French Recipes

Stufatu corse

A slow Corsican beef braise built on prisuttu, red wine, tomato and aromatic vegetables, served with tagliatelle so the concentrated sauce is part of every portion.

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Stufatu corse with meat and tagliatelle in a gray bowl
Prep 35 minutes
Cook 145 minutes
Total 190 minutes
Yield 6 main-course servings, about 2.1 kg finished stew plus 300 g dry tagliatelle
Ingredients ↓
Introduction and overview

Stufatu corse — Corsican red-wine beef stew with tagliatelle

Stufatu corse belongs to the family of slow, sauce-rich meat dishes associated with Corsican home cooking. The defining idea here is not simply 'beef stew': dry red wine, tomato, cured ham and Mediterranean herbs create the darker, savoury profile, while celery, carrot, onion and garlic give the sauce enough sweetness and structure to support a long braise.

Beef chuck is the only fresh meat in the pot, with prisuttu used in a smaller amount as a salty cured accent. Browning the beef in batches matters because crowded meat releases moisture and steams; a proper brown crust and the fond on the casserole floor give the wine something to lift when it is added. Reducing the wine before the tomatoes and stock go in keeps the finished sauce from tasting raw or thin.

The stew is finished when the beef is both safe and genuinely tender. Temperature confirms safety, but the fork test tells you whether collagen has had enough time to soften. Tagliatelle is cooked separately without extra salt and served under the stew, a practical way to use all of the tomato-wine sauce rather than treating it as a detachable garnish. Some alcohol can remain after cooking, so the dish should not be presented as alcohol-free.

Keys to success

Keys to success

  • Dry the beef thoroughly before browning and give each batch enough surface area.
  • Keep the braise at a lazy simmer; hard boiling tightens the meat and drives off liquid too quickly.
  • Taste only after the prisuttu and stock have seasoned the sauce for the full braise.
Ingredients

Ingredients

Stufatu

  • 900 g beef chuck, trimmed of hard exterior fat and cut into 4 cm cubes — purchased weight 980 g; 900 g used after about 8% trim
  • 120 g prisuttu or dry-cured Corsican-style ham, cut into 1 cm dice — retain edible fat
  • 25 ml extra-virgin olive oil — all supplied oil is retained in nutrition
  • 150 g yellow onion, finely diced — prepared weight
  • 120 g carrot, peeled and diced — prepared weight
  • 100 g celery stalks, diced — prepared weight
  • 10 g garlic, finely chopped — about 2 cloves
  • 30 g tomato paste
  • 500 ml dry Corsican red wine — contains sulphites; alcohol may remain
  • 300 g chopped tomatoes — juice included
  • 300 ml unsalted beef stock — selected to control sodium
  • 2 g bay leaves and thyme — tied with parsley stems
  • 3 g fine salt — small amount because cured ham and stock contribute sodium
  • 1 g black pepper, freshly ground

To serve

  • 300 g dry tagliatelle — cooked without added salt
Method

Method

Directions

  1. Brown the beef in batches. Heat the casserole, add the olive oil and brown the beef in three batches with the prisuttu, returning each batch to a tray as it colours. The beef is browned on several faces and the pot has a dark fond without burnt patches. Batch browning builds flavour without steaming the meat. Keep raw beef separate from ready-to-eat foods and wash hands and tools after contact.

  2. Soften the aromatics. Lower the heat and cook the onion, carrot and celery, stirring often; add the garlic and tomato paste only for the last minute. The vegetables are softened and glossy, with no scorched garlic or tomato paste. Softening the aromatics in the rendered fat gives the sauce a rounded base. Use a long spoon to avoid splashes from the hot fat.

  3. Deglaze with Corsican red wine. Pour in the wine and scrape the base thoroughly while it boils, then add the tomatoes and stock once the reduction is obvious. The wine has reduced visibly and the sharp raw-alcohol aroma has softened. Reduction concentrates the wine before the long braise. Keep your face back from the steam and remember that some alcohol may remain after cooking.

  4. Braise until tender. Return the meat to the pot with the herbs, cover and keep the stew at a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally and adding a small splash of water only if the sauce threatens to catch. The beef yields easily to a fork, the sauce coats the meat, and a representative piece of beef reaches at least 74 °C. Long gentle cooking tenderises a braising cut while the sauce concentrates. Check with a clean food thermometer in a representative piece and keep the stew at a gentle simmer, not a hard boil.

  5. Cook the tagliatelle. While the stew finishes, boil the tagliatelle until tender but still resilient, then drain it thoroughly without rinsing. The tagliatelle is tender but still holds its shape and drains without a starchy puddle. Unsalted water avoids compounding the salt from prisuttu and stock. Use care when draining boiling water.

  6. Rest and finish the sauce. Take the casserole off the heat, keep it covered for 10 minutes, discard the herb stems and stir the sauce before serving over the pasta. The bubbling has stopped and the sauce settles into a glossy coating around the meat. A short rest lets the braising liquid settle before serving. Do not leave the finished meat dish at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

Serving

Practical

Serving

Spoon the hot stew and all of its sauce over the tagliatelle. A portion should include both meat and the vegetable-rich braising liquid rather than mostly pasta.

Storage and reheating

Transfer leftovers to shallow containers within 2 hours and refrigerate at 4 °C or below for 3–4 days. Reheat the stew to 74 °C before serving; freshly cooked pasta gives a better texture than reheated pasta.

Make-ahead and substitutions

The braise improves as a make-ahead dish because the sauce can be chilled and reheated without harming the meat. Another dry red wine will cook correctly, but it no longer supplies the same Corsican regional link; a different dry-cured ham similarly changes the identity even if the technique still works.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

  • Pale meat and weak sauceThe casserole was crowded during browning. Work in smaller batches and let the pan reheat between them.
  • Sauce still loose when the beef is tenderToo much liquid remains after braising. Remove the lid and simmer briefly before resting so excess water evaporates without overcooking the meat.
Nutrition per serving

Nutrition per serving

  • Serving size1 of 6 servings, including one-sixth of the stew and tagliatelle
  • Calories668 kcal
  • Carbohydrate48.4 g
  • Protein44.1 g
  • Fat31.0 g
  • Fibre3.7 g
  • Sodium809 mg
Allergens and food safety

Allergens and food safety

Allergens: celery, sulphites, gluten.

Cook a representative beef piece to at least 74 °C and continue braising until tender.

Wine is cooked but some alcohol may remain.

Refrigerate the finished meat dish within 2 hours and keep at 4 °C or below.

Reheat leftovers to 74 °C.

FAQ

FAQ

Can the wine be left out?

Removing 500 ml of wine changes both liquid balance and flavour, so it is not a like-for-like omission; use another documented braise instead if alcohol must be avoided.

Why is the pasta cooked without salt?

Prisuttu and the stew already supply substantial sodium, so unsalted pasta keeps the final seasoning controllable.

Closing

Closing

  • Result: Fork-tender beef in a glossy tomato-red-wine sauce with savoury cured-ham depth, served over resilient tagliatelle.
  • Decisive technique: Brown in batches, reduce the wine, then keep the long braise gentle enough to tenderise without scorching the sauce.
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