Countries › Croatia › Pašticada - braised beef

Pašticada - braised beef

Marinated beef is braised with red wine, sweet wine, root vegetables, dried fruit, herbs, and spices.

30 min

Prep

30 min

Cook

6

Serves

Ingredients

Other

lb. (about 1.5 kg.) beef, top round3 pieces

g. pancetta75 pieces

4-5 garlic cloves1 pieces

6-7 whole cloves1 pieces

2-3 sprigs of rosemary1 pieces

bottle (750 ml.) red wine1 pieces

(125 ml.) wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar0.5 cups

2-3 tbsp. (30-45 ml.) olive oil1 pieces

2-3 large onions (1 lb. total), sliced1 pieces

1/4-1/3 celeriac root (about 150-200 g.), peeled and cubed1 pieces

1-2 large parsnips, peeled and cubed1 pieces

(160 ml.) marinade0.667 cups

(125 ml.) sweet dessert wine - ideally Croatian Prošec, but I used Marsala0.5 cups

a handful (about 10 large) pitted prunes, divided1 pieces

4-6 dried figs, preferably Turkish1 pieces

tbsp. (30 g.) tomato paste or concentrate2 pieces

salt and pepper, to taste1 pieces

tsp. freshly grated nutmeg1 pieces

a tiny pinch of clove (optional)1 pieces

2-3 bay leaves1 pieces

a few rosemary sprigs, leaves1 pieces

a few thyme sprigs, leaves1 pieces

Method

Pat dry the beef.

Peel and slice each garlic clove into 2-3 segments.

Slice the pancetta into pieces the size of the garlic segments

Insert a knife into the meat at a 30-degree angle, making small pockets a few centimeters apart. Fill the incisions with garlic, pancetta slices, and cloves, alternating them.

Transfer the beef into a glass or ceramic pot. Pour in the wine vinegar or apple cider and wine. Add the rosemary sprigs and any remaining garlic.

Marinate overnight. As the marinade will likely not cover fully the beef, be sure to flip it once halfway.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. using a paper towel, pat dry the beef (don't discard the marinade). Transfer the beef to the pan and sear well on all sides, it will take between 10 to 15 minutes.

Lower heat to low-medium or high-low. Add the onions, celeriac root, and parsley to the pan arranging the vegetables around the meat. Season well with salt and pepper, as well as nutmeg. Simmer for about 40-45 minutes until a the onions are very soft. If the pan looks too dry, add a few splashes of water.

Add the dessert wine and marinade, as well as a half of prunes, figs, and tomato paste (concentrate). The sauce will only partially cover the meat, and that's fine. Cover and cook the meat on low for about 1.5 hours, until the beef is tender.

Remove the meat from the pot and place it on a cutting board. Cut it into 1.5 cm thick slices.

Using an immersion blender, purée the sauce until the desired consistency. Typically, it is quite smooth, but I left it slightly chunkier. Try and season more if necessary. Also, it is a good time to add more marinade or sweet wine, to balance out the acidity and sweetness.

Return the sauce to the pot. Arrange the sliced beef. Add the remaining prunes and few extra rosemary sprigs, as well as bay leaves. Also, while recipes did not call for that, I added a tiny pinch of ground clove; I just love its flavour - it's totally optional. If the sauce is too thick, and it does not require more marinade or sweet wine, you can thinner it up with some water.

Simmer for about 30 minutes. Try once again to see whether the sauce requires anything else i.e., more salt, dried prunes, rosemary, sweet wine or marinade.

Serve with gnocchi or pasta, ideally homemade and parsley, if desired. I serve with store-bought potato skillet gnocchi.