Dalmatian pašticada — the traditional Croatian beef stew with prunes and red wine

Pašticada, known as the “queen of Dalmatian dishes”, is the most festive stew of the Croatian Adriatic coast, with roots going back to the 15th century in Dubrovnik. As Wikipedia writes about Croatian cuisine, the meat — usually a single piece of beef — is pierced and stuffed with garlic, cloves, carrots and pancetta, marinated overnight in wine vinegar, then seared and braised slowly for hours with onion, celeriac, dried prunes, red wine and sweet prošek wine, until the sauce becomes silky and sweet-sour. It is traditionally served with homemade gnocchi or macaroni.

INGREDIENTS (6–8 servings)

• 1.5 kg beef in one piece (fricandeau or topside)
• 150 g dried pancetta
• 6–8 garlic cloves
• 2 large onions
• 2 carrots
• 1 small celeriac
• 1 parsley root (optional)
• 10 pitted dried prunes
• 3–4 cloves
• 1 glass (250 ml) red wine vinegar
• 1 bottle (750 ml) dry red wine
• 1 glass (250 ml) sweet wine (prošek or Tokaji)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 80 ml olive oil
• 1 bay leaf, 1 sprig of rosemary, a little thyme
• Salt and black pepper
• 500 g potato gnocchi, to serve

PREPARATION STEPS

1. Trim the fat from the meat. With a thin knife, open holes in the meat and fill them with garlic cloves and strips of pancetta. Place it in a deep dish, cover with the wine vinegar and half a bottle of red wine; add the bay leaf, rosemary, thyme and pepper. Cover and leave for 12–24 hours in the refrigerator, turning from time to time.
2. Take the meat out of the marinade and dry it with kitchen paper. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot and sear the meat on all sides until golden. Set aside.
3. In the same oil, fry the finely chopped onions, the carrots, celeriac and parsley cut into strips, until softened. Add the minced garlic and the remaining pancetta and fry for another 2 minutes.
4. Return the meat to the pot. Add the dried prunes, the cloves and the tomato paste dissolved in the remaining red wine. Pour in hot water to cover the meat.
5. Braise over low heat for 2.5–3 hours, adding hot water if it evaporates too much, until the meat is completely tender.
6. Take out the meat. Blend the braised vegetables (or pass them through a sieve) to obtain a smooth sauce; adjust with salt and pepper and add the sweet wine. Boil the sauce for another 5 minutes.
7. Cut the meat into thick slices, against the grain, and return the slices to the sauce for another 10 minutes.
8. Serve with boiled potato gnocchi, spooning the sauce over. Optionally sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

TIME AND SERVINGS

Marinating: 12–24 hours | Preparation: 30 minutes | Cooking: about 3 hours | Servings: 6–8