This robust stew hails from the northern region of Val d'Aosta but is also common in France, where it is called carbonade. (In the rest of Italy, it goes but the name of carbonata.) To make carbonnade, lean stewing beef is cut into strips, dredged in flour, and browned in hot butter; onions are stirred in and browned, the shole is deglazed with a full-bodied red wine, and salt is stirred in. As the meat cooks and the sauce reduces, more wine and a generous amount of pepper are folded in; the end result is a rich, densely sauced stew best accompanied by steaming hot polenta.

kar-boh-NAHD] A French term for meat cooked over hot coals or directly over flames.

a casserole cooked in beer rather than water