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1
Set a heavy earthenware or cast-iron vessel over medium-high heat. Pour in the olive oil and bring to shimmering. Brown the veal pieces in batches — do not crowd the vessel. Each batch should take 3–4 minutes per side. The pieces are ready when they carry a deep, even golden crust on all exposed surfaces and release cleanly from the base.
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2
Remove the browned veal and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic to the residual oil in the vessel and cook briefly until fragrant and softened but not coloured. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook until the tomatoes begin to collapse and their liquid concentrates slightly — the mixture will appear jammy and reduced.
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3
Return all the veal pieces to the vessel. Pour in the white wine. Season with sea salt. Bring the liquid to the point where the first lazy bubbles just break the surface, then immediately reduce the heat to its lowest setting. Cover the vessel. The stufatu must barely bubble throughout — this is where the dish lives or dies: a vigorous boil toughens the veal and produces a cloudy, greasy sauce, while the correct bare simmer dissolves the collagen into a silky braising liquid without any additional thickening. Cook covered at this low simmer for 70 minutes.
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4
At 70 minutes, add the pitted black olives. Replace the lid and continue the bare simmer for a further 20 minutes. The olives are ready when they have warmed through and released their briny character into the sauce without bitterness — they should retain their shape.
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5
In the final 5 minutes, scatter the mint leaves over the stufatu. Replace the lid. Cook for exactly 5 minutes. The mint is done when its fragrance lifts cleanly from the pot on removing the lid — herbal and fresh, not medicinal. The veal should yield to light fork pressure with some collapse at the edges; the sauce should coat a spoon in a pale, silky film. Serve with Pulenda or island bread.