Pašticada (Dalmatian Braised Beef in Sweet Wine Sauce)

Pašticada is a Dalmatian celebration dish, beef braised for hours in wine, prunes, and warm spices until fork-tender and deeply savory-sweet. It’s traditionally served over homemade gnocchi for weddings and holidays.

Ingredients

• 3 lb beef top round or chuck roast, pierced and stuffed with slivered garlic
• Salt and black pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 1 cup beef broth
• 6 pitted prunes
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tbsp sugar

For serving

• Homemade gnocchi or wide egg noodles

Instructions

1. Marinate the beef
   Season the beef with salt and pepper and let it marinate, covered, in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight with the vinegar.
2. Sear the meat
   Pat the beef dry, reserving the marinade, and sear in olive oil in a heavy pot until browned on all sides. Remove and set aside.
3. Build the base
   In the same pot, sauté the onion, carrots, and celery until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute more.
4. Braise
   Return the beef to the pot, add the reserved marinade, wine, broth, prunes, bay leaves, cloves, and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer, cover, and braise on low heat (or in a 325°F oven) for 3 to 3.5 hours, until the beef is very tender.
5. Reduce the sauce
   Remove the beef and let rest. Strain the braising liquid, discarding the solids, then simmer it in a saucepan with the sugar until slightly thickened.
6. Slice and serve
   Slice the beef against the grain, spoon the sauce generously over the top, and serve with gnocchi or noodles.

Pašticada tastes even better the next day, once the flavors have had time to settle.