Sofrito

[blondegirl]

Hi, in my "Taste of a Place" - Corfu cook book it has this recipe.

"Sofrito, or beef stewed with garlic and parsely is one of Corfu's classic dishes.  Traditionally, this recipe called for vinegar alone to be used in making the stew, but quite a few Corfiots think wine gives it a nicer flavour.  It was suggested that in the past vinegar was used to hide the taste of iffy meat."

Recipe:

1.5 kg. rump steak, sliced 2 cms. thick
350 ml. dry white wine
100ml olive oil
2 tbsp decent wine vinegar (opt.)
1 head of garlic (probably as much as you used Joe!) peeled, crushed into a paste with salt
1 large bunch of parsley
1 twig of mint chopped
seasoned flour for dusting and black pepper

1. Cover each slice of beef with clingfilm and bash until thin with a rolling pin, roll each slice up into rolls.

2. Dust both sides of the rolls with flour and pat off excess.

3. Using heavy fry pan, brown the beef in batches in the oil, not too many at once or they will sweat.

4. Mix garlic paste with chopped parsley and mint.  Put a layer of beef in a dish, scatter with black pepper and spoonful of garlic mixture and continue until all the meat is used up. 

5. Add the wine and vinegar; if the meat isnt completely submerged add water until it is. 

6. Simmer gently for an hour or so until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick.

Sounds great doesnt and so easy to make?

[Joe]

Thats great many thanks I'm looking forward to trying again.  It appears I used the wrong type of beef which is easily fixed and I can see where I went wrong with the garlic, being a garlic novice I used the whole thing and didn't chop it up very well, way to much, ha ha!

I did the same when I cooked it but why do you put flour on the meat?

[Cheryl2307]

Joe, am not much of a cooking expert either but I think it's to seal in all the flavour in the meat and maybe thicken the sauce a bit!  If I'm wrong, Fiona will know!

[Joe]

Thanks for that, I really had no idea.

[blondegirl]

If you roll it in seasoned flour and seal the meat by frying it first, which holds in the juices of the meat, then when you add the liquids it thickens the sauce up without adding any thickening in later.  You can do that with anything that needs a sauce, like liver and bacon, chicken etc.  If you do a long slow cook, like Klefitko, the beef will be really tender and melt in your mouth.

[Joe]

seeing I have all you cooking experts on here would I be able to do Sofrito in a slow cooker, I had one bought for me at Christmas?

[blondegirl]

I hope so as I am going to cook it Sunday in a slow cooker.  Worth a try anyway.

[Joe]

excellent I shall try it as well, do you need to add more water (or wine ) for slow cooking or would the ingrediants stay the same?

[Joe]

Well I bottled out of making Sofrito this weekend and had that other Classical Greek dish instead - Pizza and Chips! Perhaps not.

BG - How did yours go?

[blondegirl]

It was really nice.  I didnt add any more liquid than the recipe stating, in fact I think I would add a bit less wine (more to drink!) as there was a lot of gravy, would have gone nice with mash though. The meat was very tender and had an unusual flavour with the vinegar and white wine and garlic but it was delicious.  We had Tzatsiki (sorry about the spelling), hummous, olives and pittas to start, Sofrito, green beans and roasted veg (from my Corfu book), then a selection of little greek cakes and sliced soft fruits and coffee and wine in between.  Very nice it all was... back to diet today though!

[Joe]

Sounds lovely, I'm liking the idea of having it with Mash, must have another go this weekend.

[vivian]

I love cooking with wine, some times I even put it in the food   Viv

[Joe]

BG - Last question on this I promise......

How long did you slow cook it for, oh and if you slow cook can you use a cheaper cut of meat or is it best to stick to rump?

[blondegirl]

I put the slow cooker on about 2.30 and we ate about 6.30 and it was lovely and tender, but you could put it on for longer if you have a low setting on it.  Mine hasnt, just an off/on switch.  I used rump as that is what the recipe said but I think you could use whatever you liked.  You could even do the large pieces of beef that we had once in Arillas in a more tomatoey/mixed spice sauce (cant remember the name of it).

Last year in Arillas was the first time ever I have ever had mashed potato in Greece, goes well with the lovely sauces.

I want to do Kleftiko, as Lamb is my most favourite meat.  Our friend is a Greek Cypriot chef and he cooks it lovely so I want to have a go.  Its strange though as he doesnt like Greek food he prefers Italian.

I could talk food all day so dont be afraid to ask if I can help, my cook books are always close by.

[Eileen]

Blondegirl,

Mega hint hint!!!...I'm sure if you had a Greek night at your house we would all come along from far and wide just to sample your cooking...yummy! 

Eileenxx