Η συνταγή και στα ελληνικά στο τέλος της ανάρτησης!
Today I am going to speak to you about one of the twelve Greek gods; Artemis! Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister of Apollo. She was the goddess of hunting, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and protector of young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women. She usually was depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrows. The deer and the cypress were her sacred animals.
Myth says that Artemis was born first and then helped her mother to give birth to her brother Apollo. That strong and determined she was! Greeks admired her and worshiped her as they considered her to be extremely beautiful, smart, dynamic and pure. Her favorite hobby was hunting and she was very competent to it. No man could compete with her and the other gods were hesitant to do it as well. From a very young an age she was persistent and knew exactly what she wanted and how to claim it.
Zeus, her father, loved her and admired her very much and tried to fulfil all of the requests. One of them was to keep her purity and virginity throughout her life. The virgin goddess never spoiled these two virtues although she had plenty of opportunities.
She was devoted to hunting and wildlife. According to myth she was spending most of her time in the thick woods dressed in a light outfit with her bow and arrows. Nature was completely subjected under her and she was the protector of wild animals and creatures of the forests.
According to Homer, Artemis was so angry with Agamemnon the leader of the Greeks against the Trojans, for killing her sacred deer, that she ordered Aeolus the god of winds to lock them so the Greek ships were unable to leave for Troy. Only when Agamemnon sacrificed her daughter Iphigenia to Artemis, only then did she let the winds free and the Greek flea was able to go to Troy. At the time of sacrifice and just before the head of Iphigenia fell by the hands of the executioner, Artemis sent a cloud and took Iphigenia to a foreign country and made her priestess in her temple.
Now I am sure you are all wondering how this story is connected with the meal I have prepared today. Stifado is a meal that is particularly enjoyed with game. Usuallyitismadewithhareorrabbit. Its uniqueness is in the amount of onions. For this particular dish we use many small onions. Shallots are also a perfect choice. The stew takes a very profound taste from the onions, the vinegar and the spices on it.
I didn’t have any game in my fridge, but I was craving Stifado for a long time and thus I have decided to not wait for a game and I made it with veal which is also an excellent choice. We all enjoyed it so much, that we ate the leftovers for dinner too. Stifado is a perfect winter dish and also a great idea for Christmas buffets as it can be prepared earlier and just warm it up and serve it the time you choose.
Veal Stifado
Ingredients
1 ½ / 3 pounds kilo veal or game
1 onion, sliced
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 tbsp tomato paste diluted in ½ cup water
½ cup sweet red wine, I used Mavrodafni
¼ cup vinegar from red wine
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
Scant ½ tsp ground cloves
3 bay leaves
1 kilo / 2 pounds small onions or shallots (the smaller the better)
4 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
In a pot or in a pressure cooker pour the olive oil in medium heat and sauté the onion until it becomes transparent.
Throw the garlic and sauté for a minute.
Sauté the meat until it is sealed from all sides.
Pour the wine and sauté until it remains half.
Pour the rest of the ingredients except the onions.
Incorporate and if you use a pot let it cook in low heat for as long as the meat starts to become soft.
If you use pressure cooker, close the lid and use it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
In the meantime, prepare the onions.
Boil them for 5 minutes in a pot filled with water.
Throw the water and put them aside.
Half an hour before the end of cooking add the onions/shallots to the stew and let them cooked with it without whisking or mixing.
Onions/shallots are very fragile and if you try to mix them they will be melted.
You can move the pot from its handles so as to mix everything in it.
Remove the bay leaves and serve.
Note: In case the sauce is runny, thicken it with 2 tbsp of corn starch dissolved in 2 tbsp of water.
- 1 ½ / 3 pounds kilo veal or game
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ cup tomato juice
- 2 tbsp tomato paste diluted in ½ cup water
- ½ cup sweet red wine, I used Mavrodafni
- ¼ cup vinegar from red wine
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- Scant ½ tsp ground cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 kilo / 2 pounds small onions or shallots (the smaller the better)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- In a pot or in a pressure cooker pour the olive oil in medium heat and sauté the onion until it becomes transparent.
