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Test Kitchen Approved

Grandpa Kolaras’ Stifado

Recipe By Mike Johnston, Savory Spice founder

Yields

6 to 8 servings

Prep Time

15 Minutes

Cooking Time

40 Minutes

Recipe By Mike Johnston, Savory Spice founder

From Savory Spice founder, Mike Johnston: "Grandpa Kolaras, my mom’s dad, would toss a cloth ball of pickling spice into a big pot of soup he would make for us a few times every year. Stifado (pronounced 'stew-FA-dough' at our house), a Greek stew/soup, was a meal by itself and one that everyone in my family enjoyed, even my picky younger brother Rob. Of course, he’d eat around the whole boiler onions and devour the meat and sop up the tasty broth with a big hunk of bread."

Serving Suggestions

Serve hot with Greek, Italian or French bread to sop up the tasty broth.

Recipe Notes

*Grandpa used V8 vegetable juice and tomato paste in his original recipe in lieu of the tomatoes, tomato powder, and Bohemian Forest Seasonings in this ingredient list. You can follow his original recipe by replacing these ingredients with 3 cups V8 and 2 Tbsp. tomato paste. To remove boiler onion skins, trim the tops and bottoms and place in boiling water to blanch for 30 seconds. Drain, let cool, then remove skins. If you are preparing a beef broth from a concentrate, use some of the water that you blanched the boiler onions in to add another layer of onion flavor to the dish.

Ingredients

2 lbs. chuck roast (or other stewing beef), cut into 1-inch cubes

2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided


2 lbs. white boiler onions, skins removed*

3 large tomatoes, halved*



2 Tbsp. water




6 Tbsp. red wine vinegar


Savory Spice ingredients in this recipe

  • Salt & Pepper Tableside Seasoning

    Salt & Pepper Tableside Seasoning may seem like an obvious, simple one to always have on hand – but this salt and pepper mix is a Savory Spice ...

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  • Bohemian Forest

    Bohemian Forest seasoning is a salt-free, European style dry rub is that's best used on your favorite roasted meats and veggies. The scent of this ...

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  • Tomato Powder

    Tomato Powder is made from ground, dehydrated tomatoes. Add dry tomato powder to your homemade meatloaf recipe. Using tomato powder in sauces and s...

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  • Reduced Sodium Beef Style Broth Concentrate

    This beef stock concentrate by Kitchen Accomplice is low-sodium, gluten-free and all-natural. Use beef broth concentrate in your best soup & ...

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  • Muslin Bags

    These handy little bags are used to infuse flavor into soups, stews, sauces, stocks and drinks such as mulled wine.

  • Pickling Spice

    Our Pickling Spice blend includes classic pickling spice ingredients like peppercorns, mustard seeds, dill, coriander, chiles, and cracked bay leav...

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  • Minced Garlic

    Garlic, native to Central Asia, quickly spread to the Mediterranean and now is cultivated and widely used all around the world. As it’s one of the ...

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Directions

Season meat with salt & pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add meat and brown on all sides, 2 to 3 min. per side. Brown in batches if necessary; if the pot is too crowded the meat will steam instead of brown. Set browned meat aside.

Lower heat to medium and add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil. Add onions and saute until softened and slightly charred, 10 to 12 min., stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, place tomatoes on a baking sheet and set under the broiler for 10 to 14 min., turning over halfway through. Remove from oven, let cool slightly and place in a food processor. Add Bohemian Forest and process until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix Tomato Powder and water together to form a paste; add paste to the food processor and puree with tomatoes until smooth.

Add browned meat back to the pot with the onions. Add pureed tomatoes and beef broth. Place Pickling Spice in the muslin bag and tie it closed. Add bag to the pot and stir in vinegar and garlic. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until meat is tender, 60 to 90 min., stirring occasionally. Remove bag of spice before serving.