Braised Beef with Red Wine Sauce

1. In a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven cook pancetta over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove pancetta and set aside. Reserve any drippings in pan. Add olive oil to pan. Add meat and brown on both sides in hot oil, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer meat to a plate; reserve drippings in pan.

2. Add carrots, onion, celery, sweet pepper, and garlic to pan. Cook and stir for 10 minutes or until light brown. Add the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer the wine for 1 minute. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, and oregano. Return beef to pot and add the bay leaf.

3. Cover the pan and reduce heat to low. Simmer about 1-1/2 hours or until the beef is tender. Remove beef from pan and let stand while preparing sauce. For sauce, simmer tomato mixture, uncovered, until mixture measures about 4-1/2 cups (about 12 minutes). Stir in cream. Serve beef with sauce. Sprinkle with pancetta. Makes 6 servings.