- Throw the garlic and sauté for a minute.
- Sauté the meat until it is sealed from all sides.
- Pour the wine and sauté until it remains half.
- Pour the rest of the ingredients except the onions.
- Incorporate and if you use a pot let it cook in low heat for as long as the meat starts to become soft.
- If you use pressure cooker, close the lid and use it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- In the meantime, prepare the onions.
- Boil them for 5 minutes in a pot filled with water.
- Throw the water and put them aside.
- Half an hour before the end of cooking add the onions/shallots to the stew and let them cooked with it without whisking or mixing.
- Onions/shallots are very fragile and if you try to mix them they will be melted.
- You can move the pot from its handles so as to mix everything in it.
- Remove the bay leaves and serve.
- Note: In case the sauce is runny, thicken it with 2 tbsp of corn starch dissolved in 2 tbsp of water.
- 1 ½ κιλό μοσχαρίσιο κρέας ή κυνήγι
- 1 κρεμμύδι, κομμένο σε φέτες
- 1 σκελίδα σκόρδο
- ½ φλ. χυμό ντομάτας
- 2 κ.σ. πελτέ ντομάτας διαλυμένο σε ½ φλ. νερό
- ½ φλ. γλυκό κόκκινο κρασί, χρησιμοποίησα Μαυροδάφνη
- ¼ φλ. ξύδι από κόκκινο κρασί
- 1 κ.σ. ζάχαρη
- ½ κ.γ. κανέλα
- ½ κ.γ. μοσχοκάρυδο
- Λίγο λιγότερο από ½ κ.γ. γαρύφαλλο τριμμένο
- 3 φύλλα δάφνης
- 1 κιλό μικρά κρεμμύδια
- 4 κ.σ. ελαιόλαδο
- Σε μια κατσαρόλα ή σε χύτρα ρίξτε το ελαιόλαδο σε μέτρια φωτιά και σοτάρετε το κρεμμύδι μέχρι να γίνει διαφανές.
- Ρίξτε το σκόρδο και σοτάρετέ το για ένα λεπτό.
- Σοτάρετε το κρέας μέχρι να σφραγιστεί από όλες τις πλευρές.
- Ρίξτε το κρασί και σοτάρετε μέχρι να μείνει το μισό.
- Ρίξτε όλα τα υπόλοιπα υλικά εκτός από τα κρεμμύδια.
- Ενσωματώστε και εάν χρησιμοποιείτε κατσαρόλα μαγειρέψτε σε χαμηλή φωτιά το κρέας να αρχίσει να γίνεται μαλακό.
- Εάν χρησιμοποιείτε τη χύτρα, κλείστε το καπάκι και χρησιμοποιήστε τη σύμφωνα με τις οδηγίες του κατασκευαστή.
- Εν τω μεταξύ, προετοιμάστε τα κρεμμύδια.
- Βράστε για 5 λεπτά σε μία κατσαρόλα με νερό.
- Πετάξτε το νερό και βάλτε τα στην άκρη.
- Μισή ώρα πριν από το τέλος του μαγειρέματος προσθέστε τα κρεμμύδια στο στιφάδο και αφήστε τα να βράσουν μ ' αυτό χωρίς ανακάτεμα.
- Τα κρεμμύδια είναι πολύ εύθραυστα και αν προσπαθήσετε να τα ανακατέψετε θα λιώσουν.
- Μπορείτε να μετακινήσετε τη χύτρα/κατσαρόλα από τις λαβές, έτσι ώστε να ανακατευτούν.
- Αφαιρέστε τα φύλλα δάφνης και σερβίρετε.
- Σημείωση: Αν η σάλτσα είναι υδαρής, δέστε τη με 1 ή 2 κ.σ. κορν φλάουρ διαλυμένο σε 2 κ.σ. νερό.
