Thyme and space

Stifado

Jump to recipe
Stifado

When my husband and I first moved in together, I had just finished my master’s degree and was searching for a job. It was not easy at that time, not that it would be easier now… I graduated at the end of June and we decided that this would be a great time to have a big vacation before I started working.

And it was the best vacation ever.

We found a travel option to Korfu. We booked it and went there for 2 weeks. The first day was actually the birthday of my husband.

I had already been to Greece at least three times, so I knew what to expect, but this time it was even more than that.

The island is in the Ionian Sea and I had never been there before. I heard that it is the bluest blue. And that was not a lie. It was so beautiful, I could hardly believe my eyes.

The hotel we stayed in had a small restaurant where the host cooked the meals for the guests. On the first day we tried the food and it was great.

Any time we visit a restaurant, my husband chooses the best food on the menu. This time he chose stifado. It said on the menu that it is a specialty in Corfu. It was so good that we wanted to try it at home too, and since the seasoning gives us Christmas vibes, we made it our traditional Christmas Eve dinner.

In Corfu it was served with either french fries or orzo pasta. I always make bread dumpling with it.

Later we found out that there is also a version of this dish made without tomato, only with onions, but we did not like it that much.

Stifado

Prep

1 hour

Cook

2-3 hours

Total

4 hours

Ingredients

  • 1 kg beef
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 400 g canned tomato
  • 4 dl water
  • 1 dl dry red wine
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 5 twig rosemary chopped
  • A handful of raisins
  • Juice of 2 oranges
  • 500 ml passata
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 250 g fresh pearl onion

Instructions

  1. Cut the beef into about 3 cm pieces, salt it and sear it evenly in 1 tbsp olive oil.
  2. When the meat is nice brown on each side take it out into a bowl.
  3. Add the chopped onion and garlic into the oil. Cook until they are translucent.
  4. Add the can of tomato, the juices of the oranges, red wine, balsamic vinegar, half of the passata and the spices: cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, rosemary. Cook this mix for around 5 minutes so the alcohol from the wine evaporates.
  5. Set the heat to the lowest and add the previously seared meat. Cover it and cook until it is soft. That could take a lot of time. Be patient.
  6. While the meat is cooking, add the rest of the water and passata. Stir now and then.
  7. When the meat is soft enough, heat oil in a pan and add the pearl onions. Cook until they get a little color on both sides.
  8. As soon as the onions are browned, add them to the meat with the raisins. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook for another 15 minutes.