My recipe for Stifatho comes from The Home Book of Greek Cookery by Joyce M. Stubbs. I bought it in a jumble sale in 1987, and it has been in use ever since. There are many other versions online. The trickiest bit was to find small onions or shallots. Shallots grow well here. The ones in the shops are a bit too large, you are hoping to use shallots or onions about the size of a walnut.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1kg stewing steak, cut into portions about the size of half a post-card and 1cm thick
- 1kg shallots or pickling onions
- 200ml olive oil
- 1 can of tomatoes
- 200ml red wine
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- salt and pepper
METHOD:
- In a skillet, brown the meat in hot olive oil and put into a casserole dish.
- Cover the meat with hot water, and stew gently in a moderate oven (140C) for an hour.
- Using a soup wand, puree the tin of tomatoes, and add them to the meat, along with the peeled whole onions, garlic cloves, bay leaves, spices, red wine, wine vinegar, and the rest of the olive oil.
- Bring the stew to a simmer, stir, cover with a lid and return to the oven for at least another two hours.
- Once the meat is tender, and the sauce is rich and thick, take it out of the oven and set to one side. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper at this stage.
- Cook some small potatoes, and serve with the stew. The stew could be served with mashed potatoes, or in small bowls with a side-serving of boiled potatoes.