Name: Greek Beef Stew (Stifado)
Total time: 3 h 15 min
Cuisine: GreekEurope
Ingredients: 2 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck-eye roast , trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces; 2 teaspoons kosher salt , divided; 1/2 teaspoon pepper; 3 1/2 cups frozen pearl onions; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon sugar; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 3 garlic cloves , minced; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice; 2 tomatoes , cored and chopped; 2 1/4 cups chicken broth; 3/4 cup dry white wine; 1 cinnamon stick; 2 bay leaves; 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley; Crumbled feta cheese

Why This Recipe Works

With ultratender beef, a wine-and-spice-infused tomato sauce, and a sweet underpinning of braised pearl onions, this stifado (which basically means “stew” in Greek) offers an easy, intriguing take on beef stew. For sweet, creamy onions with complex, caramelized flavor, we began by sautéing pearl onions with a pinch of sugar to jump-start the development of flavorful browning (using peeled pearl onions straight from the freezer made this step a snap). And to avoid overwhelming the sauce with an intense potpourri of warm spices, we included a cinnamon stick (rather than easy-to-overdo ground cinnamon), a balanced amount of earthy cumin, and ⅛ teaspoon of floral allspice. As for the beef, we started with a well-marbled chuck-eye roast and skipped the tedious step of browning the beef in batches, opting instead to stir it into the stew and place the pot in a 300-degree oven without a lid. Exposed to the hot oven, the broth-wine mixture reduced, intensified, and thickened into a full-bodied sauce and the beef developed deep, delectable browning.

Before You Begin

Be sure to buy a chuck-eye roast and cube it yourself. Do not use precubed stew meat. One 14.4-ounce bag of frozen pearl onion contains about 3½ cups. Do not thaw the onions before cooking. Serve over orzo or with pita bread.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Sprinkle beef with 1½ teaspoons salt and pepper; set aside.

Cook onions, oil, sugar, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until onions are softened and deeply browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Add tomato paste, garlic, cumin, and allspice and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes break down and mixture is darkened and thick, about 5 minutes.

Add broth, wine, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and beef to pot, scraping up any browned bits. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Transfer to oven and cook, uncovered, for 1 hour.

Remove pot from oven and stir to redistribute beef. Return pot to oven and continue to cook, uncovered, until meat is tender, 1½ to 2 hours longer.

Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Skim excess fat from surface of stew. Stir in parsley. Serve, sprinkled with feta cheese.