Stifado-Kefalonian Meat pie

“Estufado”
For thousands of years Greece has been a crossroads for both people and cultures. The civilization, customs and food of this region developed by combining new ideas with existing ones – in culture, language and philosophy.
And so a thread links ancient Greek cooking (which used wine vinegar and lots of fruit to create sweet and sour combinations), through the Romans, the Franks, the Venetians and the British to today’s modern Greek cooking.
This creative process worked to create the Greek “stifado”. The name comes from the word “suffocate” or “suffusion” which came to us from the Venetians. This dish is “suffocated” by being cooked in a pot with the lid tightly shut. The shallots, which are characteristic of this dish, are slowly caramelized over a low heat without losing their shape or firmness. The beef cooks to a delicious tenderness without losing any of its flavour. “Stifado” must be eaten soon after cooking because the flavours are lost if the food is kept for any length of time. This whole cooking process means that our “stifado” is one of our most successful and popular dishes. Try it and see.
Kefalonian Meat Pie
Kefalonian Meat Pie is a dish which probably came into being under the influence of the many English meat pies, during the time that the British governed Kefalonia. It has changed since then and become part of the traditional local cuisine.
Originally, it was made only with goat meat but today it is made with pork, beef and lamb, as well as rice. It also contains herbs, a kind of Greek hard cheese called kefalotiri and boiled egg. The pastry is home-made too, and made with robola wine. Our authentic Kefalonian Meat Pie is made by our chef, Gerasimos Katsaitis, whose family come from Lixouri, in Kefalonia, who uses his grandmother’s recipe to create this delicious dish.