Sofigado, the Greek sweet and sour beef stew

There are some fruits that have an instant allure, a certain something that attracts your senses either by the way they smell, the way they look or even by the way they feel when you touch them. Strawberries, cherries and persimmons are such fruit.






And then there are other fruits, the "ugly" ones, those that don't have much going for them at first glance. You need to get to know them in order to appreciate what they can really do for you or for one of your dishes. Such fruits are quinces.






Unassuming, rather unappealing fruit that can become so much more just by adding some sugar to them and boiling them, thus creating the amazing quince paste, or by sautéing them in lots of butter to accompany a steak, or caramelizing them and serving them with a winter ice cream. But where they actually shine is in dishes like this one, a traditional Greek island dish called Sofigado.






This dish comes from the beautiful, green island of Lefkada located in the Ionian Sea, off the west coast of Greece. Sofigado is a rich, sweet and sour beef stew with quinces and petimezi (grape-must syrup) and its history, much like Pastitsada's, is rooted in the times of Venetian occupation.






It's a pretty straightforward winter stew but with extraordinary flavors and some unique ingredients. As it always happens in Greek cooking, it all starts with olive oil and onions. Lots of onions which, after the meat has been browned in the oil, are sautéed until soft and translucent. Then the meat goes back in the pan and garlic, tomato paste, red wine vinegar and fresh rosemary are introduced to the mix.






The beef is stewed until succulent and then the quinces are added, as well as the petimezi. I have my friend Kiki to thank for a bottle of fresh petimezi that she sent me a couple of months ago (as she did last year, which back then gave me the chance to make Greek moustokouloura cookies). Thanks Kiki!






After twenty minutes or so, when the quinces have softened but still retain their crunch, when the petimezi has permeated the meat and a rich sauce has been created, the stew is ready. Ready to be savored. You'll rarely find such a combination of sweet and sour flavors in traditional Greek cooking, especially when it comes to beef dishes.






The experience of tasting Sofigado resembles that of a rollercoaster. The sweet flavor of the petimezi and quince, reminiscent of the spoon sweets that Greek grandmothers make, hits you first and then the sourness of the fruit becomes the prominent flavor. The umami-ness of the meat comes to balance out all the flavors and the ride goes on and on until you suddenly end up with an empty plate, asking for more.











Sofigado Lefkaditiko (Greek Beef Stew with Quinces and Grape-Must Syrup from Lefkada)

Greeks always choose veal over beef, we don’t particularly enjoy the mature flavor of beef, but you can use either.

Sofigado can be enjoyed by the whole family as an everyday meal but is also elegant enough to become part of a festive holiday meal or a dinner party.

You can accompany it with rice or mashed potatoes for a festive or special meal, and with French fries or a big green salad for an everyday meal.
You can either use beef or veal in this dish.
For those of you living in The Netherlands, the meat you should use is runderriblap.

In traditional Greek cuisine, onions are usually grated in a box grater rather than chopped. This gives a different texture to the resulting sauces, making them thicker and richer. If you can't bother grating the onions in this recipe, you can whiz them in the food processor until they are almost puréed.

The beauty of this dish is in its sweet and sour flavors and contrasting textures of tender, succulent beef in a rich sauce and juicy, soft yet firm quinces.
The more ripe and fragrant the quinces, the better they are for this dish. If they're not ripe, their taste will be too sour, but don't worry, you can rectify that by adding extra petimezi at the end.

You can find petimezi (grape-must syrup / grape molasses) in Greek or Middle Eastern stores.






