STIFADO........

I have a book titled Spices , by Sophie Grigson..
This is her recipe for stifado , it`s simple and full of flavour .

Preheat your oven to 150 deg C .
You will need 2 kg of stewing steak ( I used oyster blade ).
Trim excess fat off the meat .
Cut into good sized chunks .
Pat the meat chunks dry with paper towelling .
Set aside.

Heat 4 tbs of rice bran oil in a pan ( Sophie used olive oil )
Add 1 kg of small onions ( peeled ) and quartered .( Sophie uses pickling onions )
Brown the onions .
Transfer these to an ovenproof  dish.

Using the same pan , brown the meat pieces in batches
Adding the browned meat to the onions.

Drain  the excess oil out of the pan
Add 4 tbs of chinese cooking wine  ( Sophie used red wine vinegar )
150ml of dry red wine
Deglaze your pan
Pour this residue mixture over the meat and onions .

Add 4 fat garlic cloves , peeled and sliced .
3 whole cloves ( Sophie uses 2 )
2 bay leaves
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp of ground nutmeg  ( preferably grated )
The pulp of 4 large tomatoes ( skinned )
2 tbs of tomato paste
Add 2 cups of water

Stir to distribute and combine all ingredients.
Cover your dish .
Place the dish in the preheated oven for 3 hours , stirring occasionally.
Slowly oven roast to tenderness

Steam 6-8 small potatoes till tender
Place in a deep fryer or in a frypan with rice bran oil , till golden and crisp .