This unique Greek beef stew is a traditional recipe from the island of Lefkada (where I come from). It's a beef wine stew with quince, shallots, and grape molasses. Hearty, sweet, and very flavorful!
Sofigado as we call it in Lefkada or Lefkas island, is very similar to Beef Stifado another Greek beef stew with shallots and red wine. The differences are the following, Sofigado is cooked using grape molasses and quinces, while Stifado is cooked using more spices, and has a stronger tomato flavor. Both dishes taste amazing!
Table Of Contents
Ingredients
To make this delicious beef stew recipe with red wine you need:
- Beef stew meat (chuck roast or smaller cuts mentioned below)
- Shallots or pearl onions
- Ripe quince fruit (they should look more yellowish than greenish)
- Semi-sweet red wine (varieties mentioned below)
- Grape molasses or honey (you could try sugar molasses too but add 2-3 tablespoons and taste before adding more)
- A small amount of tomato paste
- Vinegar, either red wine or balsamic (use balsamic if you use honey instead of the grape molasses)
- Garlic cloves whole, no need to peel them
- Stock either vegetable, chicken, or beef stock will do
- Allspice berries or ground allspice
- Herbs: bay leaves, rosemary, thyme
Best Meat Cuts For Beef Stew
The best cut for cooking beef stew is beef chuck. That is in case you want boneless chunks of meat. Otherwise, there are some really good bone-in beef cuts, that also make great beef stews.
Beef chuck / Chuck roast is a bigger cut of meat that includes smaller cuts. Like chuck steak meat, chuck tender, flatiron steak. These will cook into a very tender beef stew.
Chuck steak stew is almost the same as beef chuck but in a smaller steak-like cut. It contains thicker fat membranes and can be tougher than the other two smaller cuts (chuck tender and flatiron).
Chuck tender and flatiron are two leaner cuts of beef that yield the most tender beef stews. These are the cuts of meat I usually prefer.
Other Beef Stew Meat Recipes You May Like:
- Hearty Beef Stew In Tomato Sauce (Mosharaki Kokkinisto)
- Beef Giouvetsi With Orzo + Tomato Sauce
- Healthy Beef Stew With Potatoes, Lemon + Carrots
How Long To Cook Beef Stew
First of all, beef chuck stew needs to be cooked slowly over low heat, and covered. This way the meat softens releasing its collagen into the sauce. Cooking time depends on the specific cut of meat.
Every cut of meat has the potential to become very tender, giving it the cooking time it needs. Leaner cuts of meat (chuck tender and flatiron) get tender sooner while tougher parts (chuck roast and chuck steak) take a bit longer.
Note: Beef cooked in red wine will tenderize much quicker than other beef stews due to the alcohol that softens the texture of the meat.
There is no need to worry about cooking time though. Just prick the meat with a knife to check if it's tender otherwise cook a bit longer. That's the most foolproof way to make a truly tender homemade beef stew.
The minimum cooking time for this stewed beef recipe is 1 hour and 20 minutes, while the "maximum" is about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Wine To Use
Any semi-sweet red wine will do. But if you want more depth of flavor and a strong color for this beef and red wine stew you can use a specific wine variety.
To make Sofigado I used a semi-sweet Merlot wine. Two other great red wines for cooking beef stew are Shiraz and Red Moscato. But If you haven't tried a beef Merlot recipe yet, I think now is the time to do it!
Beef merlot stew yields one of the tastiest wine sauces. And is surely one of the best wines for cooking beef.
How To Make Beef Stew With Quince
To make this easy beef stew recipe you first brown the meat and then simmer along with red wine and stock until it softens a bit. Then add the shallots and quince. Both of which you saute in a frying pan first before adding to the pot with the meat.
The shallots or the pearl onions you need to saute and then pour in wine and water to soften a bit and remove most of their strong flavor. Then add them to the pot together with the meat, to cook and become soft and mellow.
As for the quince, you cook it on a non-stick frying pan on its own first, to enhance its flavor. And then add to the pot. Just make sure to peel the quince at the last minute. Because the longer it sits its color will alter just like apples.
After adding the shallots and quince, simmer a bit longer until the sauce gets reduced and thickens slightly.
Stove Top Or Oven
To make this beef stew with red wine on the stovetop you need either a brasier cooking pot or a Dutch oven. A narrow cooking pot is not the best option. Because the ingredients will get layered in the pot and the fruit might get mashed.
You can even finish off this dish in the oven. After adding the shallots and quince close the cooking pot or Dutch oven and braise beef stew for 30-40 minutes more. At a temperature of 180°C / 355°F.
Serve With
Serve with plain steamed rice, rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, or potatoes in tomato sauce Patates Yahni.
Recipe
Beef Wine Stew With Quince (Sofigado)
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 kg (2.3 pounds) beef chuck or chuck tender or flatiron steak cut into 5 cm (2-inch) pieces
- 900 grams (1.2 pounds) quince
- 450 ml semi-sweet red wine
- 550 ml stock vegetable, chicken, or beef
- 6 tablespoons Grape Molasses or 4 tablespoons of honey
- 5 allspice berries or 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 sprigs of rosemary fresh or dried
- 2 bay leaves fresh or dried
- 3-4 small sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 garlic cloves
- 600 grams (21 ounce) pearl onions or shallots
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Pat dry the meat and season it with salt and pepper.
- Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a brasier pot or dutch oven. Add the meat.
- Brown the meat over medium-high heat all over. If necessary do this in two batches so it doesn't get overcrowded in the pot. Then remove from the pot and set aside covered. Drop the heat to medium.
- Add the tomato paste and 400 ml of red wine to the pot. Deglaze the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Wait until the wine begins to boil.
- Pour in the stock and add the rosemary, bay leaves, thyme, garlic cloves, allspice, and grape molasses.
- Add the meat back to the pot along with its resting juices. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for 40-50 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the quince. Peel the fruit and cut it into 3-4 cm (1⅓-inch) thick wedges.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Saute the quince in 2 batches. Saute for at least 15 minutes for each batch until they get some color all over. Turn the fruit often using tongs so it won't burn. Set aside on a plate.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the pearl onions to the same pan. Saute for about 10 minutes to get some color all around.
- Pour the remaining 50 ml of red wine into the frying pan and deglaze.
- Pour 200 ml of hot water and cook turning the onions now and then, until the water evaporates and there's only a thin layer of glazy liquid left in the pan.
- Transfer the contents of the frying pan into the pot with the meat. Shake the pot for the onions to submerge.
- Lay the quince on top and put the lid back on.
- Simmer covered for another 40 to 50 minutes. Or until the sauce is thickened.
- Taste for any additional seasonings. Then turn the heat off and add the vinegar.
- Allow the food to rest in the pot for 15 minutes before serving.
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