Yield: 4-6 main-course servings

Ingredients
1 - 1.2 kg boneless beef or veal stewing steak like chuck steak
120 ml good quality olive oil
2 medium-sized red onions (about 250 g), grated
40 ml red-wine vinegar
7 medium-sized garlic cloves, peeled
1 Tbsp tomato paste
Freshly ground black pepper
2 fresh sprigs of rosemary
Pinch of sugar
330-350 ml hot water
Salt
3 large quinces (1 - 1.1 kg), peeled and cut into wedges
100 ml petimezi (grape-must syrup / grape molasses)

Special equipment: pan or Dutch oven with a 5 - 5.5 liter capacity, box grater or food processor


Preparation
Take the meat and cut with a knife the large pieces of fat off, leaving a fair amount of fat on in order to flavor the dish. Cut the meat into pieces, about 6x6 cm each. Place them on paper towels and pat them dry. This is an important step because the meat will not brown properly if it's damp.

In a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pan or preferably in a Dutch oven, add the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. When it starts to shimmer, add enough beef pieces to cover 2/3 of the bottom of the pan (do not overcrowd the pan because the beef will boil rather than brown) and brown the pieces on both sides. Remove pieces from the pan and place them in a bowl. Brown the rest of the beef pieces in the same manner and place them in the bowl.


Add the grated onions to the pan and sauté them on medium heat for about 4 minutes until they soften and become translucent. Return the browned beef pieces to the pan, along with the juices accumulated in the bowl you kept them in, and add the red-wine vinegar. Stir well with a spatula or spoon and add the garlic cloves, tomato paste, freshly ground black pepper, rosemary sprigs and a pinch of sugar and stir well. Add the hot water (hot so the cooking process won't stop) and stir well. Put the lid on and let it come to the boil. Then turn the heat down to the lowest setting and let the meat stew for 1 - 1 ½ hours or until it is tender (keep in mind though that it'll cook for a further 25 minutes when you add the quinces). Check the meat every 20 minutes or so, stirring it around a bit.

Then, remove the rosemary sprigs (the leaves would have fallen in the sauce) and add salt. The reason you're adding the salt now is because if you add it at the beginning of the cooking process, the beef will become tough and chewy. Add the quinces and the petimezi to the pan and stir well with a spatula or spoon. The quinces must be almost covered with liquid in order to cook, so if there's not enough liquid in your pan, add a bit of hot water. Put the lid back on and allow beef and quinces to simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring every now and then (not with a spatula or spoon, but by holding the pan by its handles and moving it around in circular motions so that everything gets stirred. You're doing that so that you don't break up the quinces. You don't want them to disintegrate into the sauce. They must remain in whole wedges and not become mushy).
Check the quinces after 15 minutes. It's good to taste them at this point and if they're too sour, you can add a little more petimezi to the pan.

You should end up with tender beef in a rich sauce and soft but not mushy quinces. They should hold their form and add texture to the dish.

Serve hot with your favorite accompaniment and make sure to have lots of bread on the table for dipping it in that delicious sauce.

Sofigado tastes even better the second day.

No napkins, no plates

The first thing S and I ate after dropping off our luggage at our hotel and venturing out into the city of Paris late last month, was a baguette with butter and ham. Just that. Bread, butter and thick slices of ham. It was perfection.






It reminded me of the sandwiches I used to have as a kid, when my mom would buy from the bakery small bread loaves with sesame seeds on top or whole baguettes, slather them with soft butter and generously fill them with ham, Hungarian salami and Greek kefalograviera cheese.






It was one of those sandwiches that even if you were full after eating one, you desperately wanted another.






And then the other day, I made this beef steak sandwich with Dijon mustard and rocket leaves. And that same thing happened to me again. I couldn't eat just one. No matter how hard I tried to resist, and believe me I tried, I couldn't do anything but give in to its powers.






See, now I have to stop. I have to stop writing. Because every time I sit down to write something about this sandwich or choose the photographs for this post, I get so incredibly hungry that I need to get up, go straight into the kitchen and fix myself a little something to sustain me until I have my proper dinner. This post is ruining my eating schedule.






Anyway, where was I?

Yes. The powers of this sandwich. Listen, this is a pretty straightforward sandwich as all good sandwiches should be and the actual cooking part of the recipe is the grilling of the meat.






