Lamb shoulder stifado with easy spanakorizo

Stifado is a classic Greek stew made with red wine and aromatic spices. The dish is slow-cooked until the meat is meltingly tender. Serve with spanakoriso, a simple Greek spinach and rice side dish.

• serves

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  3 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Stream free On Demand

Low and Slow

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1.8 kg lamb shoulder (bone-in)
• 30 pickling onions, peeled
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 5 cm lengths
• 4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 500 ml red wine
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4 dried bay leaves (or 2 fresh bay leaves)
• 700 ml tomato passata
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped oregano (optional) 
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar, to serve

Easy spanakoriso

• 3 cups koshihikari rice
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 litre chicken stock
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ lemon, plus extra lemon wedges to serve
• salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 140˚C. Heat a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat, add the oil and fry the lamb shoulder on all sides until well browned. Remove the lamb from the pan and add the onions and carrots and fry for about 5 minutes until lightly browned. Add the garlic, black pepper, fennel seeds and fry for about a minute until fragrant.
2. Move the carrot and onion to one side and return the lamb to the pot. Add the red wine, salt, rosemary, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Boil for about 3 minutes until the wine stops smelling strongly alcoholic. Add the tomato passata and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and transfer to an oven for 3 hours until falling apart. Scatter with oregano (if using) and parsley and drizzle with a little red wine vinegar.
3. For the easy spanakoriso, while the lamb is cooking, wash the rice and combine with the chicken stock in a rice cooker. Add water up to the level of the rice cooker appropriate for the amount of rice, then add the baby spinach leaves and stir well. Cook in the rice cooker, then remove and fluff with a rice paddle, drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and squeeze over some lemon. Serve with extra lemon wedges.

Photography by Kitti Gould.

Want more from The Cook Up?

• Stream free here at SBS On Demand.

• Get the show recipes, articles and more here.

• Cook more Adam Liaw recipes here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Low and Slow

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G