Stifado Recipes

STIFADO - TRADITIONAL BEEF STEW WITH SHALLOTS

Steps:

• Add a generous splash of olive oil in a cooking pot and heat over high heat.
• Brown the beef chunks on all sides. Do this by adding the meat in the pot in batches. So the temperature of the oil won't drop, and the meat sill sear properly. After you're done with the first batch, remove the meat from the pot and then add the next batch. Once all the meat is seared and browned all over, add it all back in the pot.
• Pour in 2-3 cups of semi-sweet red wine, and 2-3 cups of water in the pot. The amount of both liquids should be just enough to cover the meat. So whether you're using a wider or more narrow cooking pot you should adjust the amount to 2 or 3 cups (each) accordingly.
• Add the allspice, cloves, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Season with kosher salt and ground pepper.
• Reduce heat to low and cover the pot with its lid. Slow cook for approximately 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, cut off the tops and bottoms of the shallots and remove their skins. Place in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let them soak for about 30 minutes and then drain in a strainer. This is done to remove some of their sharp acidity.
• After the meat has slowly cooked for 2 hours, prick with a knife to make sure it's tender enough. Otherwise, cook a bit more.
• Add a splash of olive oil in a skillet or frying pan, and heat over medium-high heat. Toss in the shallots and cook until deep golden all over. Stir in 2 loaded tablespoons of tomato paste, and cook for 2 minutes more, while stirring constantly using a wooden spoon. Pour a good splash of water in the pan to help scrape off the paste from the pan and then add everything in the pot with the meat.
• Shake the pot for the shallots to spread evenly, and once you make sure there is enough liquid in the pot to almost cover everything, slow cook (covered) for another 45-50 minutes.
• Serve with freshly ground pepper on top!

BEEF STIFADO

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large non-reactive bowl. Add the marinade ingredients, peeling and finely slicing the garlic first, then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight.
• Peel the baby onions. If using fresh, peel and roughly chop the tomatoes.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan and sauté the onions for 5 minutes or until softened. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Sauté the beef, reserving the marinade, for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until browned on all sides.
• Return the onions to the saucepan, add the marinade, tomatoes and tomato purée and enough water to just cover the stew.
• Season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil then simmer for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened.
• Serve with pasta and grated hard cheese, such as kefalotiri, pecorino or Parmesan.

BEEF STIFADO IN THE SLOW COOKER

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over high heat and cook beef, onion, and garlic until meat is browned on all sides and onions are soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add tomatoes, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, rosemary, salt and a good pinch of black pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until ingredients blend, about 3 minutes. Add wine and vinegar and stir to combine.
• Turn slow cooker to Low setting. Pour beef mixture into slow cooker and stir in ketchup.
• Cook on Low until beef is tender, 6 to 8 hours.
• Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil in a skillet and cook shallots until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add cooked shallots to stew for the last 1 to 2 hours of cooking.
• Remove and discard cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and rosemary sprig before serving.

BEEF STIFADO RECIPE (GREEK BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• To prepare this delicious Greek beef stifado recipe, heat the oil in a saucepan, add the meat (in batches) and sauté, until browned on all sides. Do not add all the meat in the sauce pan, rather sauté in batches, so that the temperature of the oil remains high and the meat is sealed. When done, remove with a slotted spoon, place on a platter, cover and set aside.
• Peel and carve the baby shallot onions crosswise, add in the same oil used to browned the meat, turn down to medium heat and sauté until the onions have softened, but not browned (about 10 minutes).
• Pour in the cognac, the wine and red wine vinegar, cover and let it simmer for 3 minutes.
• Pour the meat along with its juices to the saucepan, add the tomato paste and sauté. Add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, allspice berries, nutmeg and a bit of water until the meat is covered. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer the beef stifado with a lid on for 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened. While the beef stifado is simmering, check if it needs some water; you don't want it to dry out. If it does, pour in half a cup of boiled water and stir. Towards the end of cooking time season well with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve beef stifado with pasta and grated cheese, or boiled new potatoes. Enjoy!