Ah, the meat. The cut of meat I chose was entrecôte, a very popular steak in The Netherlands as well as in Greece. It's a premium cut and utterly delicious and since I'm very particular when it comes to red meat—I don't like a lot of fat on it, I hate it when it's tough and sinewy, etc.—it is ideal for my taste.






I also believe that if you choose pour quality meat to put in such a beautifully simple sandwich then the whole thing is ruined. An inferior cut has nowhere to hide here. There are no rich sauces, no fried onions, no fatty cheese to disguise it. There are only rosemary leaves, lemon juice and virgin olive oil that dress the steak and add a great depth of flavor.






As far as bread goes, ciabatta is number one in my book as a choice for a good sandwich. Not too much crumb, wide enough for the filling to spread around nicely and once heated in the oven just until it becomes a little crunchy around the edges but still soft, there's just nothing like it.






Grilled meat juices trickled down my hand and all the way to my elbow as soon as I bit into the sandwich. Mustard dripped all over my chin, falling straight onto my t-shirt. No napkins, no plates.
I'm usually not this messy when I eat. This sandwich brings out the worst in me. Or perhaps, the best.













Entrecôte Steak Sandwich with Dijon Mustard and Rocket Leaves
Inspired by Jamie Oliver

Cutting a thick steak in half lengthwise and then pounding it with a mallet, reduces the grilling time and also makes a steak that's not one of the cheapest of its kind go a long way. You can also use sirloin steak instead of entrecôte, or even rump steak.

You can use a grill or griddle to cook the steak but you can also use a regular skillet (preferably heavy-bottomed)*. The directions for cooking the meat are the same as when you cook it on the grill.

In my previous post, I asked you about your favorite kind of mustard and both here and on the Greek page of my blog, I discovered through your comments some very interesting varieties. So many mustards for me to try. Thank you for all your suggestions! I hope my fridge can handle it.
I have to admit that my all time favorite is Dijon and that's why I'm using it here. Feel free to add your own favorite mustard but make sure it is a strong one; the steak needs it.






Yield: 3 large sandwiches

Ingredients
1 thick, large, boneless entrecôte steak (mine was 280 g with a 2 cm thickness) or sirloin steak or rump boneless beef steak
The leaves from 1 rosemary sprig
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp virgin olive oil (plus 1 Tbsp for the oiling of the grill/skillet)
1 ½ tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
70 g baby or wild rocket leaves
1 large ciabatta

Special equipment: a grill or griddle (this is the one I use), kitchen mallet


Preparation
Take the steak out of the refrigerator at least 15 minutes before grilling in order to allow it to come to room temperature. Trim most of the fat off the steak and with a big, sharp knife cut it in half lengthwise. Place steaks over a large sheet of plastic wrap, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and add the rosemary leaves on top. Cover them with another large sheet of plastic wrap and, using a mallet, pound them until they become half in thickness. Be careful not to tear them apart or pound them too thin.
Remove the plastic wrap, place steaks on a plate and rub them with 1 Tbsp of olive oil.

Place ciabatta in a preheated oven (about 200 degrees Celsius) for 4-6 minutes until it becomes slightly crispy around the edges.

Rinse the rocket leaves under running water and strain them in a colander.


Oil your grill or griddle with 1 Tbsp of olive oil and heat over high heat. Once it gets very hot (in order to check, you can pour a few drops of water on the grill and if they sizzle it is ready) add the steaks and grill them for 2 minutes on one side and 1 minute on the other. Be careful not to overcook them otherwise they'll become rubbery and lose all their flavor and juices. The cooking time depends of course on your own personal taste.

Remove the steaks from the grill and put them on a plate. Drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil over them and 1 ½ tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Let them rest for 2-3 minutes.

