Beef Stifado with Bay Leaves and Lemon Rice

Stifado is a winter Sunday dish. The shallots go in whole and turn sweet, the cinnamon and bay do the seasoning, and the beef needs nothing but time. The lemon rice cuts through the richness.

Serves 4 - 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 800g beef chuck, cut into 4cm cubes
• 500g small shallots, peeled and left whole
• 5 tbsp APSOGO Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 jar (480g) APSOGO Organic Greek Chopped Tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 cinnamon stick, 4 allspice berries
• 4 APSOGO Organic Greek Bay Leaves
• APSOGO Greek Sea Salt Blossom and black pepper
• For the rice: 300g long-grain rice, 1 onion chopped, 600ml stock, juice and zest of 1 lemon, 1 bay leaf, 2 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Brown the beef in olive oil in a heavy pot in batches, seasoning as you go. Set aside.
2. Add the shallots and garlic to the pot and cook 5 minutes until lightly coloured.
3. Return the beef. Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, vinegar, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves and enough water to almost cover. Bring to a simmer.
4. Cover and cook on the lowest heat for 2 to 2.5 hours until the beef is fork-tender and the sauce is thick. Remove the cinnamon and bay before serving.
5. For the rice: soften the onion in olive oil, stir in the rice, add stock, lemon juice and bay leaf. Cover and cook 15 minutes. Rest 5 minutes, fluff, add the zest.
6. Serve the stifado over the rice with a slice of lemon.

Tip

Stifado freezes well. Make double and freeze half without the rice.

All the APSOGO ingredients in this recipe are available at apsogo.com.