Tuscan Braised Beef with Garlic Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes

Beef chuck roast in a rich wine broth with mushrooms, onions, garlic, red bell pepper, and tomatoes, braised low and slow until falling-apart tender and served over garlic mascarpone mashed potatoes.

This is one of those comforting dishes that will warm you from the inside out even on the coldest nights.

Braised Chuck Roast with Vegetables and Mashed Potatoes

This is exactly the kind of thing I want to eat for dinner from about October until May. Never quite willing to let go of the flavors of fresh summer produce, I also crave long-roasted dishes that feel comforting and cozy.

On those nights, braising meat in the oven is a beautiful thing. Braising generally involves a long, slow cooking time in just the right amount of liquid to tenderize the meat and create a thick, rich sauce. Plus, braising turns cheaper cuts of meat into falling-apart-intensly-flavorful forkfuls of pure comfort.

The characteristics of a cut of meat that makes it perfect for braising are the same characteristics that make it less suited to high-heat, quick cooking methods like searing.

Braised dishes, which requires low heat and slow cooking, transform tough cuts of meat into tender, falling-apart meat and sauces that have had time to reduce until they are thick and flavorful.

If you're going to braise beef, chuck roast is where it's at. It's inexpensive, marbled with fat (which prevents it from drying out), and richly flavorful. When you see a recipe for braised short ribs or brisket but don't want to spend money on short ribs or brisket - chuck roast is your best friend. It's not only less pricy, but sometimes tastes even better.

Braising Beef Creates a Rich, Flavorful Sauce While The Roast Cooks

Start by cutting larger portions of chuck roast into eight ½-lb pieces, sprinkling the meat with salt and pepper and then dredging them in flour.

Cutting the meat into smaller portions will help ensure that they are tender in about 3 hours. The flour not only gives the meat a nice crust, it will help to thicken the broth as the meat cooks.

Sear the meat in hot oil until you have a nice golden crust on each steak. This creates flavor compounds that will deepen the flavor of the broth while the meat cooks.

Set the meat aside for a moment while you cook onions, mushrooms, and red peppers in butter with some garlic, crushed red pepper and Italian seasoning.

Add some dry white wine and let it reduce until almost all the liquid has evaporated. This ensures that the alcohol in the wine will evaporate, leaving only the flavor of the wine behind, which contributes acidity and sweetness to the broth.

Then, add some chicken stock, diced tomatoes, and Worcestershire sauce before returning the steaks to the pan, nestling them down into the sauce along with a few sprigs of fresh rosemary sprigs and a couple of bay leaves.

Bring it to a boil on the stovetop, then let the whole thing roast in the oven for a few hours until the meat is very, very tender.

Serve Braised Beef Over Garlic Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes

Normally, I like to make mashed potatoes with cream cheese. However, a while back I got to cook for a yoga retreat in Tuscany. One night I made a gigantic pot of mashed potatoes for a dinner party with roasted garlic and mascarpone cheese (because that's what we had on hand) and, that's how I make mashed potatoes now. Because ... YUM.

If you can't find mascarpone, cream cheese is also delicious as long as you use half the amount. Cream cheese has a much stronger flavor than mascarpone, so use 4 oz plus a bit of butter instead of 8 oz of mascarpone.

How to Make Garlic Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes

Making these delicious potatoes is simple.

1. Begin by peeling a few pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes and cut them into 2 or 3 inch chunks. You can also use russet potatoes if you like, but the rich, buttery flavor of Yukon Golds makes these mashed potatoes extra creamy.
2. Add the potatoes to a pan of cold water that's been seasoned with a whole tablespoon of salt. The saltiness of the water will help season the potatoes from the inside out, creating more flavorful potatoes than if you add all the salt at the end.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, roughly chop some garlic and add it to a small saucepan along with ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil.
4. Bring the oil to a simmer, then let it cook over low heat until it's golden brown and super tender. Add some whole milk, bring it back to a boil, then cover and keep warm.
5. When the potatoes are cooked through, drain them and add them to a bowl of a stand mixer with some mascarpone cheese. The heat from the potatoes will start to melt the cheese.
6. Add the warm garlic and milk and use the paddle attachment to mash the potatoes on low speed. (You can also use a potato masher if you prefer.)
7. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you like then do your best to not eat the entire bowl before the beef is done roasting.

Pro Tip! When making mashed potatoes, it's important to start the potatoes in cold water before bringing the water to a boil to ensure that the potatoes cook evenly.

When you add potatoes to already boiling water, the outside of the potatoes cook faster than the inside. This creates a situation in which the outside of the chunks of the potatoes are overcooked by the time the inside is soft and tender.

How To Serve Tuscan Braised Beef with Garlic Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes

When the beef is finished cooking, gently stir in a handful of chopped parsley and add more salt and pepper if you like.

Spoon some mashed potatoes on each plate and top with a chunk of beef and plenty of sauce. Then, just because you can, sprinkle on some grated parmesan cheese.

What to Serve with Tuscan Braised Beef

I love serving Tuscan Braised Beef and Garlic Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Cabbage. Not only is roasted cabbage just about one of the simplest vegetable dishes you can make, it's so good I've eaten it for dinner all on its own.

The secret is to roast it at high heat so that the center of each slice of cabbage is tender and the outside is brown and crispy.

Since the cabbage will need to roast at a different temperature than the meat, you can't really cook both dishes at the same time unless you have a double oven.

I'd suggest cooking the cabbage first, letting it roast while you prepare the Tuscan Beef for the oven. Then simply pop it back in the oven to reheat during the last 5 or 10 minutes of the beef cooking.

What To Do with Leftover Tuscan Braised Beef

If you happen to have any Tuscan Braised Beef left over, this Tuscan Beef Pot Pie is a delicious way to use it up! In fact, you might want to make extra just so you'll have enough leftovers to make it.

To make extra Tuscan Braised Beef, cook 6 pounds of chuck roast, increase the wine to 1 ¼ cup, the broth to 2 ½ cups, and the Worcestershire sauce to 2 tablespoons.

More homey, comforting recipes:

• Homemade Meatballs and Marinara
• Zuppa Toscana with Bacon, Sausage, Potatoes, and Cream
• Pasta Bolognese
• Rosemary Braised Steak Tips over Quinoa
• Slow Cooker Tri-Tip Steak with Fennel and Coriander Gravy
• Classic Meatloaf {with Sausage}

If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #alittleandalot on Instagram.

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