Cut the ciabatta in half lengthwise and spread the Dijon mustard on one piece of the bread. Add the rocket leaves and place the steaks on top. Pour the juices that have accumulated on the plate you rested the steaks on, on top of the steaks. These juices are extremely flavorful. Don't make the mistake of throwing them out!

Cut the ciabatta into three large pieces and enjoy your steak sandwiches!


*If you don't have a grill or griddle and want to cook the steaks in a skillet, you need to pour 1 Tbsp of olive oil into it and heat over high heat. Once the oil starts to shimmer, add the steaks and cook according to the above instructions.

Greek snacking

I like to snack. No, I love to snack. I'd probably say that there are many times when I prefer it to regular sitting-at-the-table-and-eating-out-of-a-plate kind of thing. Anyone with me on this?






Of course when most people hear the word snack, their minds immediately jump to unhealthy food. Packaged, processed foods like potato chips and cheese puffs. That's not the kind of snacks I'm talking about even though just between you and me, I can't say no to these Greek potato chips with oregano or these chips that I found here in Holland, ever.






A bag of fresh baby carrots, baby roma tomatoes or mini cucumbers, various fruit like cherries and grapes, homemade sandwiches, kritharokouloures and nuts have always been my go-to snacks but nothing, absolutely nothing, beats good homemade Greek pies.






Greek pies come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and they are the quintessence of Greek food. They can have a number of different fillings and the dough can be made with various ingredients and in different ways thus giving each pie a distinctive texture and taste.






Meat, cheese, greens, olives; these are the preferred pie fillings. The main ingredient is usually mixed with herbs like dried oregano, mint, fresh dill or parsley and the amount of filling is always subject to personal preference. The dough that is most used for pies is phyllo but us Greeks also love puff pastry as well as kourou, which is a type of short crust pastry.






Feta cheese is the most popular ingredient for filling any kind of pie and I have to admit, it is one of my personal favorites. Cheese pie or tyropita is sold in every bakery across Greece and it's only rival is another classic pie, spanakopita (spinach pie).






There are as many recipes for pies as there are Greek cooks. Everyone has their own recipe that they swear by and this is mine. Well, my grandmother's to be exact but I don't think she'll mind me sharing it with you. These individual cheese pies (tyropitakia) and meat pies (kreatopitakia) are the taste of home for me. I literally grew up on these.






The melt-in-your-mouth dough is made with Greek strained yoghurt and a generous amount of butter and once baked in the oven, it becomes puffy, flaky and crispy on the edges. The filling of the cheese pie is the glorious Greek feta which is combined with just one egg that allows the tangy, creamy flavor of the cheese to shine through, whereas the filling of the meat pies is lean minced beef that is sautéed in a skillet with onions and finished off with a good sprinkling of chopped fresh dill.






Eaten while sitting in front of the computer, trying to work, write a post or getting lost in pinning inspirations on this site, munched while watching Roland Garros on tv (I'm a huge Nadal fan by the way), nibbled while riding the train back home from work or shared among fellow protesters/indignados in every large city in Greece, these pies are the portable dream snack.












Tyropitakia & Kreatopitakia (Greek Individual Cheese Pies & Meat Pies)

I like making my individual pies rather substantial. I like a lot of filling. Feel free to make them smaller if you want.

The dough for these pies is a version of the Greek kourou dough, made with yoghurt and butter which is the best version in my opinion. There are other versions that contain margarine, olive oil (like this one) and are made with or without yoghurt.

I always grate the onion in a large box grater for the meat pie filling. This way the onion is less crunchy and gives a different overall texture to the filling. If you can't bother grating the onions, you can whiz them in the food processor until they are almost puréed.

Greeks always choose veal over beef, we don’t particularly enjoy the mature flavor of beef, but you can use either.

If you don't like the flavor of nigella seeds use white instead or skip them altogether. I usually sprinkle with seeds just the cheese pies.






