FYFrom Yiayia's FridgePrivate cookbook
Cookbook image from PDF page 14

Mains

Beef and Tomato Pilafi

Μοσχάρι Γιουβέτσι

Serves 6 peoplePrep 15 minutesCook 3 hoursPDF p. 14

Beef and Tomato Pilafi is one of those true labour-of-love dishes — the kind that takes time, patience, and a good appetite when it's ready to eat. Yiayia used to make it often, not just because it’s delicious, but because it makes the most out of cheaper cuts of meat. Slow cooking turns the beef tender and full of flavour, which only gets better the next day (if you have the self control to leave leftovers)!

Main

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 2 large onions, diced
  • 1.5kg bolar blade steak, diced
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • 100g butter
  • 3 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 red chilli, finely diced
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 3 cups medium grain rice
  • Handful of parsley or coriander

Method

  1. Heat a splash of canola oil in a large pot on medium high heat. Add in half of the diced onions, and cook until translucent. Leave the other half aside — this will be used later
  2. Add the diced steak and cook until browned
  3. Cover with water 1 inch above the meat, approximately 8 cups of water
  4. Add salt, cracked black pepper, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover with a lid
  5. Scoop out any scum that might appear on top of the water. Make sure the water level stays about 1 inch above the meat, add more water if you need
  6. Cook on a light simmer for around 1.5 - 2 hours until the steak is tender. Once tender, remove the steak from the pot and set aside
  7. In a separate pot, add a splash of canola oil over a medium high heat and fry the remaining onion until translucent
  8. Add butter and tomato paste and stir it through
  9. Add in the steak, red chilli and lemon juice and stir
  10. Add in the liquid stock from your other pot, followed by the rice
  11. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until rice is soft and has absorbed most of the liquid. This will take about 20 minutes. Be careful not to let the stock dry out. If your stock levels are getting low, top up with water
  12. Once the rice is cooked through, it's ready. Garnish with parsley or coriander to top it off