Pašticada (Croatian Beef Stew) is a traditional Croatian recipe for a classic beef dish served with gravy and flour gnocchi. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Croatian version of: Croatian Beef Stew (Pašticada).
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This pašticada recipe is the holy grail of Dalmatian Croatian cooking. In Dalmatia, this stewed beef dish is prepared with a very special sauce.
Ingredients:
2kg beef, eg topside, silverside or rump (a cut from the rear quarter of the cow)
20g smoked bacon
200g onions
150g parsley root
150g carrots
50g celeriac
2 garlic cloves
20g tomato purée
200ml cooking oil or olive oil
cider vinegar
10g cloves, minced
10 prunes, diced
6 dried figs
2 apples, peeled and quartered
300ml red wine
2 tbsp mustard
3 bay leaves
Small bunch of thyme
Rosemary leaves
Cooking chocolate (75% cocoa)
Salt and freshly-ground black Pepper
For the Gnocchi:
2l of milk
1.2kg flour (type 550)
60g butter, cut into small dice
20g of freshly-grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
A few drops of olive oil
Method:
Wash and wipe the meat dry then insert the pieces of bacon in it using a knife. Salt, as desired, spread mustard over the meat and place it in the 'pajc' (a container where a mixture of the apple cider vinegar and oil is enough to cover the meat). Let it marinate like this for at least 5 hours (overnight, preferably).
The following day, brown the meat in hot oil (all sides). Remove it from the pan and quickly fry the chopped onion, garlic, and vegetables. Return the meat to the pan then pour in the red wine. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered for about 2 hours. If required, add small amounts of red wine mixed with water and touch of sugar (Dalmatian prošek works great as a replacement for this — you could use a ziplock bag) as the meat cooks — it needs to be completely tender so don't skimp on cooking time.
When the meat is tender, add the tomato purée, diced prunes, and figs along with the apple quarters.
At the end of cooking, stir in the bay leaf, rosemary, thyme & minced cloves. Add salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste. Taste it and if you want to add richness work in a little cooking chocolate. Balance the flavours with a bit of red wine and plums in order to get a sweet and sour taste to your liking.
Remove the meat, cut it into slices, and arrange on a heated plate. Purée the vegetables with roast the drippings and pour it over the meat.
Serve with gnocchi and a slice of lemon.
For the Gnocchi: Pour milk into a medium-sized container and let it boil, Add the nutmeg, salt, butter, and olive oil.
When the milk boils, remove it from the heat and gently mixing with a wooden spoon, work in the flour. When all the flour has been added, mix it well enough so that it all merges into a single substance similar to dough. After you achieve that, leave it for 3-4 hours to cool completely.
Remove the dough, divide it into two or three parts, shape each of them into a roll, and cut it into identically sized pieces.
Cook the gnocchi in boiling water for 12 minutes and serve as a side dish to pašticada
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