Pašticada is a famous Dalmatian dish which is typically made with beef. Traditionally, the meat is pierced and stuffed with veggies and pancetta, then marinated in a mixture of spices, red wine and vinegar, and finally slowly simmered in a sauce of mixed root veggies, aromatics, prunes and prosecco. Of course, me being me, I decided to simplify things a lot and skip certain steps. However, the final flavor of the dish with a mixture of sweet, savory, spicy and acid was excellent, so I highly recommend that you give this dish a chance, even in such a simplified form.
While this recipe is pretty time consuming and requires a bit of planning ahead, it produces a ton of food. The leftovers are even better when reheated and all the extras can also be frozen for future times.
INGREDIENTS:
(Yields 12 generous servings / 1.44 EUR per serving / 17.30 EUR for all)
For the meat and marinade:
2 whole boneless and skinless turkey breast fillets, about 1,5 kilos in total (10.00 EUR)
1 cup red wine (1.33 EUR)
1 cup red wine vinegar (0.27 EUR)
1 cup water (–)
2 tsp salt (0.01 EUR)
1 tsp garlic powder (0.07 EUR)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (0.07 EUR)
½ tsp red pepper flakes (0.03 EUR)
2 bay leaves (0.05 EUR)
For the sauce:
4 tbsp pork lard (0.05 EUR)
4 onions (0.40 EUR)
4 carrots (0.40 EUR)
½ small celeriac root (0.60 EUR)
½ cup finely diced pancetta (1.00 EUR)
6 garlic cloves (0.20 EUR)
Bunch on fresh parsley (0.13 EUR)
10 prunes (0.40 EUR)
4 tbsp sugar (0.03 EUR)
1 tsp salt (0.01 EUR)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (0.07 EUR)
½ tsp red pepper flakes (0.03 EUR)
½ tsp ground nutmeg (0.03 EUR)
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves (0.07 EUR)
2 bay leaves (0.05 EUR)
2 tbsp tomato paste (0.13 EUR)
1 cup tomato puree (0.27 EUR)
1 cup red wine (1.33 EUR)
3-4 cups veggie broth (0.27 EUR)
METHOD:
Prepare the meat 24-48 hours in advance. In a deep pot (which you will later use for cooking), mix together red wine, red wine vinegar, water, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, red pepper flakes and bay leaves until the salt is fully dissolved. Place the meat into the pot, making sure everything is fully submerged. Refrigerate the meat in the marinade for 24-48 hours (the longer, the better), making sure to turn the meat pieces over a few times throughout the process.
After the meat has sat in its marinade, discard all the liquids, rinse the pot and pat the meat dry. Add lard to your pot, place it on medium-high heat and sear the meat on all sides for a few minutes. Remove the seared meat from the pot and set aside. Meanwhile, wash, peel and finely dice all your veggies. You can totally chop everything up in a food processor to make life easier.
Once you’ve removed the seared meat from pot, add to the pot your chopped onions, carrots and celeriac. Cook the veggies for about 15-20 minutes to slightly caramelize. Once all of the excess water has evaporated, add in diced pancetta, stir and cook for about 5-10 minutes to crisp up slightly. Finally, add in chopped garlic and parsley stalks (reserve the leaves for later), stir and cook for a minute until fragrant. Add in prunes, sugar, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, rosemary, bay leaves, tomato paste, tomato puree and wine. Bring to a boil, then cook for a few minutes until all of the alcohol has evaporated. Then return the meat to the pot and add in enough broth until the meat is fully submerged. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer with a lid cracked open for about 3 hours.
While the meat is simmering, be sure to check on it every now and then, stirring as best you can and adding in a bit of liquid if needed. After three hours, turn off heat and carefully remove the meat from the sauce. Fish out and discard the bay leaves, then pulse the sauce until smooth with an immersion blender. If needed, add in more broth or water to thin the sauce out. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning. Slice the meat up (mine was so soft that it was falling apart), then return it to the sauce. Stir in the reserved parsley leaves.
Serve warm over a carb of your choice. Our favorites are gnocchi or cooked polenta.
Iako se pašticada tradicionalno radi sa junetinom koja se našpika povrćem i pancetom, ja ne bi bila ja da nisam odlučila stvari malo promijeniti i pojednostaviti. Konačno je rezultat svejedno ispao odličan i jako sam zadovoljna sa finalnim balansom slatkog, slanog, pikantnog i kiselog. Stoga vam definitivno preporučam da isprobate ovo jelo, čak i u ovako pojednostavljenoj verziji.
