Greek Recipes

Pastitsada - Pot-Roasted Veal with Pasta

This famous Greek dish is from Corfu and the Ionian Islands. It is popular in tavernas throughout mainland Greece. Sometimes the meat is also cut into thick slices or cubes before pot-roasting. It is always served with pasta, an indication of its Venetian origins.

Ingredients:

3 lb veal top round, left whole
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup red wine
1 tbsp wine vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

To serve:
1 lb macaroni, rigatoni, or alternative pasta, boiled
Grated Kefalotiri, or parmesan cheese

Preparation:

1 - Preheat the oven to 350F. Make small cuts in the veal with a sharp knife. Stud the garlic slices and cloves into these cuts. Heat the olive oil in a large casserole dish and saute the veal on all sides for about 5 minutes or until browned. Remove and set aside. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes over medium heat until softened. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves and cinnamon and saute for another 5 minutes. Add the wine and vinegar, season with salt and pepper, stir well and bring to a boil.

2 - Return the veal to the casserole dish. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the veal is tender and the sace has thickened.

3 - To serve, place the cooked macaroni on a platter. Place the veal on top. Spoon the sauce over the pasta and sprinkle with grated cheese. Carve the veal into slices at the table.

Servings: 4 to 6

Enjoy this traditional easy Greek recipe!

Share this recipe!

If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!