Greek Rabbit Stew Kouneli Stifado Food

GREEK RABBIT STEW. KOUNELI STIFADO

Steps:

• Cut up the rabbits and cut into serving pieces. Be sure to include little bits, like the belly flaps, the front legs, the kidneys and such; they become yummy surprises in the finished stew. Salt the rabbit pieces well and set aside for 30 minutes.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a frying pan and brown the rabbit well. As each piece browns, move it to a brazier or Dutch oven or other heavy, lidded pot. When the rabbit is browned, sauté the onions for 4 to 5 minutes over medium-high heat, until they begin to brown. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Sprinkle with salt. Do not let the garlic burn.
• Turn the contents of the frying pan into the brazier or a Dutch oven, then arrange the bay leaves, oregano, allspice berries and cinnamon stick over them.
• In the pan you browned the rabbit and the onions, add the wine, sweet wine, vinegar, stock, tomato paste and grated tomatoes - cut tomatoes in half and run them through your coarsest grater to leave the skins out of your pot. Cook this down over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, then pour over everything in the pot.
• Cover the pot and bring to a simmer. Cook slowly for 1 hour, then check. It may need up to another hour. You want the rabbit to be just about falling off the bone. You can pull the rabbit meat off the bone, as I do, or just let your guests do that. Grind some black pepper and drizzle some really good olive oil over everything right when you serve.

GREEK RABBIT STEW RECIPE (KOUNELI STIFADO)

Steps:

• Wash rabbit meat thoroughly and cut into serving pieces.
• Apply salt, pepper and flour to cut rabbit pieces, mixing through thoroughly.
• The addition of flour assists when browning rabbit (caramelising).
• Add olive oil to a shallow pot (allow oil to heat up), browning rabbit meat until meat is caramelised.
• Remove meat (setting aside) and in the same shallow pot add garlic cloves, whole onions and quarter cut onions stirring through thoroughly and transferring all contents from small pot into a large pot once onions have caramelised.
• Add browned rabbit meat into the large pot (over high heat) and add 1 cup of good dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris.
• Combine finely grated tomatoes, bay leaves and cinnamon stick, mixing ingredients through thoroughly.
• Cover the pot (over high heat) and bring to a boiling point, occasionally stirring ingredients through thoroughly.
• Reduce to medium heat, stir through ingredients and cover the pot until stew turns into a thick, rich consistency (tasting occasionally).

RABBIT STIFADO

Steps:

• Rinse the rabbit pieces and place them in a mixing bowl together with the bay leaves and vinegar; mix well and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight; remove the rabbit from the marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper.
• Heat half of the olive oil in a large saucepan until hot, add the rabbit and fry the pieces until quite brown on all sides; add the tomato paste, bay leaves (left over from the marinade), sugar, garlic, spices, wine and the hot water.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Bring to the boil mixing well then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan; add the onions and sauté gently for 15 minutes stirring occasionally, until golden all over; after the rabbit has been cooking for 1 hour, add the onions and oil from the frying pan to the saucepan; combine, then re-cover and simmer for a further 15 minutes; fish out the cinnamon stick, allspice berries and rosemary sprig.
• Note: This can be served with pasta, noodles, rice or oven-roasted potatoes, but my personal favourite is homemade french-fries, which taste delicious dunked in the spicy sauce.

GREEK-STYLE BEEF STEW (STIFADO)

Steps:

• Place beef in a bowl and season generously with pepper and kosher salt. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use; up to 1 day is fine.
• Leaving the root ends in place, cut off the shallot tops. Remove and discard skins.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add ½ of the beef and cook until nicely seared, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and repeat to sear remaining beef.
• Turn off the heat and add 1 tablespoon oil to the empty skillet. Add shallots and let the skillet cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the heat back on to medium and toss shallots until browned, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove shallots to a plate.
• Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet with onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt; cook and stir for about 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook until toasted, about 2 minutes. Add red wine vinegar and white wine and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Increase heat to medium-high and add sugar, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, oregano, bay leaves, and rosemary sprigs. Stir to combine and cook until reduced by about half, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add browned beef and shallots to the skillet and toss carefully until coated. Pour in 2 cups beef broth and bring to a simmer.
• Reduce heat to low or medium-low. Cover and cook at a gentle simmer for 1 hour, then uncover and cook for at least 1 more hour, stirring occasionally to move the beef and shallots around. Add more broth if needed during the cooking time and skim off some fat if preferred. The meat is done when a fork slides in easily, but the meat isn't falling apart on its own; it may take longer than 2 hours.
• Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.

OVEN GREEK STEW (LAMB STIFADO)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• Season meat as desired with salt and pepper.
• In a big Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat.
• Add meat; stir to coat but do not brown.
• Place vegetables (onions, potatoes, and carrots) on top.
• In a bowl mix together the garlic and next 7 ingredients; pour over stew.
• Bake, covered, for 1 1/2 hours.
• Stir in raisins and bake uncovered, 10 more minutes.
• Remove bay leaf and cinnamon stick; discard.
• Spoon stew into large warmed bowls; sprinkle with feta cheese.