Beef Stifado
"I used to make this on the stove over very low heat, but since I got a crockpot, I use that. This is good served over white or brown rice."
photo by *Parsley*
- Ready In:
- 8hrs 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
8-10
ingredients
- 3 lbs lean stewing beef, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
- salt and pepper
- 1⁄2 cup butter, melted
- 2 1⁄2 lbs white onions, small,peeled
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 1⁄2 cup red table wine
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 piece cinnamon
- 1⁄4 teaspoon cumin
- 1⁄2 teaspoon whole cloves
- 2 tablespoons raisins
directions
- Season the beef with salt and pepper.
- Place butter in the bottom of a large crockpot.
- Add the meat and turn to coat with butter.
- Arrange the onions over the meat.
- Mix the tomato paste through the garlic, and pour over the meat and onions, but do not stir.
- Add the bay leaf through the raisins; do not stir.
- Simmer on low 8-10 hours.
- At serving time, remove the bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cloves and stir the stifado gently to blend.
Questions & Replies
-
@echo echo, where did this recipe come from? I received a similar recipe from a neighbor in the South in the 90s. The difference is her recipe used one large onion and 1/3 cup wine. I've been looking for the origin of this recipe, which uses tomato paste instead of canned tomatoes like the British recipes that seem to be commonplace on the Internet. The ingredient list I have is identical, so I wonder if both our recipes came from the same place, but with different tweaks along the way...maybe Southern Living or a similar magazine? -
What can be substituted for the butter?
Reviews
-
Sweet-toothed DH absolutely loved this. I added some dried cranberries, too, and used balsamico because that's what I had. Will make this again! Thanks for posting. -
This was very easy to make, and DH loved the taste. I used yellow onions that I sliced thick. Thank you! -
I made this as a take-home meal for my DS, I actually thought that he would have two meals out of it, but it has already been devoured totally and given high reviews!. I did increase pretty much all the ingredients, and added in some dried oregano. This is absolutely delicious, please do not omit the raisins, it really makes this dish! I plan on trying this with pork also! thanks echo!...Kitten:)
-
My whole family really enjoyed this. I made it exactly as written minus the raisins. My meat was very tender but not shredded. Perfect blend of flavors. I served this over rice with vegetables on the side. Thanx for posting this; my house smelled wonderful all day. I'll make this again. -
This stew is a lot sweeter than our traditional stew is but that may be because I added one carrot to the stew and a bit less onions than the recipe called for. I was a bit disappointed that the meat was sort of shredded rather than in chunks also but all in all it was a good dinner which we served with Kansas Gal Biscuits recipe#43105. Thanks for sharing!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
echo echo
Phippsburg, Maine
[SINCE I HAVE WELL OVER 200 COOKBOOKS, I SUGGEST THAT ANYONE EXPLORING MY COLLECTION CLICK ON 'AUTHOR'S ORDER' AT THE TOP OF THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN BEFORE PROCEEDING. I'VE ARRANGED THEM SO THAT COOKBOOK SERIES OR SIMPLY COOKBOOKS ON RELATED TOPICS APPEAR TOGETHER, WHICH SHOULD MAKE IT EASIER TO FIND THE ONES THAT INTEREST YOU.]
In 2004, I moved home to New England after many years living in the South. Often I go walking in the morning with my sister, who lives near me on the Maine coast--we truly live in a beautiful place. I share a love of ACC basketball with my brother in upstate New York. Nowadays, I rely heavily on Kitty Rosati's Heal Your Heart book (lots of low-sodium recipes) and Donald Gazzaniga's No-Salt, Lowest-Sodium Cookbook. Other cookbooks I frequently use are Weil & Daley's The Healthy Kitchen and Cooking Light's Five-Star Recipes cookbook.
From January 2005 to September 2008, I hosted the recipe tagging game <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?p=2192193">ONE-TWO-THREE HIT WONDERS</a>, taking four months off in late 2007, during which the tireless, compassionate and totally wonderful Game Forum Hosts <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/88099"> ~Nimz~</a>, <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/67656"> justcallmetoni</a>, <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/157425">Lauralie41</a> and <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/428885">Andi of Longmeadow Farm</a> with incredible kindness of took over my workload. I loved hosting the game and the players there were and are the best, but competing obligations required me to give it up and it's now ably presided over by HokiesLady.
