Kouneli Stifado — Greek Rabbit Stew
Sep 16th, 2008 | By Hank | Category: Greek, Wild Game | Comments | 12 Comments |
Rabbit season has returned, and to celebrate Holly’s first-ever cottontail I thought I’d make her something special: Kouneli stifado, a classic Greek rabbit stew to befit her status as my very own Diana the Huntress.
It’s really a pretty simple dish, just rabbits and onions (preferably pearl onions), olive oil and red wine, tomatoes, potatoes (my addition), and the requisite allspice, bay leaves and cinnamon. Stew it slowly for an hour or two, then enjoy. I’ve written the recipe down here, in case you’re interested.
Stifado is truly a classic. I have read at least a dozen different recipes for it, and making this dish is a bit like making a Bolognese sauce: Everyone knows how to do it — sorta — and variations are the rule. Technique is important, but then so are several hotly disputed yet key ingredients. To add milk or not?
In the case of stifado, debate centers on the tomatoes and wine. Simple chopped tomatoes? Or do as I do, with tomato paste and crushed tomatoes? Red wine or white? Sweet or dry? I do both, largely because I live in Sacramento and have access to that Temple of Food known as Corti Bros. — and Darrell Corti carries the incomparable Greek sweet wine Mavrodaphne.
Mavrodaphne. Even its name is sexy. Without Mavrodaphne my stifado is a shadow of itself. To me, stifado requires a sweet wine because rabbits, by their very nature, are sweet little things; they are, by far, the hardest animals for me to shoot because I freely admit that they are so…damn…cute. Mercifully (for me), a rabbit’s chief failing is that despite being adorable, it is apt to be both tender and tasty, a rare combination in the wild world.
So I eat them whenever I can. Holly and I shot a brace of bunnehs living outside our friend Evan’s father’s barn in Amador County — the same place I shot several on New Year’s Eve. Evan also shot a dove and two barn pigeons, but more on them in a future post.
What does stifado taste like? The Orient, in its classical sense. It must have been quite the treat when it was invented, most likely in the Middle Ages when Greece was under Venetian rule. Any combination of sweetness with exotic spices such as cinnamon and allspice in an otherwise savory dish screams 1300 or 1400 to me. Yes, I know I’m a food geek. Sue me.
Stifado uses a lot of olive oil, so it is smooth going down. This moistens the rabbit as well, which is braised slowly until it is about to fall off the bone. The spices give it zing without heat, and the tomatoes, which are obviously a post-1492 addition, add a touch more sweetness as well as needed acidity. There’s a reason stifado is a classic.
What to eat with stifado? Well, I added some fingerling potatoes to bulk it up — not traditional, but hey. I’d say good bread and a salad is all you really need with this. As for wine, we had dense, floral Cotes du Rhone style white called Enigma from the Terre Rouge Winery, which is just a mile or so from where we bagged the bunnies. How’s that for terroir?
We just had our first cool day here in Sacramento; fall cannot be too far along now. Time for more stews like this, and lots more wild game. This is my favorite time of the year.
Agreed. As much as I love tomatoes and basil, there is something about cool weather, brilliant trees, and stews that gets to the bone.
new potatoes are a nice addition – your photos show a meal just like a cooked it the other day (minus the potatoes – which a Greek would insist on being peeled of course!)
I love reading about the unusual dishes you prepare. It’s been chilly in Boston this week – I could definitely go for some rabbit stew.
Oooooo, thanks for the post! I’ve been craving stew for weeks but it’s still getting up over 90 degrees here in Southern California. Still, you have peaked my need and I’ll be hunting down some rabbit (from my “great white hunter”) and when it cools down you know where I’ll be… in the kitchen, of course!
Cant wait to try your recipe! I’ll bet it works with chicken too… or would that be an offense to all you Greeks out there?
Yep. It works with chicken, but do yourself a favor and get a stewing hen — or at least a roaster. Try to avoid fryers because they lack the body for a decent stew. Look for a stewing hen at a Mexican or Asian market.
You could also do this with turkey, squirrel, pheasant, grouse or partridge — even quail.
That’s it!!! I’m loading up the truck and I’m gonna get me some wabbits. Will my Greek friends be impressed with me?
Ah yes, kouneli stifado, very nice. Though, it could use more onions and potatoes are not commonly part of the stifado recipes I am familiar with; but I certainly would devour it without a second thought! Looks great.
As for the Mavrodaphne, you’re right, it makes a huge difference though for those who don’t have any (or cannot find it) a wine vinegar will also impart an authentic flavour as it’s often used in lieu of the wine in Greece.
I was waiting for you and Peter to chime in! Yes, I know the potatoes are not traditional, but I wanted to eat them that night…good tip on the red wine vinegar.
I love rabbit stews, and a little sweet is definitely key; last time I put currants in. When our local rabbit source is back online, I will surely riff on this, as well as making those discontinued sausages…
That is so romantic – a rabbit stew for your huntress! Stifado is the first Greek dish I ever made, when I was a pasty vegetarian in the 90s. This looks much more on target with what a stifado should be.
Thanks for the tips on the scarlet runners, btw, you saved me all the research I was going to have to do. I wonder if adding some meat tenderizer (or some bromeliad) to the water will help break down the shell? Will the fresh beans still take that long?
Maybe I should shoot Ken Albala an email.
I am not that familiar with Greek Cuisine – although I am catching up on it. Amazing the Greek Cooking food blogs out there! Thanks for sharing this recipe. It’ll be a change from Civet de Lapin, Rabbit with mustard, Rabbit with Tarragon and the more French or Italian ways I usually prepare it.
I like the ingredient combination. But then, originally (in the 1300 or 1400′s) there would have been no tomatoes and no potatoes for that dish. More onions maybe?
Yep. Definitely no potatoes or tomatoes. Potatoes are not traditionally part of stifado, and I bet they put in wine vinegar before tomatoes — same splash of acidity. That’s just a guess, though. And definitely more onions — both Sam and Peter, who I am certain have eaten more stifado that I have, say my recipe needs at least one more onion…