Yield: 35 individual pies (17 cheese & 18 meat pies) about 14 cm long and 4 cm wide each

Ingredients

for the dough
800 g self-rising flour
½ tsp sea salt
380 g unsalted butter, softened
480 g Greek strained yoghurt, preferably 2% fat (Total brand is the one I use)

for the cheese filling
300 g feta cheese
1 large egg

for the beef filling
2 large onions, around 370 g total
260 g lean veal or beef, minced
40 ml (a little less than 3 Tbsp) olive oil
20 g (a small bunch) dill, finely chopped
50 ml water
Salt
Black pepper, freshly ground

1 small egg, beaten, for brushing over the pies
3-4 Tbsp nigella seeds, for sprinkling over the pies

Special equipment: grater with coarse grating surface, stand mixer (optional), large baking trays, baking paper


Preparation

for the dough
In a large bowl, add the flour and salt and stir with a spoon. Add the rest of the ingredients for the dough and knead with your hands until you have a smooth dough that is pliable and somewhat soft but doesn't stick to your hands. Don't overwork the dough because it will tighten up and be tough when you bake the pies.
Note: Alternatively, you can make the dough in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.


Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest in the bowl at room temperature for 15 minutes, covered with a clean kitchen towel. If the temperature in your kitchen is very hot, put the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes instead.

for the beef filling
In the meantime, grate the onions using a box grater (coarse grating surface) and add them to a large skillet/frying pan. Add the olive oil and cook over medium heat until the liquid from the onions has evaporated, for about 8 minutes. The onions shouldn't be browned. Add the minced beef and sauté lightly stirring often. Add the freshly ground pepper, chopped dill and water and let beef cook for 10-12 minutes over low heat. Don't put the lid on and make sure to stir regularly. Add salt and take pan off the heat.
The filling should not be very wet otherwise the pies will be soggy.
Allow the filling to cool.


for the cheese filling
Grate the feta cheese using a box grater (coarse grating surface) and put it in a medium-sized bowl. Break the egg inside the bowl and stir with a spoon until you have a homogenous mixture.


Roll out the dough
Divide the dough into 35 pieces and shape them into balls the size of a small mandarin. Working on a clean surface, take each ball and roll it into a croquette shape (see photographs above).

Note: as far as the dough is prepared and kneaded properly, you will not need to flour it in order to shape it and roll it out. Also, you will not need a rolling pin but just your hands since the dough is pliable.

Take each croquette-shaped dough piece and using your fingertips, press the dough outwards in order to spread it open and create 17 x 9 cm rectangles with a thickness of around 0,4 cm.

Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

Prepare the cheese & meat pies
Place the filling along the center of each rectangle lengthwise.
For the cheese pies place 3/4-1 Tbsp of filling and for the meat pies 1-1½ Tbsp of filling on each piece of dough. Don't spread the filling towards the edges of the dough because you'll not be able to seal them properly.
Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges together, pressing down to form rolls and tuck the two far edges inwards (see these photographs). Place the pies, seam side down and spacing them well apart because they will puff up during baking, on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Brush the pies with the beaten egg and sprinkle some with all of them with the nigella seeds.

Place them on the middle rack of the oven and bake them for about 40 minutes, until they take on a golden-brown color.
Take them out of the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool.
Continue baking the rest of the pies.

Eat them the same day, warm or at room temperature. They are equally delicious the next day without the dough becoming soggy and losing its crispy and buttery texture.

Keep them at room temperature, lightly covered with aluminum foil, for a day or two although I highly doubt they'll last that long.

Meat and pasta, the western Greek way

When people think of Greek food, their minds immediately go to souvlaki, gyros, tzatziki and spanakopita. I've had about a dozen people asking me a recipe for spanakopita the moment I set foot in Holland and since then I've been handing out recipes for my souvlaki left and right. Well, this is partly my own fault. The first dinner party I ever threw in Holland, included souvlaki and two trays of tyropita (Greek cheese pie) so I had it coming.






