Stifado main dish: Stifado originally was made from hare meat that the Cretan men would go out hunting for. After a period of time nearly all of the hares were killed on the island, making them very difficult to find. Now Cretan people keep the cousin of the hare, the rabbit, which also makes a very tasty alternative and is used as the traditional meat for stifado, still eaten a lot in the villages. The onions used in the original recipe are very small. They are whole onions shallots, if you cannot get them, sliced big onions are fine. However people visiting Cretan taverns want often a different meat, so beef is also widely used giving a very rich stifado.

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Stifado with beef or rabbit: 1 kilo braising steak beef or 1 whole rabbit, 8 large onions , 2 bay leaves , 2 kilo fresh tomatoes , ½ litre dry red wine , Salt  & pepper, 2 table spoons sugar , 1 box tomatoes puree , 1 cinnamon stick 1 (optional to your taste), Olive oil, 12 whole black pepper corns.

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At the butcher, if you are buying the rabbit, ask for it cleaned and skinned and chopped into bits. If you want to use the beef, ask the butcher to cut it into stew size chunks. Wash and take the stalks off the tomatoes and chop into pieces. Place the tomatoes in the blender and blitz until becomes it becomes pulp. Set the tomato pulp aside. Peel all the onions and chop in half and half again and again, so you have rough cut to give the stifado texture. The onions will break down during cooking. Get a good cooking pan with a thick bottom, that can stay on the heat for a long time. Place a good amount of olive oil all over the bottom and put onto the heat. Let it bubble slightly and add the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Let it braise very slightly brown. Next add the red wine, the bay leaves and pepper corns. Bring to the boil. Add the tomatoes pulp from the blender and the puree. Mix it well. At this time, add 2 large spoons of white sugar to balance out the acidic flavour of the tomatoes. Get the cinnamon stick if you wish to use it.  I prefer not to, as the stifado for me becomes to cinnamon tasting. Add all the onions, mix well and let this all boil again and mix . Boil for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to simmer slowly cook for a further 1 hour. Keep mixing and watching. Taste and season. Cook until the meat is tender and sauce is thickened.

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Stifado can be served with white or brown rice, smashed potatoes or chips

Happy cooking!

Regards, Helena xx

The Greek Cookbook of Zorbas Island (cooking workshops) : every week we will give you a new recipe from our Greek kitchen at Zorbas Island. Now you are able to prepare all these healthy and delicious Greek dishes at home! Off course, you are can also taste all our Greek dishes while on holiday at Zorbas Island. We use always fresh (biological) local products for all our Greek recipes. At our Greek cooking workshops we will explain more about the ingredients and preparation of the Greek kitchen. Have fun with your Greek cooking and kali oreksi!