Η συνταγή και στα ελληνικά στο τέλος της ανάρτησης!
One of the twelve labors of Hercules, the tenth to be more presice, was the abduction of the Geryon’s Veals and their transfer to Eurystheus in Mycenae. Geryon was a monster with two feet but with three bodies, three heads and six hands and he was the son of Poseidon the god of sea. Geryon had a very famous herd of big, fat, red veals that were unique in the world.
Apart from him, two others were responsible for guarding the flock; the giant Euriteon and a horrible dog with two heads, Orthos. Pausanias the great Greek traveler of that time says that, these veals were kept in the Iberian region. So, Hercules had to travel from Greece to Spain to get those veals for his uncle Eurystheus.
Hercules travelled for many months and passed by many countries on his way to Spain. When he finally arrived, he had to fight with the giant and the dog. Both fell dead from his club. Last but not least, came out of the cave the monstrous Gyreon. Hercules knew that if he got close to him and killed one of the bodies, the rest two would attack him and kill him immediately. Thus, he took his poisonous arrows out of their quiver and killed Gyreon’s three bodies in a moment.
In his return Hercules faced many adventures and when eventually managed to return, he lost the veals’ flock in the mountains of Thrace. He tried and succeeded in acquiring most of them; the rest remained in the mountains and became wild.
As you see veal is known to Greece since the ancient ages and is a widely used meat. The difference between veal and beef is that the first is a very young calf up to 10 or 12 months old, while the latter is an older one above the age of 14 months up to two years. In Greek market both types of meat are available, veal being more expensive than beef.
A month ago I bought a slow cooker and from then on I am using it whenever is convenient. Since I am a working mother, it is very handy as I put it in use either at nights and have my meal ready in the morning or while at work and have my meal ready by the time I arrive home. Since we are all big beef/veal lovers and we all love, apart from Greek, other kitchens as well, I’ve decided to make something with a pinch of Mexican in it. I cooked this beef for about five hours in the slow cooker and the result was a delicious melting in your mouth meat with a rich sauce. I decided to go ahead and shred the meat and put it in a bun for a more fun lunch, something that my son would enjoy a lot! He is at an age now that he is very much attracted by junk food and eating out. So, I try to create a decoy by recreating some of the junk food at home so I can teach him how they should taste when they are made with excellent quality ingredients.
Of course if you don’t have a slow cooker you can make it in the pressure cooker or in a pot. The result will be the same.
- 750 gr. / 1.6 lb beef in pieces
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- 2 onions, sliced
- ⅔ cup whole tomatoes in their juice, cut in pieces
- ¼ cup sweet wine, either Marsala or sherry or Mavrodafni
- 3 tbsp preserves, I used mushroom preserves but you can use any preserves you have at home i.e. peach, apricot etc.
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tsp fajita seasoning
- ½ tsp cumin
- Olive oil for sautéing
- 5 buns
- Grated cheese about a cup
- In a skillet pour the olive oil and in medium heat sauté the peppers and onions until they start to soften.
- Add the beef pieces and sauté them in all their sides.
- Remove from fire.
- Put them in the slow cooker’s vessel along with the rest of the ingredients except the cheese and the buns.
- With a ladle mix so the spices spread evenly.
- Program your cooker to cook in high for five hours.
- When it’s done drain the sauce and put it in a small pot.
- Put it in medium/high heat and add 1 or 2 tsp of corn starch dissolved in 1 or 2 tsp of water to thicken the sauce.
- Remove from fire and set aside.
- Take a bun, cut it in half.
- Shred the meat.
- In the bun add a good quantity of the shredded beef, add a spoonful or two of the sauce and top it with grated cheese.
- Put in the microwave in high for 50 seconds.
- Remove, add the top of the bun and serve while warm.
- It goes perfectly with French fries or other fried vegetables.
- 750 γρ. μοσχάρι σε κομμάτια
- 2 πιπεριές, κομμένες σε φέτες
- 2 κρεμμύδια, κομμένα σε φέτες
- ⅔ φλ. ολόκληρες τομάτες στο χυμό τους, κομμένες σε κομματάκια
- ¼ φλ. γλυκό κρασί, είτε Marsala ή sherry ή και Μαυροδάφνη
- 3 κ.σ. γλυκό κουταλιού μανιτάρι, αλλά μπορείτε να χρησιμοποιήσετε οποιοδήποτε γλυκό κουταλιού έχετε στο σπίτι δηλαδή ροδάκινο, βερίκοκο κ.α.
- Αλάτι και πιπέρι
- 2 κ.γ. καρύκευμα fajita
- ½ κ.γ. κύμινο
- Ελαιόλαδο για σοτάρισμα
- 5 ψωμάκια
- Τριμμένο τυρί περίπου ένα φλιτζάνι
- Σε μια κατσαρόλα ρίξτε το ελαιόλαδο και σε μέτρια φωτιά σοτάρετε τις πιπεριές και τα κρεμμύδια μέχρι να αρχίσουν να μαλακώνουν.
- Προσθέστε το κομμάτια κρέατος και σοτάρετε απ’όλες τις πλευρές τους.
- Αφαιρέστε από τη φωτιά.
- Βάλτε στο δοχείο της slow cooker μαζί με τα υπόλοιπα υλικά εκτός του τυριού και των ψωμιών.
- Με μια κουτάλα ανακατέψτε έτσι ώστε τα μπαχαρικά να πάνε παντού.
- Προγραμματίστε το slow cooker στην υψηλή θερμοκρασία για πέντε ώρες.
- Όταν είναι έτοιμο, στραγγίστε τη σάλτσα και βάλτε τη σε μια μικρή κατσαρόλα.
- Βάλτε σε μέτρια/υψηλή θερμοκρασία και προσθέστε 1 ή 2 κουταλάκια κορν φλάουερ διαλυμένο σε 1 ή 2 κουταλάκια του γλυκού νερού για να πυκνώσει η σάλτσα.
- Αφαιρέστε από τη φωτιά και βάλτε στην άκρη.
- Πάρτε ένα ψωμάκι, κόψτε το στη μέση.
- Κάντε το κρέας ίνες.
- Στο ψωμάκι προσθέσετε μια καλή ποσότητα το κρέας, προσθέστε μια κουταλιά ή δύο από τη σάλτσα και από πάνω το τριμμένο τυρί.
- Βάλτε στο φούρνο μικροκυμάτων στην υψηλή θερμοκρασία για 50 δευτερόλεπτα.
- Βγάλτε το, κλείστε το με το πάνω μέρος του ψωμιού και σερβίρετε.
- Πάει τέλεια με πατάτες τηγανιτές ή άλλα τηγανητά λαχανικά.
