. 2, about 15 minutes in, posted recently in
a> alt.binaries.multimedia.cooking. It's a simple stew of wild
a> boar (I used beef), potatoes and onions and "mountain herbs"
a> baked for an hour. I've made it a couple of times--it's easy
a> and very, very good.

a> Stein suggests it's an ancient recipe, made by the Roman
a> Legionnaires. It's simple enough for that to be credible,
a> although since potatoes originated in the Andes and did not
a> arrive in Europe until 1565 (Wikipedia), some other starchy
a> component must have been used classically.

It must have tasted quite different like a lot of Italian food
since the introduction of tomatoes (also from America) is
contemporary with the potato.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not