Mealtime Magic: Classic Greek Stew for Easter

One of the challenges for preparing an Easter meal is coming up with something tasty that can feed your entire family. At the same time, you don’t want to be slaving in the kitchen all day when there are important Easter traditions to attend.

Kontos Foods, maker of artisan flatbreads and other ethnic foods, has a solution for you: Kokkinisto (which means cooked in red tomato sauce) is a classic Greek stew made from veal or lamb. Onions are caramelized, and the veal or lamb is browned before being simmered in a garlic tomato sauce. Finally, chopped potatoes are added and cooked till the sauce is thickened. Serve with Kontos Pocket-less Pita to soak up the delicious sauce.

“Not only is this a classic dish, and perfect way to celebrate Easter, it’s also a dish that can be prepared the day before so it’s one less thing to worry  about when you have guests coming,” said Chef Demetrios Haralambatos, corporate executive chef at Kontos Foods. Chef suggests mint garnish.




Kokkinisto

Ingredients:

• 1 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 each Bay leaf
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 pounds, veal or lamb, cut into cubes
• ½ cup Mavrodaphne wine*
• 1 tsp. tomato paste
• 5 cups water
• 2 cups tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 each cinnamon stick
• 6 large potatoes, rough cut
• Kontos Pocket-less Pita 
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Mint leaves, chopped, for garnish

Method:
1. In a large pot add ½ cup of olive oil.  When hot, add the Bay leaf and onions, sauté the onions (until caramelized).
2. Stir in the veal or lamb chunks, and brown on all sides.
3. Remove the meat and set aside, and deglaze the pot with the wine, and allow to the wine to reduce.
4. Dilute the tomato paste in the water, and add to the hot pot, along with the tomatoes, garlic, and cinnamon stick.
5. Stir in the reserved meat, and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. In a sauté pan, add the other ½ cup of olive oil, and sauté the potatoes for 3-4 minutes.
7. Add the potatoes to the large pot.  Stir and simmer for an additional 30 minutes, until the Meat and Potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened.  Salt and Pepper to taste.
8. Note: if the sauce is too thick, you may add some boiling water to thin it.
Garnish with chopped Mint leaves
 *A sweet Greek red wine. Substitutions include port wine or similar dessert wine.

“This recipe is great for any occasion, but it’s served traditionally on special occasions because it takes a little extra time to prepare. But it’s well worth it,” said Steve Kontos, vice president and owner of Kontos Foods.

Kontos sells its products to retailers and foodservice establishments across North America and several other countries. Find Kontos on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Kontosfoods and follow the company on Twitter @KontosFoods.

About Kontos Foods
Founded in 1987, Kontos Foods, Inc. is a Paterson, New Jersey-based provider of artisan breads and traditional Mediterranean foods for restaurants, hotels, food service, retail specialty stores and supermarkets worldwide. The family-owned company specializes in hand-stretched flatbreads, including the Kontos Pocket-Less Pita®, Fillo dough, pastries, olives, gyro meats, and Greek yogurts, as well as nearly 50 varieties of multi-ethnic flatbreads. Kontos, which has over 225 employees and was founded by Evripides (Evris) Kontos with his son Steven, together bring over 100 years’ experience in the premium food industry. The company’s bread and Fillo products are made in the USA. Visit www.kontos.com or call (973) 278-2800.