Dinner · 120 min · greek

Stifado (Wine-Braised Beef with Pearl Onions)

This is the kind of Greek dinner you’ll make on repeat — beef chuck and pearl onions, 120 minutes, big payoff.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 2.5 lb Beef chuck
• 1.5 lb Pearl onions
• 1 cup Dry red wine
• 3 tbsp Tomato paste
• 1/4 cup Red wine vinegar
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 4 Whole cloves
• 4 Allspice berries
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1/3 cup Olive oil
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Honey

Steps

1. Sear the beef in batches in hot olive oil until every cube wears a dark crust — the fond on the bottom of the pot is the foundation of the entire stew. Work in batches; patience here pays for itself twice.
2. Add the tomato paste and cook 2 minutes until it darkens to brick red; raw paste tastes tinny, cooked paste tastes like depth.
3. Pour in the wine and vinegar, scraping up every browned bit, then add water to barely cover, the spices, bay, and honey. The honey rounds the vinegar’s edge without making the stew sweet.
4. Braise covered at a bare simmer for 1 hour, then add the peeled pearl onions and braise 45 minutes more. The onions should slump into silk, not dissolve.
5. Uncover and simmer 15 minutes to reduce the sauce to a glossy glaze that coats the meat. Fish out the cinnamon stick and cloves, rest 10 minutes, and serve with crusty bread or orzo — this sauce begs to be mopped.

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