Every Greek holiday will feature at least one helping of one of the country’s national dishes, the aromatic, gently spiced beef stew known as Stifado. Its presence is a given on any taverna menu, alongside moussaka and souvlaki, and when made well is a surefire winner. The stew is cooked slowly, and features a triumvirate of aromatic spices which give the dish its distinct character, these being cloves, allspice and cinnamon. Stifado from anywhere in Greece will always include these three, but in some areas a small amount of cumin is also used. This recipe is one we learned on the island of Zakynthos, and the result is guaranteed every time as the cooking method is so simple. One important point – don’t brown your meat as you would in most recipes. The result depends on the meat being able to absorb all the flavour of the sauce, and becoming meltingly tender. The recipe makes plenty of stifado, but it freezes really well so not a problem!

01.

Ingredients

750g stewing steak, cut into largish chunks
200g small shallots or pickling onions
½ a bottle red wine
2tbs tomato puree (or 1 tbs tomato powder)
a generous slug of Greek extra virgin olive oil
a smaller slug of red wine vinegar
3tsp garlic puree
3tsp ground cinnamon
2tsp ground allspice
1tsp ground cloves
1tsp ground cumin
1tbs wild herb blend
6 bay leaves
6 allspice berries

02.

Method

  • Place the shallots or onions in a bowl and cover with warm water. Soak them for an hour or so and you will find they’ll peel much easier! (This bit is the only procedure in the recipe which takes up a bit of time and effort.)
  • Once peeled place the onions in a baking dish and add a tablespoon of olive oil, plus half a dozen allspice berries and a couple of the bay leaves.
  • Bake the onions in a slow oven (160d) for half an hour or so, until they are softening and the edges have caramelised slightly, then leave them to one side – you will add them to the stifado near the end of cooking.
  • Put the steak chunks in a large, deep pan and then add the tomato puree, garlic puree, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and cumin. Give everything a good stir to coat the meat with the spices, and then add the wine, the red wine vinegar and the olive oil.
    Bring the pan to the boil, then turn down to a gentle simmer. Place a lid on the casserole and let it bubble away for a couple of hours, keeping an eye on the liquid. It should have reduced by around half, becoming thick and unctuous, the oil separating as it does on a curry.
  • Now add the baked onions and stir them in, and let the stifado bubble away for another 20 minutes or so. It should now be perfectly cooked, fragrant and aromatic, the beef tender and the onions just about holding their shape. Serve with roast or mashed potatoes (the Greeks roast theirs with olive oil, lemon and garlic), rice or even pasta.