Pastitsada (beef In Tomato Sauce From Corfu)

Total Time: 3 hrs 40 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 3 lbs boneless veal shoulder, in one piece,rolled and tied (or beef)
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick (about 3 inches long)
• 5 allspice berries
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup dry red wine or 1 cup wine
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 2 (1 1/2 lb) cans whole tomatoes, drained
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 pinch cayenne
• 1 lb ziti pasta or 1 lb penne
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 ounces grated parmesan cheese
• 2 ounces grated pecorino romano cheese

Recipe

• 1 heat oven to 300 degrees f.
• 2 rub veal with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper.
• 3 make shallow incisions all over meat and insert thin slices of garlic, using about half.
• 4 heat 3 tblsps olive oil over medium-high heat until rippling; add meat and sear on all sides.
• 5 add remaining garlic, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf.
• 6 reduce heat to very low.
• 7 cook, covered, 10 minutes, shaking casserole 2 or 3 times to prevent sticking.
• 8 add wine and vinegar, increase heat to high.
• 9 heat to boiling, then remove from heat.
• 10 cover casserole tightly with foil; place lid securely over foil.
• 11 bake 30 minutes.
• 12 carefully remove lid and foil; turn meat with wooden spoons so as not to pierce; replace foil and lid; bake 30 minutes longer.
• 13 heat remaining 3 tblsps oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until rippling.
• 14 stir in onion; reduce heat to medium.
• 15 saute until onion is softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.
• 16 stir in tomatoes, ½ tsp salt, sugar, 1/8 tsp pepper and cayenne.
• 17 reduce heat to low.
• 18 cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, 20 minutes.
• 19 remove casserole from oven and increase oven temperature to 375f.
• 20 pour sauce over meat; replace foil and lid.
• 21 bake 3-4 hours, or until beef is fork-tender.
• 22 remove casserole from oven.
• 23 transfer meat to heatproof platter, cover with foil to keep warm.
• 24 remove and discard bay leaf, cinnamon, allspice and cloves from sauce.
• 25 let sauce stand a few minutes; degrease.
• 26 use a small amount of the fat removed from the sauce to grease a wide, shallow, 4-quart baking dish.
• 27 cook pasta until al dente.
• 28 while pasta cooks, put butter into a small saucepan and melt over medium-low heat.
• 29 let butter brown.
• 30 this is knows as beurre noisette.
• 31 it should be very fragrant.
• 32 add browned butter to pasta along with half of grated cheese.
• 33 toss to coat.
• 34 add 2 cups of tomato sauce and toss again; turn into baking dish.
• 35 until veal roll and cut into ½ inch slices.
• 36 arrange in overlapping row over pasta.
• 37 pour remaining sauce over all.
• 38 bake, covered with foil, 10 minutes.
• 39 uncover, bake 10 minutes longer.
• 40 sprinkle with remaining cheese and serve.