Stifado
Apparently the exile of Jews by the Spanish monarchy had only one good side effect, the Ladinos who arrived to greek lands brought with them this delicious stew.
From the Castilian estofado or from Venetian stufado, from Latin extufare, from ancient Greek τύφος (or túphos, literally “steam”), we bring to you this unique and tasty dish.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ (10gr) tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons (60ml) olive oil
- 600gr beef stew meat, diced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 100ml red wine
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 strip fresh orange peel
- 400g tomatoes or passata
- 400ml (4 fl oz) water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 500g (1 ¼ lb) pearl onions, peeled, (you can use plain small onions if you caramelize them).
- Salt and pepper
Directions
Put 5gr of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a large heavy pot over high heat. Brown the beef on all sides adding salt when it starts sweating broth, and remove from the pot. Stir the onions into the oil remaining in the pot, and reduce heat to medium; cook and stir before the onion has softened and turned translucent add the garlic. Pour in the red wine, bring to a simmer, then add the beef back in to the pot.
While cooking at medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season the stew with cinnamon, nutmeg and orange peel. Add pepper to taste. Stir well for 3 minutes or so.
Optionally, make the passata with your tomatoes, (peel them and run through the blender).
Pour in the passata and water. Cover, and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Stir in the small onions, and cook until they are well browned, stirring frequently so they don’t burn.
Optionally, if you don’t have button onions or pearl onions add a teaspoon of sugar to caramelize the onions exterior.
After the beef has boiled for a good 2 hours (this depends on the meat, check if it is soft and easy to cut), add the pearl onions, recover, and continue boiling for 25 minutes.
Remove the lid, and cook uncovered until the stew has reduced and slightly thickened. Remove the orange peel before serving. Serves 4 bowls.