Carbonnade of Beef Fillet

In the old days in the Val d'Aosta, the harshness of mountain life was such that the peasants could only now and then include red meat in their diet. Oxen were precious working companions and were slaughtered only when they were too old to pull the plough, and then their meat would be preserved in salt in barrels and consumed very sparingly. That is how the Valdostan carbonade was born -- out of the needs of poor people. Today the dish is cooked in the traditional manner with a red wine sauce, but a beef fillet is more often used.