But seriously, I know that Greek food is known and loved the world over but it is not limited to those dishes. One of the reasons I started this blog was exactly that. To show people how diverse and rich Greek food is and how geography and the influence of neighboring countries have shaped traditional Greek food culture.






Greece is a country with great geographical diversity. Its enormous Mediterranean coastline and vast seas provide ample space for fishermen to catch unique fish and shellfish that have been part of the Greek diet since ancient times. Dishes of the Greek islands like garides saganaki (sautéed prawns in tomato and feta sauce) and grilled fish with ladolemono (olive oil and lemon dressing) are examples of the simplicity that characterizes Greek island food.






Parts of mainland Greece are rocky and mountainous areas where meat is consumed in great amounts, with goat, lamb and veal being the meats of choice. Hearty goat stews, thick-crusted minced veal pies and whole roasted baby lamb, are being prepared in every household all year round—even during the summer months when in other parts of Greece lighter dishes are preferred—and this uncomplicated yet sophisticated style of cooking has been passed on from one generation to the next.






Vegetables, fruit and legumes were always a big part of Greek cuisine but during the Byzantine period, spices and sugar were introduced and with them new techniques and ways of cooking. Politiki cuisine, the type of Greek cooking I grew up with, is a direct descendant of the Byzantine gastronomy.






Greek cuisine has also been influenced by other cultures. In its long history, Greece has been occupied by the Romans and the Venetians, the Ottomans and the Catalans and they all affected the culinary history of Greece, introducing novel ingredients and combinations of flavors.






The Ionian Islands, situated off the west coast of Greece, and particularly Kefalonia, have been greatly affected by the Venetian occupation and their culinary history has been shaped by this north Italian influence. The Venetians were the ones who brought the tomato to the island of Kefalonia and because they consumed large quantities of olive oil, they were responsible for the planting of a great number of olive trees on the island. Olive trees were already grown there since ancient times but the Venetians rewarded with money the islanders who planted more of them all around Kefalonia. Today, quality olive oil is still an important product of the region.






"Kefalonitiki Pastitsada" or, if this is all sounding Greek to you (you know I had to say it at some point), beef (or veal) stew with tomatoes and spices on top of thick, tubular pasta from the island of Kefalonia, is a dish that can be found in most of the Ionian Islands. Each island has its own version, with the one from Kerkyra (Corfu) being the most widely known but to me, the one from Kefalonia is the best.






The last time I was in Kefalonia, in the summer of 2009, I must have eaten at least five different versions of this dish, either in restaurants and tavernas or at friends' homes. That and Kreatopita, a meat pie, were the dishes I craved the most when I returned from Kefalonia. I had to savor them again and the only way to do that was by recreating them myself and coming up with a recipe. So I did.






Pastitsada is an earthy and highly aromatic beef stew with a thick tomato sauce that is packed with flavor, which is imparted by the fresh tomatoes, the garlic and olive oil, the red wine and the addition of a number of spices. It's an unpretentious dish that comforts and soothes the senses. Served always with thick, long tubular pasta like bucatini and a generous sprinkling of Greek mizithra or kefalotyri cheese, it is gratifying, robust and synonymous with pure and authentic Greek flavor.












Kefalonitiki Pastitsada (Greek Beef Stew from Kefalonia with Tomatoes and Spices on top of Tubular Pasta)

Greeks always choose veal over beef, we don’t particularly enjoy the mature flavor of beef, but you can use either.

In traditional Greek cuisine, onions are usually grated in a large grater rather than chopped. This gives a different texture to the resulting sauces, making them thicker and richer. If you can't bother grating the onions in this recipe, you can whiz them in the food processor until they are almost puréed.

