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Fofi’s Stifado Me Manitaria (Mushroom and Onion Stew)
A traditional and much-loved family recipe – Fotini’s Stifado Me Manitaria is a mushroom and shallot stew from Fofi Nikolaides, from the family of Ladi Biosas λάδι βιώσας @ladi_biosas.
Given Fofi and her family are producers of one of the world’s finest organic extra virgin olive oils, it makes sense that the recipe they would share would be a ‘ladero’ – an olive oil based dish.
This stifado recipe is from the Kalamata Region in the South Peloponnese of Greece. Although other stifado dishes are cooked with rabbit or beef, the Nikolaides family always cook their stifado with mushrooms. Their grandmother would pick wild mushrooms from the slopes of their olive groves and use them to prepare this fantastic dish, which is an absolute favourite. This dish is so hearty and delicious it will satisfy both vegetarians and meat-eaters alike!
Fofi says, ‘In the past, rural populations considered mushrooms as meat for the poor and relied on them when meat was unavailable. But now we understand the overwhelming benefits of a plant-based diet for health and longevity. The generous addition of our organic extra virgin olive oil to this recipe elevates the flavour and nutritional superiority of this dish too!
When the Stifado is ready, we recommend you serve it with fresh crusty bread and pair it with a nice glass of red wine. Kali Orexi!’
Thank you Fofi and the Ladi Biosas family for taking up the #merimonthofmay challenge and creating this beautiful video and sharing your special family recipe with us all!!!!
Fofi's Stifado Me Manitaria
A mushroom and shallot stew, richly spiced with clove, cinnamon, rosemary and bayleaf.
Ingredients
- 100 ml organic extra virgin olive oil, Ladi Biosas (EVOO)
- 500 g whole shallots, peeled
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1/3 tsp ground cloves
- 1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 3-4 bayleaves
- 400 ml tomato purée
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 soup-spoon Greek honey
- Salt and pepper to taste (I used 2 teaspoons of table salt)
- 100 ml red wine
- 250 g mushrooms, thickly sliced (I used swiss-brown mushrooms)
- Extra EVOO for drizzling at the end
Instructions
Preparing the stifado me manitaria
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In a large pot heat the EVOO on medium heat
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Add the shallots to the pot and cook till they brown a little
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Add the garlic and cook for 1-2minutes
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Add the ground cloves, ground cinnamon, rosemary, bay leaves, tomato purée, tomato paste, Greek honey, salt and pepper, stirring carefully (so shallots do not fall apart)
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Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes· Add the wine and mushrooms and reduce the heat to a simmer. Place a lid on the pot and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the shallots soften
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Turn the heat off and drizzle the stifado generously with more EVOO (this will intensify all the flavours)
Serving the stifado me manitaria
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Serve with crusty fresh bread and a glass of your favourite wine.
Kali Orexi!