In 2008 my dear sister finally joined Recipezaar. Her chef name is Sagadahoc (the county in Maine she lives in). My popular Recipe #89132 is actually her recipe--check it out sometime, it's great! She eventually realized how useful having several cookbooks can be, so I gave her a premium membership as her birthday present in March 2008.
Some of my favorite sources of recipes are the public cookbooks of other Zaar chefs. I have over 100 bookmarked to refer to occasionally, but some of my favorites are from the following:
In January-February 2007, the Chefs of 1-2-3 Hit Wonders hosted a Cook-a-Thon for veteran Zaar member Sharon123 while she was undergoing chemotherapy at Duke University. The entire group of recipes tagged, cooked and reviewed for the Cook-a-Thon are contained in:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=123948">Sharon123's Cook-a-Thon Cookbook</a></li>
<a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/58104">~Rita~</a>: Thanks to her stunning photographs, she has one of the most beautiful cookbook lists at Zaar. Her cookbooks focus on a variety of inspired topics, many of them health-related, and the introductions often provide an encyclopedic disquisition on the topic at hand. Some stand-outs:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/27685">Edible Flowers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/33443">Honey Honey You`ve got me wanting you!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/33123">Recipes I named after zaar chefs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/33325">Menopause</a></li>
If you've been around Zaar any length of time, you probably know that <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/4470">Bergy</a> writes wonderfully detailed and helpful recipe reviews and has also contributed a wealth of wonderful recipes of her own. Judging from comments in the forums, her burger cookbook is the most popular and referenced cookbook at Zaar, and her appetizers cookbook is a treasury of finger foods as well as a major hunting ground for Dim Sum:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/30563">Saturday Night Burgers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/25538">Appetizers/Finger Foods</a></li>
<a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/133174">PaulaG</a>'s own recipes are a well I go back to again and again--I've made tons of her dishes, with great results. Cookbooks of hers I find especially handy include:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/27896">Chicken Recipes</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/45020">Then There Were 2</a></li>
As I mentioned above, while I love the cuisines of all regions of the world, my favorite is Greek, and the following from <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/49168">Cookiegirlandi</a> is chockful of great Greek recipes:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/30983">It's All Greek</a></li>
(Another great way to find Greek recipes is to go cirectly to evelyn/athens' <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?chef=80353">recipe list</a> and then sift for Cuisine-->European__>Southern-->Greek. She currently has 142.)
UPDATE: <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/80353">evelyn/athens</a>, host of the Greek Cooking Forum and Greek food expert extraordinaire has a cookbook of her own Greek fecipes that could be the only reference you'll ever need for Greek cuisine:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/76021">Greek Cookery</a></li>
I'm not a vegetarian, but I do eat meatless meals a fair amount of the time. I've observed that <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/37449">Sharon123</a> is a great one for cooking fare that's healthy and tastes great, which is why I trust and turn to her:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/41407">Yummy Vegetarian Dishes</a></li>
If I want to cook something to eat with my friends, the go-to person is <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/6258">Miss Annie</a>:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/26048">Recipes for Entertaining</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/26046">Pot Luck /Picnic Recipes</a></li>
<a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/1533">Dancer^</a> is single-handedly responsible for tons of great salad dressing and seasoning mixes posted at Zaar. See the evidence in her cookbooks:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/33143">Dressings & Vinaigrettes</a>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/34918">Spice and Herb Mixes</a>
If I'm hanging out in heaven a hundred years from now, I'm hoping to find they've had the good sense to make <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/169969">NcMysteryShopper</a> and <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/8688">Bev</a> the twin bartenders there, so after I go to my final reward I can continue to imbibe offerings from Cheryl's Book #99544, Book #148198, Book #90314, Book #73634, Book #75595, Book #74074 and Book #70836 cookbooks and Bev's Book #86058 and Book #124180 cookbooks. These ladies know how to set 'em up and I know how to chug 'em!
<a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/39547">Julesong</a> was one of the first to take advantage of the multiple-cookbook option of premium membership in a big way. For awhile she held the record for most cookbooks at Zaar. Some of those I've particularly liked include:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=30568">Junior League Cookbook Recipes</a>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=31052">Second Chance</a> - a generous list of Zaar recipes that received a low-to-mediocre rating but may deserve a second look
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=30575">Newspaper Recipes</a> - some of my own favorites have come from newspapers, including the original version of my most popular recipe Recipe #88939.
