Beef Stifado

Method

• step 1

  put meat in a frying pan and sear the meat then add the olive oil, onions and garlic leave until onions start to go soft (about 5 minutes)

• step 2

  Then add the glass of red wine and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, cover and leave for 5 minutes

• step 3

  then add your cinnamon, stock cube, cloves, nutmeg, bay leaves, rosemary, tomato puree and salt and pepper to taste. keep stirring to let all your ingredients mix together.

• step 4

  then finally add your chopped tomatoes and continue stirring for 5 minutes,

• step 5

  then transfer to a clay pot or casserole dish and add about 1/4 - 1/2 litre of water, be careful not to drown the sauce, then cook for at least one hour in the oven on a moderate heat, keeping checking you dont want it to dry out and add water if needed you are aiming for a thick rich sauce texture,

• step 6

  whilst cooking place your 500 grams of shallots into hot water to soften the skin and peel, then fry these in a little olive oil, be careful not to burn them, just aim to soften them and add a little colour, add these to Stifado after one hour of cooking in the oven and then add them to the pot and cook for a further 1 hour until the meat is tender.