Back in my troops days I did a lot of traveling. One day I might be in Rome, an additional one day heading towards Beirut or in a few fortunate times a lay over in beautiful Greece. For some strange and unusual calculate every time our plane would transcend Greek airspace it advanced a mechanical qoute and forced us to land at Venizelos Airport for repairs, gee such a life.
Our ending location for the evening would be the lovely city of Athens with all her charm and splendor. We would put up for the evening at one of the fine hotels and there normally was a stew brewing at one of the local eatery that evening. I don't imagine that I will ever completely double that marvelous stew but I have included my personal version in this article. More then likely the Greek version used Lamb as its meat of option and judging from my grandfather who was from Greece there was likely mint added to its list of ingredients. Spices of singular note were cinnamon and cloves which are oftentimes employed to flavor much of Greek foods.
Meat Loaf
The Greek name for this singular stew is translated as stifatho. It is braised beef or possibly lamb with onions which is normally ready differently according to the house who is cooking it. Every house has their own versions of this stew with each slightly different. This method would be thought about typical of the Greek cooking so tasteless in and colse to the city of Athens.
The satisfying tastes associated with this stew are exquisite while the approaching cool weather. Keep in mind the method can be modified as you desire just as a Greek house would do. possibly you would wish to add carrots or potatoes the option is entirely up to you.
Ingredients
2 pounds of lean beef or lamb stewing meat
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 Cups of water
1 can of tomato paste
3 tablespoons of Red wine vinegar
2 ½ teaspoons of Salt
½ teaspoon of Sugar
½ teaspoon of Ground pepper
½ teaspoon of Minced garlic
1 stick of cinnamon about 4 inches long or substitute ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
7 whole cloves or ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves
2 pounds of small white pearl onions
Start by trimming all the excess fat from colse to the meat and then slice it into 1 inch chunk pieces. Pre-heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over a medium to high heat. Add the chunks of meat to the olive oil and brown the slices on all sides.
In an additional one medium saucepan join and whisk together the water, the can of tomato paste, salt, pepper, vinegar, sugar and garlic bringing the mixture to a rapid boil and pour immediately over the beef or lamb that is in the stock pot. Now, add the cinnamon stick or the ground cinnamon to the pot.
During this next step add the whole cloves into one of the small onions and place them into the mixture or if using ground cloves add it now. Cover the stock pot and simmer the mixture for 1 and a half hours.
Peel the remaining onions at this time and add them to the stew pot. Continue to cook for an additional one 45 minutes until the onions and the beef come to be tender. Prior to serving take off the cinnamon stick as well as the clove stuffed onion. Serve your stew over rice or pasta complimented with a rustic crusty type bread. Your house will enjoy the unique nature of this Greek stew.
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