The best kind of cheese to sprinkle on top of this dish is the Greek hard cheese called mizithra, a white sheep's and goat's milk cheese. The next best thing would be the Greek kefalotyri, a hard yellow cheese made again from goat's and sheep's milk but if you can't find either one, you can use Pecorino Romano instead.
In the Ionian island of Zakynthos where a friend of my mom's is from, once this stew is almost cooked, they add small cubes of kefalograviera, a Greek yellow hard cheese, which imparts a peppery, umami taste to the dish and is still visible in the sauce since it doesn't melt easily. Needless to say, you don't need to add any more cheese after that.

A glass of Xinomavro, which is a superb Greek red wine variety, would be the perfect pairing for this dish but you can also use a good French Syrah or an Italian Nebbiolo. Use the same wine to enrich the sauce as well.

For those of you who live in The Netherlands, the meat you should use is runderriblap.

This stew needs a total of 2-2 ½ hours cooking.






Yield: 6 servings


Ingredients
1 kg boneless beef or veal stewing steak like chuck steak
100 ml olive olive
2 large onions (about 200 g), grated
3 large cloves of garlic, sliced
4 allspice berries
3 cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg, grated
1 large cinnamon stick
Pinch of sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
50 ml red wine like Xinomavro, Syrah or Nebbiolo
550 g fresh tomatoes, cut roughly into small pieces (or canned diced tomatoes)
70 g tomato paste, good quality
150 ml hot water
Salt

700 g long, tubular pasta like Bucatini
100 g butter or vegetable oil shortening

200 g Greek hard Mizithra, Greek Kefalotyri or Pecorino Romano Cheese, grated

Special equipment: grater, colander


Preparation
Take the meat and cut with a knife the large pieces of fat off, leaving a fair amount of fat on in order to flavor the dish. Cut the meat into pieces, about 7 x 6 cm each. Place them on paper towels and pat them dry. This is an important step because the meat will not brown properly if it's damp.

Note on tomatoes: It is preferable to use fresh tomatoes rather than canned. You don't have to skin the tomatoes and it is best if they are firm fleshed.

In a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pan or preferably in a Dutch oven, add the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. When it starts to shimmer, add enough beef pieces to cover 2/3 of the bottom of the pan (do not overcrowd the pan because the beef will boil rather than brown) and brown the pieces on both sides. Remove pieces from the pan and place them in a bowl. Brown the rest of the beef pieces in the same manner and place them in the bowl.

Add the grated onions to the pan and sauté them on medium heat for about 4 minutes and then add the garlic slices. Sauté them for 1 minute and add all the spices (allspice berries, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon stick) and a pinch of sugar. Stir continuously for 1 minute and then add the browned beef pieces along with the juices accumulated in the bowl you kept them in. Stir well and add some freshly ground black pepper. Turn heat up to medium-high, stir and add the wine, the chopped fresh tomatoes and the tomato paste. Then add the hot water (hot so the cooking process doesn't stop) and stir well. Put the lid on and let it come to the boil. Then lower the heat to the lowest setting and let the meat stew for 1 ½ - 2 hours or until it is tender. Check the meat every 20 minutes or so, stirring it around a bit. About 15 minutes before the meat is done, season with salt. The reason you're adding the salt now is because if you add it at the beginning of the cooking process, the beef will become tough and chewy.

In the end you will have tender, melt-in-the-mouth meat with a rich, thick tomato sauce.

While the meat is cooking, prepare the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil over high heat and add the bucatini. Cook until al dente (firm but not very hard), about 8 minutes, or cook to your liking. Drain the pasta in a colander, discarding the water. Melt the butter or vegetable oil shortening in the pot over medium-high heat and when it starts to foam, return the pasta to the pot. Turn off the heat and quickly stir the pasta around so that it gets coated with the butter or shortening.

Serve immediately, dividing the pasta between 6 dishes. Top with the beef stew, adding a generous amount of sauce. Sprinkle with lots of grated kefalotyri, myzithra or pecorino cheese.
Make sure you have lots of crusty bread on the table and some feta cheese.