Greek cuisine · Dough, Pasta & Rice

Pastitsada Kerkyraiki

Corfiot braise: beef in tomato sauce with cinnamon, cloves and allspice served over thick bucatini.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 1 kg beef
• 500 g macaroni
• 3 onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 can chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 150 ml red wine
• 1 cinnamon stick and 4 cloves
• 1 tsp allspice
• 80 ml olive oil
• 100 g kefalotyri or parmesan
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Cut the beef into 4 cm cubes, pat dry and salt generously; cut the onions into fine strips and slice the garlic.
2. Heat half the olive oil until very hot in a heavy pot and sear the meat in batches on all sides for 8 min, until a dark crust forms; remove.
3. Add the remaining oil, gently sweat the onions and garlic over medium heat for 8 min, stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 min until it turns dark red.
4. Deglaze with the red wine, scraping up the browned bits, then add the tomatoes, cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice, pepper and 400 ml water, and return the meat to the pot.
5. Cover and braise over low heat for 100–110 min, then remove the lid and reduce the sauce, uncovered, for 15 min until it clings thickly to a spoon and the meat falls apart; remove the cinnamon stick and cloves.
6. Cook the macaroni in salted water until al dente, toss with some of the sauce on a platter, top with the meat and serve sprinkled with grated kefalotyri.