🇬🇷 Beef Pastisada
Greek Pastitsada is one of the signature, slow-cooked dishes of Corfu (Kerkyra).
🕖 Total cooking time: 2h15 minutes
Quick overview - What to expect in a Pastisada:
Meat: Traditionally made with rooster (pastisada me alepó), though beef or veal is also common.
Spices: It’s famous for its Venetian influence, using a “spetseriko” (spice blend) that can include cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and sometimes cumin — giving it a fragrant, sweet-savory profile.
Cooking: The meat is browned and then simmered in tomato sauce, (red wine), onions, garlic, and the spice blend until tender.
Serving: It’s typically served with thick pasta (like bucatini or curved pasta) generously topped with grated cheese.
My Pastisada recipe - ingredients for 2 servings:
150 g Ground beef cubes - Olive oil - 1 Onion - 2 Garlic cloves - 2 Cloves - 220g Tomato puree (Cirio) - Water - 2 Bay leaves - 1or 2 Cinnamon sticks - Salt and pepper - Fresh parsley - Pasta (Lumache Rigate from De Cecco) - Parmesan - Red pepper flakes
* Afterthought: Adding a carrot cut in very fine slices could add a little extra sweetness and texture
How to make your Pastisada 👩🏻🍳
Start by putting enough olive oil in the pan - let it frizzle then add the beef and let it brown. Once browned, put aside and add the onions for 3-4 minutes then add the garlic and the beef.
Add the tomato puree, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and a little water (+ carrot) and bring to a boil to then lower to low to medium heat. Add salt and pepper if needed as well as the chili flakes
Let the sauce simmer on low to medium heat for about 2 hours - the beef needs to be tender and the smell of cloves and cinnamon should take over the kitchen. Add the salt
20 minutes before turning off the stove for the sauce, start boiling the water for the pasta and add the pasta to the water once ready. I used Lumache Rigate but if you want it the traditional way, buy some bucatini pasta (long, thick like a tube).
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and serve on a plate. Add the sauce, the fresh parsley and the parmesan (or graviera if you have).
Enjoy xx