Stifado
Στιφάδο
Beef braised slowly with a great many small whole onions in red wine, vinegar and tomato, spiced with cinnamon, cloves and allspice.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Στιφάδο.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 2 hr 30 min
- Rest
- 15 min
- Total
- 3 hr 25 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Treat yourself$28+ USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Stifado is a stew where the onions are the point. Beef in large chunks is browned in olive oil, then braised with tomato, red wine, a splash of red wine vinegar, garlic, bay, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Small whole onions, nearly equal in weight to the meat, go in for the second half of the cooking so they turn soft, sweet and glossy without collapsing. The sauce cooks down until thick and dark, sweet and sour at once. Peeling the onions is the tedious part; blanch them first and it goes faster. It is better made a day ahead.
What you'll need
15 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Beef, chuck or shin, in 5 cm chunks1.2 kg
- Pearl onions, peeled, root end left on1 kg
- Olive oil, half for the beef, half for the onions100 ml
- Garlic, sliced4 clove
- Tomato purée30 ml
- Chopped tomatoes, one tin400 g
- Red wine, dry250 ml
- Red wine vinegar44 ml
- Water, hot300 ml
- Salt9.9 ml
- Black pepper4.9 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Pat the beef dry. Heat half the oil in a heavy pot over high heat and brown the beef well in batches, about 10 minutes in all. Set it aside.
12 min
Step 2
Lower the heat, add the garlic and tomato paste and stir for a minute. Pour in the wine and vinegar, scrape up everything stuck to the bottom, and let it bubble for 2 minutes.
4 min
Step 3
Return the beef with its juices. Add the chopped tomatoes, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, bay, salt, pepper and enough hot water to just cover. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour.
60 min
Step 4
Meanwhile, drop the onions into boiling water for a minute, then into cold water, trim the tops and slip off the skins, leaving the root end on. Brown them in the rest of the oil in a frying pan for 8 minutes, shaking, until golden in patches.
20 min
Step 5
Add the onions to the pot and settle them into the sauce. Cover and simmer another hour, until the beef is tender and the onions are soft but whole. Uncover for the last 15 minutes if the sauce needs thickening. Shake the pot rather than stirring.
60 min
Tip: Stirring breaks the onions. A gentle shake of the pot moves everything enough.
Step 6
Rest for 15 minutes off the heat. Pick out the cinnamon and bay and serve with bread, rice or chips.
15 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 733 kcal
- Protein
- 55.4 g
- Carbs
- 21.3 g
- Fat
- 45.9 g
- Saturated fat
- 14.2 g
- Fibre
- 4.1 g
- Sugar
- 9.7 g
- Sodium
- 1042 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- No major allergens flagged in the structured ingredients.
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Pearl onions → Small shallots, peeled and left whole
The most common stand-in outside Greece. Slightly sharper; brown them the same way.
Beef → Rabbit, jointed
The island version. Brown it well and cut the total simmering time to about 1½ hours.
Tips
- Make it the day before. The sauce sets, the flavours settle, and any fat lifts off easily when cold.
- The sauce should taste sweet and sharp at once. If it is flat, add a few drops more vinegar at the end.
History & culture
Stifado is a winter Sunday dish and a taverna favourite, served with bread, chips, rice or orzo. On the islands it is just as often made with rabbit or hare, and plenty of islanders will tell you that is the real one. It is cooked in big pots for name days and family gatherings and keeps well for a couple of days.
The name is thought to come from the Venetian stufado, a stew, through the long Venetian presence in the Ionian islands and Crete. The spices are the same eastern Mediterranean set of cinnamon, cloves and allspice that flavours pastitsio and moussaka. Hare and rabbit stifado is probably the older form, beef the town version.
Traditional — Rabbit and hare are as traditional as beef, especially on Crete and the Ionian islands. Some cooks add a spoon of sugar or honey; with ripe onions it is rarely needed.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Stifado take?
3 hr 25 min all in — 40 min prep, 2 hr 30 min cook, 15 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 6 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Treat yourself — about $28+ USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
5 more questionsFewer questions
What equipment do I need?
Dutch oven, Frying pan, Saucepan, Chef's knife.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 2 tsp.
What can I use instead?
Pearl onions → Small shallots, peeled and left whole. The most common stand-in outside Greece. Slightly sharper; brown them the same way. Beef → Rabbit, jointed. The island version. Brown it well and cut the total simmering time to about 1½ hours.
Any tips from this recipe?
Make it the day before. The sauce sets, the flavours settle, and any fat lifts off easily when cold. The sauce should taste sweet and sharp at once. If it is flat, add a few drops more vinegar at the end.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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