stifado

I fell in love with this dish during my third or fourth summer in Athens, determined to eat more than cheap gyros and Byzantino's tortellini.  After years of failed attempts, I have finally made a stifado that tastes like it does in my memory. It will never be as good as in Greece, but it's the best I'll do in Indiana. This was also quite simple, I love anything that involves mixing a few ingredients and letting my crockpot do the majority of the work. 

Ingredients

2.5 pounds beef chuck or arm roast - mine is local, from Schact Farms

2 cups pearl onions

1/2 cup tomato paste - I used frozen from last year's garden tomatoes

marinade:

3/4 cup red wine

4 tbsp wine vinegar

2 tbsp minced garlic

2 bay leaves

5 whole cloves

12 allspice berries

s&p 

Let the meat marinate for at least 6 hours. Transfer beef and liquid to crockpot.  Add just enough water to reach the halfway mark on your roast. Cook for 6 hours on a medium/high setting.  Halfway through the six hours, stir the tomato paste into the liquid and add the pearl onions.  When meat and onions are cooked, remove roast from crockpot and trim away the cooked fat, break the meat into small chunks.  Pour the remaining liquid and cooked onions, with the chunked meat, into a large baking dish.  Cook on 400 degrees for 90 minutes, until liquid has reduced and the onions have carmelized. 

Enjoy over plain rice or mashed potatoes.

~RLM

Comments

[carolyn]

this sounds SO GOOD, dude.