Winter warmers

I say ‘winter warmers’ but I hadn’t been in Greece long before I realised that food is rarely served warm, let alone hot. Instead, foods are generally served tepid so, I discovered, that the real flavours of the food have a chance to come out – too hot and the flavours just don’t develop or seem to marry in quite the same way. There is also much to be said for resting food, especially meat after cooking so that the muscle relaxes and the juices have a chance to seep appealingly throughout the dish. On my first night in Crete I ate late, as everyone else seemed to be doing, at about 10pm. Despite the balmy summer temperatures I ordered stifado, a rich meat stew usually cooked with rabbit. Out it came from the kitchen, just tepid, accompanied by some simple boiled potatoes served at the very same temperature. The stew was rich and thick, packed with Greek flavours – cinnamon, cloves, tomato and plenty of herbs. The meat was tender and soft with bones that cried out to be picked over by hand and sucked clean! In years gone by I’d eaten Pastitsada in Corfu, a similarly rich, fragrant stew cooked with beef. This recipe below is my combination of these two wonderful dishes, brought together with an English twist – light, golden dumplings scented with fragrant Greek herbs such as dill, rosemary and thyme. Perfect!

Rich beef Stifado stew with Greek herb dumplings

Stifado is a slow-cooked Greek stew usually made with rabbit or hare and scented with plenty of cinnamon and clove. Here beef makes a great alternative and dumplings complete a British twist on a Greek classic.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Serves: 6

50g Bertolli spread
400g shallots, peeled
800g braising steak, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 small cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
4 bay leaves
750ml beef stock
250ml red wine

For the dumplings:
150g self-raising flour
150g shredded suet
2 heaped tbsp finely chopped mixed herbs (dill, thyme, rosemary and oregano are very Greek and a really good combination)

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C, gas mark 3. Warm a 22–26cm ovenproof casserole dish over a high heat. Add half of the Bertolli. When melted add the shallots and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
2. Add the remaining Bertolli to the pan. When melted, cook the beef in small batches until it’s a rich mahogany colour. Remove with a slotted spoon and continue until all the meat is browned. Return all the meat to the pan.
3. Add the remaining stew ingredients. Season to taste and stir well to combine. Bring to the boil, then cover with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and add the shallots to the pan. Re-cover and return to the oven for another hour.
4. About 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time start making the dumplings. Sift the flour and a generous amount of salt and pepper into a bowl. Add the suet and herbs and mix well. Gradually mix in up to 100ml of cold water (you may not need it all) with a round-ended knife until the mixture comes together into a soft dough. Shape the mixture into 6–12 balls.
5. Remove the stew from the oven and increase the temperature to 200°C, gas mark 6. Gently place the dumplings onto the surface of the stew. Return to the oven, uncovered, for 20–25 minutes or until the dumplings are golden. Serve immediately with seasonal vegetables.

Cook’s tip: When faced with peeling lots of shallots, place them in a bowl and cover in boiling water for a few minutes. This will soften the skins and make them much easier to peel.

Typical Nutrient Values per 327g Serving
Calories 442kcal 22%
Sugars 3.6g 4%
Fat 26.7g 38%
Saturates 12g 60%
Salt  1.07g 18%
% of an adult’s guideline daily amount * Based on GDAs for women

Category:

Chania, Crete, Food, Greece, Recipe, Sights & Travel

Tags:

• beef
• Corfu
• Greece
• Greek
• herbs
• olive oil
• pastitsada
• rabbit
• stew
• stifado

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The stew was rich and thick, packed with Greek flavours – cinnamon, cloves, tomato and plenty of herbs. The meat was tender and soft with bones that cried out to be picked over by hand and sucked clean!

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