Traditional Beef Stifado
(Greek Beef Stew with Baby Onions)

1 kg (2.2 lbs) boneless stewing beef (not completely lean)
250 ml (1 cup) dry white wine
250 ml (1 cup) extra virgin olive oil
3 pureed medium tomatoes (do not peel)
1 small chopped onion
125 ml (1/2 cup) condensed tomato juice
2 dry bay leaves
1 kg (2.2 lbs) baby onions peeled
salt, pepper

Cut beef into quite large cubes. Heat oil in a pot & brown the meat. Add chopped onion & saut?with meat & then pour in wine & allow to come to the boil until the liquids evaporate by half. Add pureed tomatoes & tomato juice, bay leaves, salt, pepper & half cup of water. Mix ingredients, cover pot & allow meat to cook over a low flame for approximately 90 minutes.

Peel baby onion making an incision like a cross at the base of each (this prevents the onions from falling apart). Add onions to pot & add another half cup of water (a little more if you consider the pot is too dry for the onions to cook), cover & allow to cook over a low flame for another 45 - 60 minutes or until onions & meat are both cooked. The sauce remaining in the pot at the end should be thickish & rich. If there are too many liquids remaining, uncover pot, turn up heat to high & allow to cook for a few minutes until extra liquids evaporate. Caution not to burn the sauce & make the meat & onions stick to the bottom. Serve with crusty bread & lots of fresh, hot thickly cut fried potatoes (they really soak up all that terrific flavour).

If you are up to it & would like to really seal in all the delicious aromas & juices of the stew, make a simple dough of flour & water & seal the edges of the pot and lid together with the dough all the way around when you have added the onions. This is how many traditional Greek mamas still do it even today... including me.

Kindest regards, Maria
www.authentic-greek-recipes.com
www.gourmetscouzina.com

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