Dalmatian Pašticada with Soft Potato Gnocchi

⏱ 270 min · Serves 6

The queen of Dalmatian cooking: beef larded with bacon and garlic, marinated overnight in red wine vinegar, then braised for hours with prunes, dried figs and Prošek until the sauce turns dark, glossy and faintly sweet. Served the only way it should be — with pillowy homemade potato gnocchi.

Per serving: 880 kcal · 63.0g protein · 78.0g carbs · 33.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg beef topside or silverside, in one piece
• 100 g smoked bacon or pancetta, cut into thin batons
• 4 garlic cloves, cut into slivers
• 200 ml red wine vinegar
• 2 bay leaves, 6 cloves, 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 celery stick, diced
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 300 ml dry red wine
• 100 ml Prošek (or sweet Marsala / port)
• 10 pitted prunes
• 4 dried figs, quartered
• 1 tbsp honey
• 500 ml beef stock
• 1 sprig rosemary, salt and black pepper
• For the gnocchi: 1 kg floury potatoes
• 250 g plain flour, plus extra
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp salt, pinch of nutmeg
• 50 g butter and grated Parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Pierce the beef all over with a thin knife and push in the bacon batons and garlic slivers (larding). Sit the beef in a bowl, pour over the vinegar plus enough water to almost cover, add bay, cloves and peppercorns. Cover and marinate in the fridge 8–12 hours, turning once.
2. Lift the beef out, pat very dry and season well. Discard the marinade. Heat the olive oil in a heavy casserole and brown the beef hard on all sides, 10 minutes. Set aside.
3. Add onion, carrot and celery to the pot and cook gently 10 minutes until soft and golden. Stir in the tomato purée and cook 2 minutes.
4. Pour in the red wine, scrape the base and let it bubble down by half. Add Prošek, prunes, figs, honey, rosemary and stock. Return the beef, cover and braise at 160°C / 320°F (or lowest simmer) for 3 hours, turning the meat every 45 minutes, until a fork slides in with no resistance.
5. Lift the beef onto a board and rest under foil. Fish out the rosemary and bay, then blend the sauce smooth with a stick blender (the fruit thickens it). Simmer to a glossy, coating consistency; season with salt, pepper and a splash more vinegar or honey to balance sweet and sharp.
6. Meanwhile make the gnocchi: boil the potatoes whole in their skins until tender, 30–35 minutes. Drain, peel while hot and rice them onto a tray. Cool 10 minutes.
7. Add flour, egg yolk, salt and nutmeg and knead lightly and briefly into a soft dough. Roll into 2 cm ropes, cut into pieces, roll over fork tines. Boil in salted water in batches — they're done 30 seconds after they float. Toss with butter.
8. Carve the beef into thick slices across the grain, warm them through in the sauce, and serve over the gnocchi with plenty of sauce and grated Parmesan.