Pastissada de Manzo alla Veronese

Every dish has a home. This one belongs to Verona, and to Verona alone. The rest of Italy has its brasati and stracotti, but pastissada is something different, something older. The wine does not merely flavor the meat. It transforms it over hours of slow heat until you cannot taste where one ends and the other begins.

The traditional version uses horse meat. I know this troubles some American sensibilities, so I give you the beef preparation, which the Veronese also make and which achieves nearly the same depth. Nearly. If you find yourself in Verona and see pastissada de caval on the menu, have the courage to order it. You will understand.

What you keep out matters here as much as anywhere. There is no tomato. There is no garlic. The spices are whole and restrained: bay, clove, cinnamon, peppercorn. They perfume the braise without announcing themselves. The wine is Amarone, the great dried-grape red of Valpolicella, and it must be a wine you would drink. Never cook with wine you would not put in a glass.

This dish cannot be rushed. If you do not have four hours for cooking and a day for marinating, make something else. Come back to this when you have time to give it what it demands.