A Stifado is a meaty stew with beef and baby shallot onions. The best part is the thick sauce which is made slightly sweet by the onions.
Eleni shows you how to perpare it. You will need
(serves 4-6)
1Kg lean beef - cubed.
500g baby shallot onions - peeled.
1 large onions chopped.
1 large juicy tomatoes - chopped.
2 table-spoons of tomato paste.
1/2 nutmeg crushed (put it into a bag and hit it with a rolling pin!)
1 cinnamon stick and 3 cloves.
4 garlic cloves - finely chopped.
1 vegetable stock cube
(optional)
Rosemary sprig or two.
1 small wineglass of extra-virgin olive oil.
1 glass of red or white wine.
2 table-spoons of vinegar.
Fresh coarsely ground black pepper and salt.
Lets Get Cooking Our Stifado!
1. Add the beef to large frying pan
or casserole dish.
Place on a high heat, stirring occasionally until meat is sealed.
2. Add
the olive oil, chopped onions and garlic. Continue cooking on a high heat,
until the onions have turned soft. (About 5mins)
3. Add wine and vinegar, leave on heat but covered for
another 5 mins.
4.
Next nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, rosemary,
stock cube and a good pinch of black pepper. Keep stirring while the ingredients blend, on a moderate heat.
Add salt to taste.
5. Keep heating while adding the
chopped
tomatoes,
wine, vinegar and tomato paste.
6. Turn out into a casserole dish
(Terracota), with lid. Add 1 litre of hot water so as to cover the meat. Cook in oven until the meat is nearly cooked - about one hour.
7. While waiting, peel the baby shallot onions, wash them and shallow fry them in a little olive oil, until soft, not letting them burn.
8. Add the shallots (but not the oil) to the simmering meat
and leave in the oven until the meat is thoroughly cooked (soft and tender) - at least
another hour - add water if needed (don't let it dry out), so that you end up with a
rich thick sauce.
Need Help?
To request help with this
Stifado recipe or read how others have enjoyed it, please visit our forums:
Stifado Recipe Help
Your Comments
Your Comments:
Recently went to Zante with friends and wanted to make our favorite Stifado
dish. Found your recipe and tried it today never really hoping it could
taste as good, but it does. I cooked the Stifado for over four hours in the
oven at around Gas 4. We had it with Tzatziki and greek roast potatoes and
it was fantastic. Zoie, N Yorks
Your Comments:
We have never visited Corfu but hope to sometime in the future, we tried
Stifado on a visit to Zakynthos and thought it was delicious. We have tried
several recipes from various sources but non came close until we tried
yours.All that was missing was the atmosphere of a greek taverna! Yammas John
Carol & Robert Kelly (Bolton)
Your Comments: Hi Nathan, Eleni, Aphrodite, and family :o) So glad to finally make stifado at home although it's nowhere near as good as the real thing!! Went down a storm and have to make it for 15 next time. Hope to get back to the island soon but work and university making it hard.
Your Comments: I have tried Stifado many times on my visits to Corfu and it is one of my favourite meals when on holiday. I will give your recipe a go and let you know how it came out. This I think would be great with Greek roast potatoes which I have a good recipe for. Good luck with the website, hope to visit you maybe soon. Brian (chat room alias Blue.)
Your Comments:The
last time I tried Stifado was in Corfu in 1987. When I used this recipe
recently to cook Stifado at home for the first time, I couldn't belive how it
brought back the memories of that 1987 holiday. This just shows how fantastic
this recipe is if it can bring memories back from over 15 years ago. Use only
the best ingredients and invest in a quality casserole dish (I used an iron Le
Creuset) and keep to the recipe exactly. You will not be disapointed.
Your Comments:I
make this with Lamb Shanks ( samller end of leg of lamb) and although requires
more oven time ( 3hrs) is absolutely delicious - much better than made with
beef. Lamb literally drops of the bone - yummy!
Jane.
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Serving suggestion
Best served with the whole casserole in the middle of the table. Traditionally, Stifado
is simply served with plenty of fresh bread to 'mop up' the thick rich sauce
and a few chips!
Just add a Taverna with sea view and you
will be in Stifado heaven!
Pronunciation
The correct pronunciation is: Stif-a-tho
Variations
Originally, rabbit
was used instead of beef. Other variations use lamb. Why
not experiment and let us know how you got on.
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