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=32342">Old Bay Recipes</a>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=31064">Penzey's Recipes</a>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=34721">Gooseberry Patch Recipes</a>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=29290">They Call Me the Soup Fairy... ;) Julie's Soups</a> - Julie has some great soups in her repertoire!
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=30010">Famous Chefs - Julia Child, my hero!</a> (My favorite from among her exhaustive collection of Famous Chefs cookbooks)
I'll admit I've never actually made anything in them, but <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/13593">Amber of AZ</a> and <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/21752">Mirj</a> have two of the most fun cookbooks to peruse:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/34557">The Bizarre of Recipezaar</a> - Amber</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/42722">Funny Recipes</a> - Mirj</li>
I'm always looking to lose weight, so really appreciate all the fine folks who've come up with cookbooks for dieters. Other than keeping my sodium intake low most of the time for my blood pressure, I don't follow any particular one of the popular diets, but rather am just an old-fashioned calorie counter. This means that I can find gold in all the varieties of diet cookbooks--low-fat, low-carb, weight watchers, diabetic (even though I'm not). Ones I've found useful include:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/34472">Low Carb, SB Diet Recipes, WW </a> - Barb Gertz</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/64175">Healthy, Low Fat and Low Cal Cookbook</a> - Hazeleyes</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/27730">Low Carbing It</a> - The Dancing Cook</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/25930/92/ls=h">Side Dishes Recipes in Weight Watcher's Core Recipes</a> - toni gifford</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/30696">Weight Watchers Recipes - Flex Program</a> - toni gifford</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/33151">Recipes with WW points</a> - Dancer^</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/34888">Can this really be lowfat?</a> - Shirl(J)831</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/33588">WW Core Recipes I Have Tried</a> - ladypit</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/60453">Low Fat</a> - PaulaG</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/33882">Lowfat and Lovin' It</a> - rochsann</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/36682">Low Fat Favorites</a> - Kree</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/30403">Watch My Weight!</a> - KCShell</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/50427">Steaming Recipes</a> - LittleKiwiChook</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mail/view?msgid=367012">Low Fat NOT Low Taste cookbook</a> - Theresa P</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/38141">Guiltless Indulgences</a> - WaterMelon</li>
When I'm looking for cheap or easy or cheap AND easy, these cookbooks come in handy:
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/51062">Budget Cooking</a> - Lvs2Cook</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/51066">Cheap and Easy Cooking</a> - Lvs2Cook</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/31285">College Favorites</a> - .::.Blink.::. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/41334">Cheap to Make, Easy to Make</a> - KathyLBel </li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/38218">College Cooking</a> - Julesong </li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/28166">Easy Weeknight Recipes</a> - Vote_for_Pedro</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/34003">Food on a Dime Recipes</a> - peacefulnightdove</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/52627">Frugal Gourmet</a> - Carolyn H </li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/42873">Got Leftovers? Got Recipes</a> - Lennie</li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/59638">Mama's Fast and Frugal Recipes</a> - mama's kitchen </li>
<li><a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/45744">One Dish Wonders</a> - Doreen~ </li>
The only freezer I have is the one on top of my fridge, so I don't have room to do once a MONTH cooking, but I generally like to have a dish or 2 stowed away there to cut down on last minute rushing. <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/3288">Tish</a>'s complete library of OAMC cookbooks are the reason I have bookmarked her entire <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/browse/getchef.zsp?id=3288">homepage</a> for easy reference.
Here's a special shout-out to my friend <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/89831">KITTENCAL</a>. When I see in my Zaar InBox one of her thoughtful notes just sent out of the blue to offer an encouraging word, it makes my day. She has a goodly collection of cookbooks, but her true achievement is the 3,000+ recipes she's posted--how does she manage to be so prolific yet keep the quality of her offerings so high?
I especially want to thank that sweetie-pie <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/member/183964">Pot Scrubber</a> for teaching me how to link to other people's cookbooks. Check out what HIS favorite Zaar chef cookbooks are, as well as see his own wittily titled cookbooks <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbooks.php?mid=183964">here</a>.
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