Stifado- Beef With Baby Onions

Name: Stifado- Beef With Baby Onions
Ingredients: 500 gm. beef of good quality, if possible; 10-20 small onions, about 1 inch in diameter, or shallots; 2 tbs. Olive oil for cooking; 4 tbs. Red Wine Vinegar; 2-4 large (2-3 inch) pieces of cinnamon stick; 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped; 1-2 tsp. of coriander seeds (whole); 2 beef stock cubes (good quality); 2 tbs. of Ouzo*; 1-2 cups red wine, any medium sweet, red wine will do; 1 tsp. black peppercorns (cracked); Salt to taste; * Ouzo is an aniseed flavoured spirit. You could use Raki, Pernod instead. If you don’t have these or don’t want to use alcohol, you could use Star Anise or Fennel seeds to give the dish the right flavour, but these would not be used in traditional Greek

Stifado (From Cyprus)

Steve Lister

MainMeat

Stifado is a wonderful mix of flavours and is made in many Greek and Cypriot restaurants. Stifado itself is a stew and can actually be made with other types of meats and sometimes octopus, but it is mainly made with beef. This version was from a recent trip to Cyprus (Sept 2006) and I actually made it while there, using ingredients that I knew I could get back at home. The photos are part of my holiday snaps as I intended on writing it up on my return. Serves 3-4

Ingredients

500 gm. beef of good quality, if possible
10-20 small onions, about 1 inch in diameter, or shallots
2 tbs. Olive oil for cooking
4 tbs. Red Wine Vinegar
2-4 large (2-3 inch) pieces of cinnamon stick
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 tsp. of coriander seeds (whole)
2 beef stock cubes (good quality)
2 tbs. of Ouzo*
1-2 cups red wine, any medium sweet, red wine will do
1 tsp. black peppercorns (cracked)
Salt to taste
* Ouzo is an aniseed flavoured spirit. You could use Raki, Pernod instead. If you don’t have these or don’t want to use alcohol, you could use Star Anise or Fennel seeds to give the dish the right flavour, but these would not be used in traditional Greek

Instructions

Chop the meat into large chunks and allow to marinate in a mix of red wine, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks and garlic. Leave aside for about 1 hour if
possible.
Peel the onions/shallots while waiting for the meat, adding them to the meat as you do them.
Heat the olive oil in a pan.
Take the onions out of the marinating meat and gently fry them in hot oil.
Add the meat, leaving the marinade behind, so that the meat can be browned properly first.
Add the stock cubes and cook for a minute. Now add the remaining marinade.
Add vinegar, ouzo and a little water to allow it to cook without meat drying up.
Simmer for at least an hour, to soften the meat and onions. It should be thickening by the time its ready for serving, so you get a rich thick gravy. Longer and slower it cooks, more tender it is.
You might want to take out the cinnamon sticks before serving.
Serve hot with a Jacket potato or chips or mashed potatoes, as we had it. In Traditionally in Cyprus or Greece, in a terracotta/earthenware pot, straight from the oven, with chunky bread to soak up the gravy. It can be served with boiled potatoes and salad.

Notes

Local, Greek red wine is a rich and sweet, in the UK something like Maphrodaphne De Patras would be similar. It is available in at least one supermarket chain in UK. Or, use any other sweet red wine.
As with all Greek cooking, the fresher the produce the better the dish.
You really need to use small onions, otherwise you just end up with beef and onions and not Stifado. At a push you could use a jar of pickled onions without the vinegar but you won't get quite the same flavour.
In some of the Greek islands, you will find regional variations where it might have tomatoes added or the gravy/sauce made much thicker, but this version is from how it was being done in Cyprus in 2006.