Stifado-ish (Beef Recipes)

Member Name: Ali72

Product:	Beef Recipes
Date:	09/11/08 (160 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Relatively cheap and easy to prepare; makes a rich, warming meal ideal for autumn

Disadvantages: Long cooking time

This recipe is loosely based on the Greek dish "Stifado", which is a beef and onion stew in a rich tomato sauce. It comes courtesy of my sister-in-law, who has lived in Greece for the last 30 years. It's fairly inexpensive and versatile, as you can use any cheap cut of beef (anything labelled in a supermarket as ""stewing steak" or "braising steak") and it works equally well with chicken. It's very easy to prepare.

For 2-3 people you will need:

1lb beef
1 small onion
1 clove garlic, crushed.
½ to 1 stick cinnamon
Generous pinch of dried pimento (allspice), or other pimento-containing herb blend eg Swartz Spicy Italian works well
500g carton passata (sieved tomatoes)
Olive oil

Cut the beef into cubes, and lightly fry in a little oil until just brown on each side. Add to a large non-stick saucepan. Chop the onion, fry until golden and also add to the saucepan. Add the crushed garlic, passata, cinnamon and pimento. Add a small amount of water - about half the passata carton is fine - because the sauce thickens as it cooks. Stir, cover, and cook on a very slow simmer for about 2 ½ hours or until the meat is falling apart.

This makes a wonderful, fragrant, warming meal perfect for autumn. It is best served with small pasta, preferably "pasta rice" if you can find it here in the UK.

Summary: Warming autumn beef dish