(Stufadin di Zuca Zala)
As many Ashkenazic Jews emigrated to the Veneto, it's not surprising to find a Venetian recipe for a stew reminiscent of the familiar Ashkenazictsimmes, in which sweet potatoes or squash are paired with meat for a savory one-dish meal. In Mantua, a similar dish made with a beef rump roast is calledbrasato Rachele. Despite the use of the squash and Marsala, the stufadin is not overly sweet.
Ingredients
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Step 1
Warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a sauté pan over low heat. Add the onions, garlic, and rosemary and sauté until tender and translucent, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 2
Warm the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Add the meat and brown well on all sides, sprinkling with a little salt after it has browned. Add the wine and let it bubble up. Add the sautéed onions, the butternut squash, and the broth to cover and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently until the meat is tender and the squash has formed a puree, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Season with salt and pepper before serving.
Step 3
Variation: You can use 3/4 pound carrots, peeled and grated, in place of the squash.
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Reviews (20)
Back to TopThis is a hearty, flavorful winter stew that I have made a number of times over the years. The flavors work well together; extra garlic and rosemary and lots of ground pepper amp up the savory to balance the slight sweetness. After simmering, you may need to further mash up the squash pieces to make the puree and may want to boil off any excess liquid before serving. Delicious.
Anonymous
Winter Park, FL
1/4/2021
As written, this is good but not spectacular. The dish has a curry feel, so I also added cloves as well as cinnamon and ancho chile powder. I have an easier approach to the squash: roast it whole at 350 F for 1 hour, let cool then peel, chop and add to the stewpot. Since the squash is supposed to form a purée, you can add it (cooked) at the beginning according to the recipe.
kpalmer747
Sweden
1/6/2018
My stew became very thick and paste-like. Use plenty of vegetable or beef broth if you're in search of a true stew. I served the "stew" on a bed of rice to great success.
avocadosoiree
bloomington, in
9/29/2010
This was pretty easy since I had the butcher cut the meat. I usually lightly bake the butternut squash to make it easy to peel and cutup. I overcooked it, so the squash was pretty much done and I waited til near the end of the cooking to add it. I was fine with the sweetness of the sauce. I served it over rice.
Anonymous
naperville,il
3/1/2010
This went over really well - Two of us ate almost all of it in one night! I used plain beef stew meat, rather than veal, and the meat was very tender. Per the suggestion of another reviewer, I added a bit of cloves while browning the meat. I really liked the sweetness of the butternut squash and the savory flavor of the meat together. I wouldn't go so far to call this "bland" - it's not really rich, or sweet, or salty, or spicy - but it does hit the spot on a cold, rainy night.
chelseacarter29
Seattle, WA
10/21/2009
Before reading on, please note that I made minor changes, as follows: I sauteed the meat & onions using 1 T oil & 1 T butter, then finished the entire dish in the Crockpot. We found the flavors too bland for our tastes, but the recipe was good enough, if not interesting in concept.
Anonymous
G from Hoboken, NJ
1/10/2009
If you like wine based stews this will live up to expectations. Use a good stock that has lots of flavor. The saltyness should accent the sweet Marsala.
Helmethair
Maine
1/7/2007
I've made this several times in the last couple of years - a good winter dish. I have used regular white wine, but it is definitely better with a sweet wine. I've also used beef instead of veal, with good results.
ELZ
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
1/21/2005
This has turned into one of my FAVORITE dishes. A beautiful stew, wonderful layers to the flavor. It's a bit sweet for some, but most people find the sweetness unusual and balanced well by the onion and rosemary. Excellent!!! (and easy to make except for peeling squash.)
Anonymous
East Lansing, MI
1/20/2005
This is too easy and too good. Personally, I don't eat much red meat, or stew for that matter, and this one is great. It's perfect on a cold day - the sweetness of the butternut squash with richness of the red meat. Top it with a good cabernet sauvignon, and it's perfect. I added a bunch of chopped chard midway through the cooking time. I think it adds a nice texture and color. I also realized after an hour that the meat wasn't tenderizing very quickly, so I cut the pieces into smaller 1" (or smaller) cubes, and cooked it all in all about 1 3/4 hours, at which point the squash really did caramelize and turn into a puree texture. My boyfriend said this first attempt at stew was better than every one of his mom's growing up!
Anonymous
San Francisco, CA
11/23/2004
Delicious and very easy. I also served it on rice, although next time I would also add some spinach or snow peas on the side.
Anonymous
Melbourne, Australia
2/2/2003
Couldn't find veal, used beef. Very bland even with "doctoring" with seasonings. Would NOT cook again.
Anonymous
3/7/2002
Was different but too sweet. We live in Holland and the squashes are smaller so I checked to so the approx. size of a US squash and it said between 2-3 pounds so used about that. Might be a different taste... Had to temper it with more rosmary, garlic and also added cloves. Semed to balance it out and we enjoyed. Also used the microwave and worked well.
Anonymous
4/7/2001
This dish was pretty good, but not great. I took the advice of the other reviewer who microwaved her squash halves and that really helped. The meat did turn out very tender, but, it was alot more work than it sounded like for just an O.K. dish.
Anonymous
Vero Beach, Florida
2/5/2001
This dish was pretty good, but not great. I took the advice of the other reviewer who microwaved her squash halves and that really helped. The meat did turn out very tender, but, it was alot more work than it sounded like for just an O.K. dish.
Anonymous
Vero Beach, Florida
2/5/2001