BEEF STIFADO (GREEK BEEF & ONION STEW)

Steps:

• In a pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the peeled onions.
• Sauté for 5-10 minutes or until golden and soft.
• Remove the onions and set aside.
• Brown the beef in two batches in the pot.
• Do not add all the beef at once into the pot otherwise it will create too much steam and it will not brown properly.
• Do this in 2-3 batches.
• ​Place all of the browned beef back into the pot.
• Add all of the ingredients except the onions.
• Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer.​
• Simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and the beef is tender.
• Check the seasoning and add some more salt if needed.​
• Add the onions to the pot and shake it a bit so that they can settle in the stew.
• Stirring may cause them to fall apart.
• Simmer for 30 minutes more.​
• Serve with rice, hearty bread or mashed potatoes.​
• Enjoy!

BEEF STIFADO

Steps:

• put meat in a frying pan and sear the meat then add the olive oil, onions and garlic leave until onions start to go soft (about 5 minutes)
• Then add the glass of red wine and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, cover and leave for 5 minutes
• then add your cinnamon, stock cube, cloves, nutmeg, bay leaves, rosemary, tomato puree and salt and pepper to taste. keep stirring to let all your ingredients mix together.
• then finally add your chopped tomatoes and continue stirring for 5 minutes,
• then transfer to a clay pot or casserole dish and add about 1/4 - 1/2 litre of water, be careful not to drown the sauce, then cook for at least one hour in the oven on a moderate heat, keeping checking you dont want it to dry out and add water if needed you are aiming for a thick rich sauce texture,
• whilst cooking place your 500 grams of shallots into hot water to soften the skin and peel, then fry these in a little olive oil, be careful not to burn them, just aim to soften them and add a little colour, add these to Stifado after one hour of cooking in the oven and then add them to the pot and cook for a further 1 hour until the meat is tender.

BEEF STIFADO

Steps:

• Heat half of the butter and half of the first tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown half of the beef cubes on all sides, and place into a large saucepan. Repeat with the remaining butter, olive oil, and beef. Stir the onions and garlic into the oil remaining in the skillet, and reduce heat to medium; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour in the red wine, and bring to a simmer, then scrape the onions into the saucepan with the beef.
• Season the beef with salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and orange zest. Pour in the diced tomatoes and water. Cover, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; then reduce heat to medium-low, and continue simmering 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Stir in the pearl onions, and cook until they are well browned, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. After the beef has simmered for an hour, add the pearl onions, recover, and continue simmering 20 minutes.
• Remove the lid, and simmer, uncovered until the stew has reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the orange zest before serving.

BEEF STIFADO

Steps:

• Place the beef in a non-metallic bowl with all the marinade ingredients. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
• Remove the meat from the bowl, reserving the marinade for later. In a heavy based non-stick pan, brown the beef for 2-4 minutes (in batches if necessary), over a high heat.
• Add the onion, celery, carrot and shallots to the pan and stir-fry for a further 1-2 minutes.
• Add the reserved marinade and tomatoes. Season well, cover and cook over a low heat for 2 hours, or until the sauce has thickened and the beef is very tender. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaves.
• Serve garnished with the parsley.

LAMB STIFADO - RED WINE STEW WITH PEARL ONIONS

Steps:

• Heat a generous splash of olive oil in a wide cooking pot over high heat. Sear the meat parts on all sides. Do this in batches so the temperature of the oil keeps nice and high and the meat gets seared properly.
• Pour in the wine and all of the seasonings and spices as well as the garlic cloves. Season with kosher salt.
• The wine in the pot should be just enough to cover the meat almost completely. Wait until it starts to simmer. Then add the lid on the pot, leaving a small open space on one side for steams to escape.
• Reduce heat to low and cook for about 1 and a half hour to two hours. Ideally, you shouldn't use any water in this recipe as it will change the final flavor of the dish. So in order to avoid this, keep the temperature low and don't let the food in the pot get to any more than a low, gentle simmer until the meat is tender enough.
• After one hour and 30 minutes prick the meat to check if it's tender. If not cook for 30 minutes more. If it feels tender enough, proceed with adding the onions.
• For the onions, heat a splash of olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the pearl onions and cook for a few minutes until deep golden all over.
• Transfer them to the pot with the meat. Cook for at least 50 minutes more from the time you add the onions to the pot. Towards the last 30 minutes raise the temperature to medium or medium-high depending on how much liquid there is still left in the pot. Cook until there is just enough sauce in the pot to cover the ingredients by half.
• Turn the heat off and ideally let the meat rest in the pot for 15-20 minutes before serving.