Home

Pasticciata fanese

17/11/2023

The ‘Pasticciata fanese’ is a typical dish of the Marchigian cuisine, particularly from the city of Fano. It is a slow-cooked beef stew with red wine and herbs, resulting in a thick and flavorful sauce that usually accompanies polenta. Here’s how you prepare it.

Ingredients

  • 800 g of beef for stewing (preferably from the round or shoulder parts)
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 stalk of celery
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 500 ml of robust red wine (ideally a Rosso Conero or Rosso Piceno from Marche)
  • Flour, as needed for dusting the beef
  • 500 ml of tomato puree
  • Beef broth, as needed
  • Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Herbs: bay leaves, cloves, stick of cinnamon if you like (optional)

Preparation

  1. Start by cleaning and chopping the onion, carrots, and celery into small pieces. Let them wilt in a large pot with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
  2. As the vegetables are wilting, dust the pieces of beef in flour. This will help to create a crust that seals the juices during cooking.
  3. Once the vegetables have browned, add the floured beef and let it color on all sides.
  4. Deglaze with the red wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate.
  5. Add the tomato puree and cloves, and, if you like, a small piece of cinnamon.
  6. Cover with beef broth until everything is submerged and cook on low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding broth if necessary.
  7. Season with salt and pepper towards the end of cooking.
  8. Serve the pasticciata hot over soft polenta.

The ‘Pasticciata fanese’ is known for its intense flavors and the consistency of the meat that becomes extremely tender during the long cooking process. It is important to use a good wine and quality broth to achieve the best possible result.

Curiosity

The word “pasticciata” comes from the fact that, in the past, this dish was prepared with leftover various types of meat, which were “messed together,” meaning cooked together to avoid waste. Today, it has become a recipe in its own right that enhances the flavor of the beef in an intense sauce.

Pasticciata fanese