Stifado is the Greek word for stew and one of my friends made a delicious one for us when we went for lunch last Sunday. It made me wonder why I hadn’t made one before anyway. It’s a perfect Christmas Eve or New Year supper. Usually made with beef or rabbit, I decided to make mine with venison and beef because that’s what I had in the freezer and it works perfectly. The secret is to use lots of whole shallots and add a decent red wine vinegar to the sauce. It’s a perfect make-ahead dish to stash in the freezer especially for the festive season. Serve it with sautéed or baked potatoes, bulgur wheat pilaf or plain rice to soak up all that delicious sauce.

Serves 4

• 1kg of coarsely cut chunks of chuck steak and venison (you can just use beef)
• 12 round shallots, peeled
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsps light olive oil
• 3 tbsps tomato puree
• 200ml beef stock
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 2 tbsps red wine vinegar
• Salt and black pepper
• To garnish – chopped flat leaf parsley and crumbled feta

To make…

• Heat the oil in an oven-proof casserole. Add the cinnamon stick and shallots and cook on both sides for about 15 minutes until they are lightly caramelised. Remove, set aside and brown the meat in batches.
• Add all the meat and the shallots back into the pan with the garlic, bay, rosemary and oregano. Stir and add the tomato, tomato puree, allspice, vinegar and beef stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
• Cover and cook in the oven at 160c for about three hours. The meat should be tender and the sauce thick and rich.
• Sprinkle with crumbled feta and parsley before serving.

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