As we enter the winter months which call for red wine, Oenou Yi – Ktima Vassiliades has the perfect recipe for Greek beef stifado (stew). Juicy and tender, melt-in-the-mouth beef stifado with a delicious, slightly sweet, intense sauce that blends wonderfully with our indigenous Maratheftiko variety wine, Geróklima, our emblematic red wine.
Ingredients:
For the marinade
- ¼ cup vinegar
- 2 tbsps sea salt
- 1 orange, cut in half
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 4-5 pepper corns
For the stew
- 2 kg beef
- 8 medium onions
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup vinegar
- 3 fresh tomatoes, peeled
- 1½ cup Playiá Cuvée Spéciale
- 2 bay leaves
- 4-5 allspice grains
- salt
- freshly ground pepper
- orange peel
- 4 tbsps balsamic cream
Preparation:
- Cut the beef into large chunks. Put it in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, pour over the vinegar and cover it with cold water.
- Add all the other marinade ingredients in the bowl and let sit for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry.
- Cut the onions into 4 or 6 pieces.
- In a large saucepan or hull heat half the olive oil on low to medium; add the onions and let them wither for 10 minutes.
- Once the onions start becoming transparent, add the crushed garlic. Let cook for 1-2 minutes and pour over the vinegar. Let the onions and garlic caramelise for 1-2 minutes and the liquids evaporate.
- Heat the rest of the olive oil in another pan and brown the meat pieces all around. Put the browned pieces in the pot with the onions and garlic.
- Once you reach your last portion of meat to brown, add the wine and the balsamic cream and let them boil all together for 4-5 minutes.
- Transfer the whole mixture to the pot with the onions.
- Cut the tomatoes crosswise and add them in the pot with the bay leaves, allspice and orange peel.
- Cover and simmer the stew for about 2 hours, until the meat becomes really tender and the sauce is thick and creamy.
- Towards the end of cooking time, season with salt and pepper. During cooking check the liquids in the pot. If necessary, add a little water.
- Serve the stew hot with baked potatoes or French fries or even rice and do not forget to open a bottle of Geróklima by Oenou Yi – Ktima Vassiliades to complete your meal!
