Pastitsada (Παστιτσαδα)

Yesterday, I volunteered to clean & organize our freezer as it's been getting difficult to find things...it was a mess.

I literally took every thing out, cleaned the inside of the freezer and separated then organized each category of food.

I found a good piece of stewing veal that was getting to the "6 months" stage and it was
crying , "cook me, cook me"!

I have a good backlog of "to try" recipes and this veal would be perfect for trying a Pastitsada. This is a slow-braised dish that originates from the Greek island of Corfu. Corfu (Kerkyra) is on the Adriatic coast, faces Italy and Pastitsada's origins are Venetian.

If you have a less expensive beef, veal or even some chicken pieces, try this slow-braised dish. It was the perfect, Greek comfort food for a cool, overcast Sunday in TO (Toronto).

Also, you may use any pasta you like as the bed for this spicy (not hot but flavourful spicy). The traditional dish calls for the use of Perciatelli. It's the pasta that looks like thick spaghetti but it's also hollow. I used Tortiglioni because this pasta is new to me, it's ridged like penne and hollow.

This is not a 30 minutes dish but it's easy and if you around the house on a Sunday doing your New York Times crossword...start a pot of Pastitada!

Pastitsada (Παστιτσάδα)

3 lbs. stewing veal or beef
4-6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
1/3 carrot, grated
1 cinnamon stick
5 allspice berries
3 whole cloves
3 bay leaves
1 cup of dry white wine
3 Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar
1 can of good plum tomatoes, pureed
pinch of smoked paprika
1 lb of Tortiglioni (penne, ziti or rigatoni is fine)
1/2 cup butter
2 oz. of grated parmesan cheese
2 oz. of grated Kefalotyri (or romano) cheese

1. Set the oven to heat to 350F. Rub the veal with coarse salt and fresh black pepper. Make shallow cuts all over the meat and insert the think slices of garlic (use about half).
2. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a oven-safe pot or casserole; then add the meat and sear on all sides. Reserve the meat.
3. Into the same pot, add some more olive oil and saute your onions, grated carrot, the remaining garlic, bay leves, cloves, allspice and cinnamon stick under medium heat for 10 minutes (enough to soften the onions).
4. Deglaze your pot with the balsamic vinegar and white wine and scrape up to loosen all the brown bits. Add your tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and once everything has come to a boil, add your meat into the pot and place the lid on and throw it into the oven for 3 hours. (Part of the meat will be exposed, turn the meat each hour to keep all of it moist. The meat should be tender and flake off using tongs and a fork).
5. Remove the bay leaves and set the sauce aside while you boil your pasta.
6. When the pasta is almost al dente, strain the pasta and reserve for a few minutes. Using the same pot that you boiled the pasta in, put the butter in and melt over medium-low heat and let the butter brown. Once it's turned "nut-brown", add your pasta and half of your grated cheese and and some of the sauce and toss to coat well.
7. Lay your pasta out on a platter and lay the pieces of juicy, flaky meat on top and pour more sauce over top. Finish the dish with more grated cheese and the bay leaves for garnish.

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