Iako će vam za pripremu i ove moje pašticade trebati dosta vremena i malo planiranja, na kraju ćete dobiti tonu hrane. Meni je sve bilo još puno ukusnije kada se podgrijalo, a dio sam čak i zamrznula i bilo je super kasnije.
SASTOJCI:
(Za 12 izdašnih porcija / 10,85 kn po porciji / 130,18 kn za sve)
Za meso i marinadu:
2 cijela komada purećih prsa bez kostiju i kuže, sve zajedno oko 1,5 kg (75,00 kn)
1 šalica crnog vina (10,00 kn)
1 šalica crvenog vinskog octa (2,50 kn)
1 šalica vode (–)
2 žličice soli (0,02 kn)
1 žličica češnjaka u prahu (0,50 kn)
1 žličica svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,50 kn)
½ žličice sušenog čilija u pahuljicama (0,25 kn)
2 lovorova lista (0,40 kn)
Za umak:
4 žlice svinjske masti (0,40 kn)
4 luka (3,00 kn)
4 mrkve (3,00 kn)
½ manjeg celera (4,50 kn)
½ šalice fino nasjeckane pancete (7,50 kn)
6 češnjeva češnjaka (1,50 kn)
Pregršt svježeg peršina (1,00 kn)
10 suhih šljiva (3,00 kn)
4 žlice šećera (0,20 kn)
1 žličica soli (0,01 kn)
1 žličica svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,50 kn)
½ žličice sušenog čilija u pahuljicama (0,25 kn)
½ žličice muškatnog oraščića (0,25 kn)
1 žličica sušenih listića ružmarina (0,50 kn)
2 lovorova lista (0,40 kn)
2 žlice koncentrata od rajčice (1,00 kn)
1 šalica pasirane rajčice (2,00 kn)
1 šalica crnog vina (10,00 kn)
3-4 šalice povrtnog temeljca (2,00 kn)
PRIPREMA:
Meso pripremite 24-48 sati unaprijed. U dubokom loncu (u kojem ćete poslije sve i kuhati) pomiješajte vino, ocat, vodu, sol, češnjak u prahu, papar, čili i lovor, tako da se sol skroz rastopi. Komade mesa stavite u lonac, s time da vodite računa o tome da sve bude skroz potopljeno. Meso u marinadi stavite u hladnjak na 24-48 sati (što duže, to bolje), a komade mesa s vremena na vrijeme i preokrenite.
Nakon što je meso odstajalo u marinadi, bacite svu tekućinu iz lonca, lonac malo isperite, a meso posušite kuhinjskim ručnikom. U loncu rastopite mast, pa meso zapecite na srednje jakoj vatri, po par minuta sa svih strana, samo da se na mesu napravi korica i pore se začepe. Kada ste ga zapekli sa svih strana, puretinu maknite iz lonca i stavite na stranu. U međuvremenu operite, ogulite i nasjeckajte sitno svo povrće, a možete si tu pomoći i sa multipraktikom.
Kada ste meso maknuli iz lonca, u lonac ubacite sjeckane luk, mrkve i celer. Povrće kuhajte jedno 15-20 minuta da se blago karamelizira. Kada je sva voda isparila iz povrća, ubacite u lonac sjeckanu pancetu, te i nju kuhajte jedno 5-10 minuta da se blago zahrska. Na posljetku, dodajte i sjeckani češnjak i stabljike peršina (lišće sačuvajte za kasnije), pa i njih kuhajte koju minutu da zamiriše. Dodajte u lonac šljive, šećer, sol, papar, čili, muškatni oraščić, ružmarin, lovor, koncentrat rajčice, pasiranu rajčicu i vino. Pustite da zavrije pa onda kuhajte par minuta da alkohol ispari. Vratite meso u lonac i sve podlijte sa dovoljno temeljca koliko treba da je puretina skroz potopljena. Pustite da sve zavrije, smanjite vatru i krčkajte sa odškrinutim poklopcem oko 3 sata.
S vremena na vrijeme bacite pogled na pašticadu i promiješajte koliko možete, a prema potrebi i podlijte sa još tekućine. Nakon tri sata maknite sve sa vatre i meso pažljivo izvadite iz umaka. Ispecajte lovorove listove, a umak propulsirajte sa blenderom da bude gladak. Po potrebi možete dodati još temeljca ili vode da umak malo razrijedite. Kušajte i prilagodite začine, a puretinu narežite i vratite u umak. Moja je bila toliko mekana da se počela raspadati. U sve to umiješajte lišće peršina koje ste bili sačuvali.
Pašticadu poslužite toplu, preko nekog ugljikohidrata po vašem izboru. Nama su top njoki ili kuhana palenta.
METHOD:
Crunch Crunch Away 