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STIFADO - A GREEK STEW WITH ORZO

Stifado, pronounced Stif-a-tho, is the ultimate Greek comfort food. Unlike most stews, stifado features a lot of small whole onions. In our recipe we suggest using shallots or white pearl onions. Stifado is also a wonderfully aromatic dish with warm, sweet spices of cinnamon and clove. And instead of red wine vinegar we splash in Cinnamon Pear dark balsamic. This ensures the right amount of acidity with a guarantee that cinnamon is infused throughout the stew. With all our beef recipes, pasture raised is best. We're big fans of eating less animal protein and promoting sustainable grass fed meat sources. Stew is a wonderful solution since less meat goes a long way. 

INGREDIENTS:

1-1/2 lbs pasture raised stewing beef, cut in 2-inch cubes
20 shallots or pearl onions, peeled
1/2 cup fresh extra virgin olive oil
​4 garlic cloves, minced
pinch of ground nutmeg
4 tbsp Cinnamon Pear dark balsamic
​1-1/2 cups beef stock
​1 can whole tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 tbsp tomato paste
​1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper 
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 cup water
1/2 tsp ground cloves 
1-1/2 cups orzo pasta

TIP: For peeling shallots, place in medium bowl and cover with boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes. Peels slide off easily.

DIRECTIONS:

In a Dutch oven heat the oil over medium heat to shimmering. Add onions. Saute for 10 minutes until golden. Remove onions from pot and set aside. Add beef to pot and brown on all sides in batches to avoid steaming. Place all ingredients, except onions, in pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for 1 hour until sauce has thickened and beef is tender, stirring occasionally. Then add onions. Cook for an additional 30 minutes. Prepare orzo according to package directions. Serve with stew. Add a drizzle of Garlic olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Inspired my mygreekdish.com