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a traditional greek dish of beef stifado in a sauce. the view fr

Greek stifatho slow cooker beef stew

Nick Duell (writer)08/08/2024

Capture the enticing flavours of Greece with this delicious beef stew recipe.

Stews are perfect for this time of year when the evenings are a little chillier, and you may be craving filling comfort food.

But this is comfort food with a difference — it’s actually good for you! This is especially true if you choose grass-fed beef online or from your local butcher’s. We’ll explain more later but know that grass-fed beef is most certainly the healthier choice!

You’ll love this dish’s rich wine and tomato flavours and the unexpected sweetness from the cinnamon, sugar and currants, making it the perfect food to serve when you need a boost in the winter months.

Read on to learn more about why this dish is healthy and delicious and epitomises the spirit of traditional Greek cooking.

Tell me more about Greek food

This stifatho recipe is a classic Greek stew that’s warming and satisfying. Onions feature heavily in stifatho dishes, and we’ve suggested pickling onions here, which bring their own unique flavour.

It’s probably the equivalent of French beef bourguignon, a classic dish that can sum up the flavours and vibe of each country’s cuisine.

Greek cuisine uses simple, healthy ingredients combined using traditional cooking methods to create delicious dishes.

You’ll find that healthy olive oil is used in almost every dish, and garlic and red wine add their own distinctive flavour to Greek recipes.

“Stifatho” literally means “steamed” and refers to any dish that could be called a stew. Any dish of this description would traditionally be cooked on the stovetop, but these recipes also lend themselves to the slow cooker for extra tender and tasty results.

Why grass-fed beef?

We’ve specified grass-fed beef in this recipe for more than one reason.

Just as its name suggests, it’s derived from animals that are free to roam on pasturelands. This means it’s an ethical choice as the animals are living out their lives as naturally as possible.

It’s also the green choice, as grass-fed cows keep pastures maintained and fertilised naturally, so there’s no need for chemical fertilisers or petrol-driven machinery.

Most meat is high in B vitamins, and grass-fed beef is no exception. It’s also considered to be higher in vitamins A and E and lower in calories and saturated fat, making it a healthy way to enjoy meat.

While it’s packed with vitamins, minerals and protein, grass-fed beef is free of antibiotics and hormones. This makes it a clean and healthy choice for all the family.

The ready-diced beef we’ve suggested in this recipe is ideal as it’s pre-prepared and doesn’t require any hard work from you.

Greek Stifatho Slow Cooker Beef Stew

  • Preparation: 15 min
  • Cooking: 3 h
  • Ready in: 3 h 15 min
  • For: 6 serves

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat the slow cooker to high heat
  2. Heat half of the butter in a frying pan and brown the meat, placing one layer of meat in the pan at a time.
  3. Transfer the browned meat to the slow cooker dish.
  4. Add the onion and garlic to the pan with the remaining butter and fry gently until the onion is soft.
  5. Add the tomato passata, wine and wine vinegar and stir to dislodge any cooked-on bits on the base of the pan. Pour the juices over the meat in the slow cooker dish.
  6. Stir in the bay leaf, spices and sugar and season with salt and pepper.
  7. When the dish starts to simmer, turn the heat down to medium and cook for 1 hour
  8. Meanwhile, remove the tops and roots from the onions. Cut a cross into the root ends to stop the centres popping out during cooking. Place the onions in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 2 minutes, then drain and slip off the skins. After soaking in hot water the skins will now slip off easily. If using larger onions, simply remove the outer skin and cut into quarters.
  9. Add the onions to the slow cooker along with the currants and cook for a further 1.5 hours or until the meat and onions are tender and the sauce is thick.
  10. Remove the cinnamon bark along with the remainder of the bay leaf and cloves.
  11. Serve with mashed potato or pilaff (and a good glass of red wine).

What else is healthy about this recipe?

The onions, garlic and tomato in this recipe are all packed full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Each of these is considered an important element of the Mediterranean diet, which uses locally grown ingredients and offers many health benefits. 

The Mediterranean diet, rich in these items, as well as olive oil, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains and fish, is known to enhance heart health, lower blood sugar levels and support brain function.

What better way to keep healthy than to follow this delicious recipe!

Ready to go?

By the time you’ve got to the end of this post, you should be convinced that our Greek stifatho recipe is the next dish you’re going to try!

So order your beef online or pop down to your neighbourhood butcher and get the rest of your ingredients together. 

Then simply enjoy putting this dish together and savouring it with family or friends. It’s the perfect meal to get people together and reminisce about Mediterranean holidays or look forward to the next one… so get that apron on and get cooking!

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