Pašticada

Ingredients

Beef and larding

• 1.8 kgbeef topside or silverside in one piece (the cut called frikando)
• 80 gpancetta or smoked bacon, cut into thin strips
• 4garlic cloves, cut into slivers
• 6cloves
• 1 tbspcoarse salt

First marinade (vinegar)

• 300 mlred wine vinegar
• Water to cover
• 2bay leaves

Second marinade (wine)

• 500 mldry red wine (Plavac Mali or Babić)
• 150 mlprošek (Dalmatian sweet dessert wine)
• 1onion, sliced
• 2 sprigsrosemary

Braise

• 4 tbspolive oil
• 4onions, finely chopped
• 3carrots, chopped
• 2celery sticks, chopped
• 3 tbsptomato paste
• 10dried prunes, stoned
• 4dried figs, halved
• 2 tbspred wine vinegar
• 1 tbspDijon mustard
• 1 tspgrated nutmeg
• 500 mlbeef stock
• 3cloves, 1 small piece cassia, 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbspsugar, salt and pepper

To serve

• Njoki (potato gnocchi) for 6
• Grated Pag or Grana cheese

Directions

1. Pierce the beef all over with a thin knife and push in the pancetta strips, garlic slivers and whole cloves, then rub it with coarse salt. Larding is what keeps a lean cut moist through four hours of braising.
2. Put the beef in a non-reactive bowl, cover with the vinegar diluted with water and add the bay. Refrigerate 12–24 hours; the vinegar tenderises and gives pašticada its characteristic sour backbone.
3. Drain, discard the vinegar, pat dry and marinate a second time in the red wine, prošek, onion and rosemary for another 12–24 hours.
4. Lift the beef out, dry it thoroughly and reserve the wine marinade. Sear it in the olive oil in a heavy casserole over high heat, 3–4 minutes a side, until crusted and deep brown all over.
5. Remove the meat and cook the onions, carrots and celery in the same pot over medium heat for 15 minutes until soft and golden, then stir in the tomato paste and cook 3 minutes.
6. Return the beef, pour in the reserved wine marinade and let it bubble for 5 minutes, then add the stock, prunes, figs, spices, mustard, vinegar and sugar. The liquid should come two-thirds up the meat.
7. Cover and braise at 150°C (300°F), or on the lowest hob setting, for 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours, turning the meat every 45 minutes, until a skewer meets no resistance at all.
8. Lift the beef out and rest it. Remove the bay and cassia, then blend the sauce smooth with a stick blender and reduce it, uncovered, until it is thick, dark and glossy and coats a spoon heavily.
9. Balance the sauce: it must be sweet, sour and savoury all at once, so adjust with a little more prošek, vinegar or salt until no one element leads.
10. Slice the rested beef across the grain, about 1 cm thick, return the slices to the sauce for 10 minutes to warm, and serve over gnocchi with grated cheese.

Technique

• Pašticada is Dalmatian Sunday and wedding food, and it is genuinely a three-day dish: lard, marinate in vinegar, marinate in wine, braise slowly. Every shortcut is visible in the final sauce.
• Prošek is a Dalmatian dried-grape dessert wine, not prosecco. If you substitute, use a sweet Vin Santo or a Madeira, never a sparkling wine.
• The sauce is blended, not left rustic. A pašticada sauce should be smooth, dark and glossy, and the vegetables are there to become it.
• It improves overnight; many Dalmatian families cook it a day ahead and slice it cold before reheating in the sauce.

Substitutions

• Beef cheeks or shin can replace the topside and are more forgiving, though they cannot be larded and give a stickier, less classic result.
• No prošek or Vin Santo? Use 150 ml red wine with 1 tbsp of honey and a handful of extra prunes.

Variations

• Some households add a small glass of Maraschino from Zadar to the sauce at the end.
• Dubrovnik versions lean sweeter, with more prunes and figs; Split cooks keep more vinegar in the balance.

History

Dalmatian beef marinated and braised for a day in prošek and vinegar with prunes, served at weddings around Split and its hinterland.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pašticada?

Pašticada is a main from Croatia: dalmatian beef braised with prošek and prunes, served with gnocchi. Dalmatian beef marinated and braised for a day in prošek and vinegar with prunes, served at weddings around Split and its hinterland.

How long does Pašticada take to make?

Pašticada takes 45 min of preparation and 24–48 hr marinating plus 4 hr braising of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Pašticada?

Yes, within limits. Beef cheeks or shin can replace the topside and are more forgiving, though they cannot be larded and give a stickier, less classic result. No prošek or Vin Santo? Use 150 ml red wine with 1 tbsp of honey and a handful of extra prunes.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pašticada?

Balance the sauce: it must be sweet, sour and savoury all at once, so adjust with a little more prošek, vinegar or salt until no one element leads.