Greek Beef Stew

This recipe is from a new cookbook How to Roast a Lamb: New Greek Classic Cooking by Michael Psilakis. The foreword of the book compliments the author by saying, "you won't find a recipe for the old familiar Greek salad" in its pages.

I'm a HUGE fan of the old familiar Greek salad: tomatoes, feta, olive oil, oregano, lemon juice, olives. What's not to like?! But since I'm not eating any feta these days –  nor am I indulging in the wonders of pastitsio or spinach pies (I just told my sweet friend Stacey that I would give my right arm for a piece of pastitsio right now) – I was pretty excited to pick up a nouveau Greek recipe.

This one is so easy, it's a crime. Seriously! Lock me up. The only part that's a pain is browning the meat because it must be done in batches to get a lovely dark crust. Otherwise, the simmering does all the work. You know how much I love the magic of simmering.

And – bonus! – the recipe says "The tougher the meat, the better the sauce." so this deliciousness is economical, too. I used a beef shoulder; you can also use brisket or shanks.

Bodino Stifado Me Praso (Beef Stew with Leeks)

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons fat (I used 1 olive oil and 2 coconut oil.)
2-3 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 1.5-inch cube
Kosher salt and pepper
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 leek, washed, drained, and cut into coins
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine (or beef broth, if you're strict about that kind of thing)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3-5 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh sage
2 cinnamon sticks
grated orange zest
chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Sprinkle the beef generously with salt and pepper. (The original recipe said 'aggressively,' but I think 'generously' has a more positive vibe.

2. In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat, then add the meat in batches and sear on all sides. Remove the browned pieces to a bowl to catch the juice and repeat until they're all finished. You want the meat to get a nice, crispy crust so make sure you don't crowd the pan. Yes, this step is mildly annoying, but the payoff is worth it.

3. In the now-empty pan (except for the lovely drippings), sauté the chopped carrot, onion, celery, and leek for about 2 minutes, the stir in the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute.

4. Deglaze the pan! Which is just a brief, fancy way to say: Add the red wine and vinegar and stir with passion, scraping up all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Feel free to hum to yourself. Keep stirring until the mixture is thick and most of the moisture is gone. It should resemble really, really thick sauce.

5. Put the meat and whatever drippings and juice it's expended back into the pot. Add 3 cups of water, 2 teaspoons salt, a healthy dose of pepper, and the seasonings: bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, sage, and cinnamon sticks.

6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer with the pan only partially covered for about an hour. (NOTE: It might take longer than an hour, so if you're making it on a time schedule, budget 90 minutes, just to be on the safe side). If it starts to dry out, add more water, about a 1/2 cup at a time. You want to simmer until the meat is fall-apart tender and the liquid in the pan has been reduced to gravy-like status. This is not a soupy stew; it's more like pot roast with delicious wine and herb gravy.

7. Remove the leaves and cinnamon sticks from the pot. Top the stew with grated orange zest and chopped parsley before serving. Bonus points if you drizzle with a smidgen of olive oil.

I've eaten this stew fresh from the stove, microwaved over a bed of chopped collard greens, on a plate over mashed cauliflower with some avocado on the side because I was short on fats for the day, and from-the-fridge cold (in a feeding frenzy, shoving a chunk in my mouth with my fingers while my hip propped the refrigerator door open... it was one of those days). It was luscious every time.

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I'm excited to once again join the punk rock foodies on Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.