Greek Beef Kapama Recipe

Greek beef kapama stew served with potato wedges and parsley.

Greek Beef Kapama Recipe

Kapama is a "spectrum" of Greek stews; my version features slowly cooked beef in a red wine and tomato stew that has hints of coffee, Metaxa (Greek brandy), cinnamon, and lots of red wine, and it is delicious!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Anglo Greek

Keyword beef kapama, greek beef kapama, greek beef stew, kapama

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 4 30

Total Time 4 45

Servings Servings

Calories 878kcal

Author Brian Jones

Ingredients

400 g Braising Steak 14oz (thick cut)
1 tablespoon Flour
2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Large Onion 250g
6 Garlic Cloves
2 tablespoon Tomato Puree
2 Medium Tomatoes 250g total
10 cm Cinnamon Bark 4"
⅛ teaspoon Allspice
1 Bay Leaf
75 ml Metaxa Brandy ⅓ cup
75 ml Strong Black Coffee ⅓ cup
250 ml Red Wine 1 Cup
20 g Honey 1 Tbsp
Water
1 teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper

Instructions

Cut the beef into 3cm (1¼") cubes.
Cut the onion in half, peel it and then cut it into a 3-4mm (⅛") dice.
Peel and finely dice the garlic.
Roughly chop the tomatoes.
Season the beef with half of the salt and all of the black pepper, then lightly dredge it in flour.
Heat a 20cm or 8" heavy-based pot over a medium-high heat, add the olive oil and brown the beef all over, then remove and set aside.

Do this in two batches and do not be tempted to crank up the heat to speed up the process. You will burn the fond!

Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
Throw in the garlic, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaf, tomatoes and tomato puree, then cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring all of the time.
Pour in the brandy and cook until everything has thickened up.
Add the beef, red wine, coffee, honey and enough water to just cover the beef. Then have a taste and add as much of the remaining salt as you think is necessary.

You shouldn't need more than 125ml (½ cup) of water.

Transfer the pot to the oven and cook for 3½-4 hours, keeping an eye on it after 3 hours to make sure that it does not dry out too much.

If you want to speed up the cooking, remove it from the oven after 2 hours and cook over a medium heat to reduce the sauce. This will make the beef a little tougher, but it will still be lovely.

Video

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