Ingredients
Meat
- 1.2 kgbeef shin or chuck, in large cubes
- or 1 rabbit, jointed
Onions
- 1 kgsmall pickling onions or shallots, peeled whole
Braise
- 150 mlolive oil
- 6 clovesgarlic
- 3 tbsptomato paste
- 400 gtinned tomatoes
- 200 mlred wine
- 100 mlred wine vinegar
- 300 mlstock or water
Spices
- 1cinnamon stick
- 5whole cloves
- 6allspice berries
- 3bay leaves
- 1 sprigrosemary
- 1 tspblack peppercorns
- salt
Optional
- 1 tbsphoney or a little sugar
- a strip of orange peel
To serve
- crusty bread
- or hilopites, or plain rice
Directions
- Pour boiling water over them and leave them 2 minutes, then drain and slip the skins off. Blanching loosens the skins and turns twenty minutes of miserable work into five.
- Keep them whole. Pat the beef completely dry and season it. Brown it hard in batches in the olive oil, in a heavy pot. Brown it properly and do not crowd the pan, because that crust is the base of the flavour and crowded meat steams grey.
- Lift the browned meat out of the pot. Now fry the whole onions in the same oil until they are golden all over. Roll them around the pan rather than stirring them, so they do not break. Lift them out and set them aside.
- Add the garlic and tomato paste to the pot and fry the paste for 3 minutes until it darkens. Return the meat, add the wine, and let it bubble hard for 2 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar and let it cook for a couple of minutes before adding anything else.
- Let the vinegar boil for a moment so the harshest edge cooks off, and use a good red wine vinegar rather than a sharp white one. Add the tomatoes, stock, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, bay, rosemary and peppercorns. Tie the small spices in a piece of muslin if you would rather not find cloves later. Bring it to a simmer, cover, and cook very gently for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Keep it at the barest simmer or put it in a low oven, which is easier to control. Now add the browned onions and cook a further 45 minutes to an hour. Add the onions partway through rather than at the start. Given the full cooking time they collapse entirely, and they should end up whole, soft and glossy.
- Shake the pot rather than stirring, which would break them up. It is done when the meat is completely tender and the onions can be pierced easily but still hold their shape. Taste it and balance the vinegar with a little honey if it is too sharp. Season it properly and take out the cinnamon stick and bay. Let it stand for 20 minutes off the heat before serving.
- Serve it with bread to mop the sauce, or with hilopites, the small square Greek egg pasta. Rabbit stifado is the older version and is very good, and it needs about half the cooking time.
Technique
- Rabbit is the traditional meat in many regions and beef is the common one now.
- Octopus stifado is made on the islands and is excellent.
- It genuinely improves overnight.
Substitutions
- Shallots in place of pickling onions.
- Rabbit or veal in place of beef.
Variations
- Kouneli stifado, made with rabbit.
- Oktapodi stifado, made with octopus.
- With walnuts added, as in parts of the Peloponnese.
History
Beef or rabbit stewed with whole shallots, vinegar and cinnamon; the name comes from Venetian stufado, reflecting Venetian rule in Greece.
Frequently asked questions
What is Stifado?
Stifado is a soup & stew from Greece: beef stewed with pearl onions, wine, cinnamon. Beef or rabbit stewed with whole shallots, vinegar and cinnamon; the name comes from Venetian stufado, reflecting Venetian rule in Greece.
How long does Stifado take to make?
Stifado takes 40 min of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Stifado?
Yes, within limits. Shallots in place of pickling onions. Rabbit or veal in place of beef.
What is the most important thing to get right in Stifado?
Keep them whole. Pat the beef completely dry and season it. Brown it hard in batches in the olive oil, in a heavy pot. Brown it properly and do not crowd the pan, because that crust is the base of the flavour and crowded meat steams grey.
