Manitaria stifado with bulgur wheat pilafi
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 1 to 2 hours
- Serve
- Serves 4
Cook up a vegan-friendly Greek feast with Georgina Hayden's manitaria stifado. This rich mushroom stew is served with cosy, cinnamon-scented bulgur wheat. With so many cultivated mushroom varieties on offer, you can make this year round.
From Saturday Kitchen
Ingredients
For the stifado
- 600g/1lb 5oz very small or baby onions (frozen baby onions work a treat)
- 50ml/2fl oz olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1kg/2lb 4oz wild mushrooms, trimmed and wiped clean, larger ones torn in half
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 200ml/⅓ pint red wine
- 200ml/⅓ pint passata
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the bulgur wheat pilafi
- 2–3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, finely sliced
- 150g/5½oz vermicelli rice noodles
- 800ml/1⅓ pints vegetable stock
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 200g/7oz bulgur wheat
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the stifado, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the onions to the pan. Leave for 2 minutes, then remove. This will make them easier to peel, which you want to do carefully, leaving them whole if possible.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Place a large casserole dish on a medium-low heat and add the olive oil and peeled onions. Fry for 5 minutes then add the sliced garlic and allspice. Fry slowly for another 5 minutes, just so that everything is lightly golden.
Add the wild mushrooms to the pan, season well with salt and black pepper, pick in the thyme leaves and fry for 5–10 more minutes, until the mushrooms have released their moisture and start to become golden. Don't stir them too often – allow them to get some colour from the pan.
Add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and red wine to the pan and turn up the heat. Bring to the boil and let it all bubble for a couple of minutes to reduce the wine a little.
Add the passata and red wine vinegar and bring to the boil again, then cover the casserole with a lid. Transfer to the oven and cook for 35 minutes, removing the lid for the last 15 minutes, until the onions are soft and the sauce is rich and reduced.
Meanwhile, to make the bulgur wheat pilafi, place a large saucepan on a medium-low heat and add the olive oil and sliced onions. Season them well with salt and black pepper and fry for 5 minutes.
Break in the vermicelli noodles and turn up the heat. Let the pasta brown for a few minutes, then add the stock to the pan. Add the cinnamon stick and bring to the boil.
Stir in the bulgur wheat, season again with salt and pepper and, as soon as it’s bubbling, cover with a lid and reduce the heat. Cook for 8 minutes then remove from the heat.
Remove the lid, cover with a tea towel, then place the lid on top again (make sure this isn’t near any open flames) – the tea towel will absorb any excess moisture to help make the pilafi fluffy. Leave to rest for 5 minutes, then use a fork to fluff it up.
Serve the bulgur wheat pilafi alongside the stifado.
