Stifado: Greek Classic for a Special Dinner at Home

Stifado: Greek Classic for a Special Dinner at Home Recipe

by Clifford A. Wright (Zester Daily)

Greek cuisine seems intimidating to the home cook, but many classic Greek dishes are easily doable for dinners at home. Here's one of my favorite recipes - Stifado

Greek food is one that is festive, healthy, simple and delicious, and Greek restaurants are always fun to go to.

Greek food is easy to cook at home too, as long as you have the basic staples -- none of which are exotic -- such as olive oil, tomatoes, oregano, lemon and feta cheese.

When I crave Greek food I don't bother Googling "Greek restaurants" but simply open the refrigerator.

Here are two very simple recipes I make when I think, "How about Greek tonight?" Both use feta cheese, this one with meat, the other one with seafood. I was introduced to both these dishes during my travels in Greece and realized that they are very doable at home.

The stifado is simple braised beef with lots of garlic, onions and interesting spicing. The baked shrimp with feta is probably even easier to do, and I've never made it without people asking for seconds.

Stifado Recipe

This recipe, called stifatho or stifado in Greek, is a braised beef with onions that is simply one recipe among thousands, since every family makes it a little differently and it is so typical of rustic Greek mountain cooking.

The name comes from the Italian stufato, and the Greek version probably results from the influence of Venetian overlordship in the Middle Ages when Venice played such a large role in Greek affairs, especially in the Ionian Sea. On the other hand, the spices, the clove and cinnamon, as well as the walnuts and currants, point to some Turkish or other Levantine influence, too, which is logical when we remember that the Turks controlled most of Greece for 500 years.

These soul-satisfying tastes are perfect once the weather becomes cool. This is a recipe that you can change any way you want, just as a Greek cook would. Maybe you would like to add carrots or potatoes or remove the walnuts -- well, go ahead, it's a free-form Greek stew.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: about 2 3/4 hours

Yield: 4 servings

Stifado Ingredients

- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

- 2 pounds boneless beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes, or 4 pounds beef short ribs

- 1 medium onion, chopped

- 10 garlic cloves, lightly crushed

- 1 cup tomato purée (canned or fresh)

- 1/2 cup dry red wine

- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

- 2 bay leaves

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 4 whole cloves

- 1 teaspoon sugar

- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

- 2 pounds small white onions, both ends sliced off and peeled

- 2 tablespoons currants

- 1 cup walnut halves

- 1 cup crumbled imported Greek or Bulgarian feta cheese

Stifado Directions

1. In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat, then brown the meat on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the meat to a flameproof casserole. Add the chopped onion and garlic cloves to the skillet with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cook, stirring, until the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the tomato purée, wine and wine vinegar to deglaze the skillet. Pour this over the meat in the casserole. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and sugar, and season with salt and pepper.

2. Cover the casserole and braise over low heat for 1 hour. Add the small onions and currants and cook until meat falls off the bone (if using short ribs), about 1 hour more. Add the walnuts and cook 20 minutes more. Add the feta cheese and cook 5 minutes then serve.

Also:

Baked Shrimp With Feta: Greek Classic for a Special Dinner at Home

Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie) Recipe

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Stifado: Greek Classic for a Special Dinner at Home Recipe

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