Stifado
This traditional Greek-style beef stew has layers of rich flavour thanks to red wine, allspice, cloves and cinnamon. It uses affordable cuts of meat and is slow-cooked to give a fall-apart, tender texture
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 8 persons
Ingredients
- 5 ½kg stewing beef, diced
- 250ml red wine
- 2tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2cinnamon sticks
- 3garlic cloves, sliced
- 1bay leaf
- 2tsp dried oregano
- 1tsp ground allspice
- 1tsp ground cloves
- ¼tsp ground nutmeg
- 3tbsp vegetable oil
- 500g shallots, peeled
- 2tbsp tomato purée
- 400g chopped tomatoes
- ½tsp caster sugar
- cooked pappardelle, to serve
Instructions
Step 1
Put the beef in a large non-metallic dish or bowl and add the wine, vinegar, cinnamon sticks, garlic, bay, oregano, allspice, cloves and nutmeg. Marinate for as long as you can, and up to 12 hrs.Step 2
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Drain the marinade from the beef and reserve. Put a large flameproof casserole over a medium heat and add 1 tbsp of the oil. Cook the shallots for 4-5 mins or until just browned. Remove with a slotted spoon. Use the remaining oil to cook the beef, in batches, until browned. Add the shallots and beef back into the pan with any marinade still in the bowl, tomato purée and chopped tomatoes. Fill the chopped tomato tin with water and pour into the pan. Add the sugar and bring to a gentle simmer.Step 3
Cook in the oven for 2 hrs, stirring halfway through. Remove from the oven, discard the cinnamon sticks and bay leaf, season and serve with pappardelle, if you like.