Greek Stew For Crockpot Recipes

BEEF STIFADO IN THE SLOW COOKER

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over high heat and cook beef, onion, and garlic until meat is browned on all sides and onions are soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add tomatoes, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, rosemary, salt and a good pinch of black pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until ingredients blend, about 3 minutes. Add wine and vinegar and stir to combine.
• Turn slow cooker to Low setting. Pour beef mixture into slow cooker and stir in ketchup.
• Cook on Low until beef is tender, 6 to 8 hours.
• Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil in a skillet and cook shallots until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add cooked shallots to stew for the last 1 to 2 hours of cooking.
• Remove and discard cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and rosemary sprig before serving.

GREEK STYLE BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a 5-quart pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add half the beef; cook and stir until well browned on all sides. Remove beef with a slotted spoon and set aside. Brown the remaining meat and set aside.
• Place chopped onion in the pressure cooker; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the garlic and stir for an additional minute. Pour in the red wine, red wine vinegar, and beef broth; stir in the tomato paste and mix well.
• Grind or crush rosemary, oregano, and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Add crushed spices to the cooker with bay leaves, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and brown sugar.
• Pour in tomatoes and their juice; rinse the can with 1/2 cup water and add the water to the cooker. Stir in potatoes and carrots. Return the browned meat to the pressure cooker. A 5-quart pot should be about half full and a little soupy; the potato will dissolve a bit and thicken it after cooking. Cover the pot and seal the lid.
• Bring the pot up to high pressure over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, maintaining full pressure, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let the pressure reduce naturally. Taste the stew and add salt, if desired.

SLOW-COOKER GREEK BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Remove excess fat from beef. Cut beef into 1-inch pieces. Toss beef, flour and cinnamon. Rinse frozen onions in cold water to separate; drain. Place beef and onions in 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker.
• Mix water, tomato paste, wine, vinegar and honey. Pour over beef mixture.
• Cover and cook on low heat setting 9 to 10 hours or until beef is tender. Serve over pasta. Sprinkle with cheese.

BEEF AND EGGPLANT STEW (GREEK - CROCK POT VERSION)

Steps:

• Wash the eggplant, then top and tail.
• Don't bother to peel, just cut into 1 inch thick segments.
• In large skillet, brown the beef, onions, garlic and eggplant in olive oil until dark golden-brown; drain.
• Place in crock pot.
• Combine the beef stock with the tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, spices, and salt and pepper to taste, and stir it into the meat.
• Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.
• If serving with pasta, prepare pasta until al dente, pour onto a large serving platter and cover with meat, eggplant and sauce (you may add the feta- it is delicious).
• Sprinkle minced parsley over.
• If serving on its own as a main course, garnish with parsley and feta, serve with a green salad, lots of crusty bread (the sauce has to be mopped up!), and plenty of red wine.

GREEK LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 150°C, gas mark 2. Cut the meat into 6cm pieces.
• Heat a large lidded flameproof casserole dish and add a tablespoon of oil. Brown the meat all over in batches, then remove and set aside.
• Add the remaining oil to the dish, stir in the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until beginning to soften. Leaving the top intact, split the chilli along its length, this adds flavour to the stew without too much heat. Stir in the chilli, sliced garlic and rosemary, and increase the heat. Pour in the wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and reduce the heat.
• Return the lamb and juices to the dish, stir through the black olives and bring to a simmer. Season, then cover and cook in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the lamb is really tender.
• Remove the chilli and rosemary, and discard. Set the stew aside to cool.
• To Serve, bring the stew to a simmer on the hob. Add the pasta (make sure its broken into small pieces otherwise it will stick together in lumps) and cook for 3-5 minutes until tender, and the lamb is thoroughly heated. Ladle the stew onto plates and serve scattered with the feta and mint sprigs.
• Delicious with a fennel and orange salad

GREEK FISHERMAN'S STEW

Steps:

• Warm oil in a 4-quart saucepan or casserole over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until soft but not brown. Add fennel and cook a few minutes, until softened. Stir in chile flakes. Add tomatoes and salt, cover and cook on medium about 10 minutes.
• Stir in wine and 2 1/2 cups water, bring to a simmer, add potatoes and cook another 6 minutes or so, until potatoes are tender. Check seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add lemon juice.
• Season fish pieces with salt and pepper, place them in the stew and simmer on low, covered, until fish is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, warm 6 generous soup plates.
• When fish is done, remove it to the warm soup plates. Remove pot from heat, stir in basil, just to wilt it, and divide soup among the 6 plates. Serve spiced mayonnaise alongside if desired.

SLOW-COOKER GREEK CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• Spray 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place carrots and onions in slow cooker. Top with chicken thighs. Sprinkle with cinnamon, salt, pepper and garlic; top with tomatoes. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 9 hours or until vegetables are tender and chicken pulls apart easily with a fork.
• Remove chicken with slotted spoon; cover to keep warm. Stir tomato paste, lemon peel and oregano into liquid in slow cooker. Cover; cook about 15 minutes longer or until thickened and hot. Meanwhile, remove chicken from bones. Stir chicken into mixture in slow cooker, breaking up larger pieces.
• To serve, spoon stew in shallow bowls, and top with parsley.

CROCK POT STIFADO

Steps:

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and brown beef-- in batches if necessary, adding more oil if needed.
• Transfer beef to crock pot with a slotted spoon.
• Reduce heat to medium and add onions to skillet, cooking until soft; add garlic, cinnamon and allspice and cook for 1 minute.
• Add vinegar, tomato sauce, sugar and bay leaf and stir well to combine.
• Pour mixture over meat.
• Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours or on High for 4 to 5 hours, until beef is tender.
• Add feta cheese, cover again, and cook on High for 10 minutes.
• Discard bay leaf and serve over hot buttered pasta or mashed potatoes.