Pašticada

Place the beef in a large bowl. Add the dry red wine, wine vinegar, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, the parsley root, 3 garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf, rosemary, cloves and nutmeg. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 12 hours.

Remove the beef from the marinade and pat it dry thoroughly; reserve the vegetables and marinade. Make small incisions in the meat and lard it with the pancetta and the remaining garlic.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot. Sear the beef on all sides until browned, then transfer it to a plate.

In the same pot, sauté the vegetables from the marinade for 8–10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Return the beef to the pot, pour in the strained marinade and beef stock, and add 1 bay leaf. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over the lowest heat for 2.5 hours, turning the meat occasionally.

Add the prunes and prošek. Simmer for another 30–40 minutes, until the beef is very tender and the sauce has thickened.

Remove the beef from the sauce and slice it into pieces about 1 cm thick. Discard the bay leaf and rosemary, blend the sauce until smooth, return the sliced meat to the pot and heat through for 10 minutes.

Bring water to a boil, salt it and cook the potato gnocchi according to the package instructions. Season the pašticada with salt and black pepper to taste and serve hot with the gnocchi and sauce.