Croatian · main

Pašticada (Marinated Beef Braised in Prošek and Figs)

Pašticada (Marinated Beef Braised in Prošek and Figs) reads umami 6.6, richness 5.6 and sweetness 4.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Croatian main, about 29 hr 13 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 7.3 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 6.1 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 3.5 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.3 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.9 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.3 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.6 · Richness 5.6 · Sweetness 4.9 · Salinity 4.4 · Fruity 4.0 · Sourness 3.2 · Warm Spice 2.9 · Allium 2.8 · Funk & Ferment 2.1 · Bitterness 1.9 · Floral 1.8 · Herbaceous 1.6 · Earthy 1.5 · Smoke 1.4 · Nutty 1.1 · Citrus 1.0

What's in it (17)

• beef silverside — 1600 g
• pancetta — 120 g
• garlic — 18 g
• cloves — 300 g
• red wine — 750 g
• prošek — 250 g
• red wine vinaigrette — 100 g
• onions — 450 g
• carrots — 250 g
• celery — 120 g
• figs — 120 g
• prunes — 50 g
• tomato paste — 35 g
• olive oil — 55 g
• salt — 12 g
• rosemary — 2 g
• bay leaf — 1 g

Time & effort: about 29 hr 13 min (4 hr 53 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 64.1 kcal, 1 g protein, 2.3 g fat, 8.4 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (13 steps)

1. Pierce the beef all over with a thin knife and push a sliver of garlic, a lardon of pancetta or a clove into each hole. Larding the meat this way seasons it from the inside over the long cook, and it takes about 20 minutes.
2. Put it in a non-reactive dish with the vinegar, half the red wine, the rosemary and the bay, cover, and refrigerate 24 hours, turning it twice.
3. Lift the beef out and dry it thoroughly with a cloth. A wet surface will not brown, and a pašticada that has not browned tastes flat no matter how long you cook it. Keep the marinade.
4. Heat the olive oil in a heavy casserole over high heat and sear the beef on every surface for 12 minutes, until it is properly dark, not merely grey.
5. Take the meat out, drop the heat to medium and cook the onion, carrot and celery in the same fat for 15 minutes, until soft and browning at the edges.
6. Stir in the tomato paste and cook it 3 minutes, until it turns brick red and smells sweet rather than raw.
7. Return the beef with the strained marinade, the rest of the red wine, the prošek, the figs, the prunes and the salt. The dried fruit is what makes this dish itself: prošek and figs give the sauce a dark sweetness that no amount of sugar imitates.
8. Cover and braise at 150C for 3 hours 40 minutes, turning the meat twice, until a skewer meets no resistance anywhere.
9. Lift the beef onto a board and rest it 20 minutes.
10. Slice it across the grain about 1 cm thick. Cutting with the grain is the classic error and gives you stringy slices.
11. Blend the braising vegetables and fruit into the liquid until smooth.
12. Reduce the sauce over medium heat for 15 minutes, until it coats a spoon, then return the slices to warm through. Serve with njoki, homemade gnocchi, which is the traditional partner in Split.
13. Substitutions: topside in one piece can stand in for the beef silverside; dry-cured pork fat can stand in for the pancetta.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Paksiw Na Pata (Braised Pork Hocks) — Filipino
• Sauerbraten — German
• Asado Negro — Venezuelan
• Greek-Style Braised Short Ribs with Cinnamon and Tomato — Greek
• Kofta-Spiced Beef and Rice Stuffed Zucchini — Middle Eastern

Keep reading: what umami, richness, sweetness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.