Beef stifado

Step 1: Pour boiling water over the 1 ¾ lb small onions or shallots, leave 2 minutes, drain and slip off the skins; this makes peeling small onions much easier. Trim the roots but leave the base so they stay whole.

Step 2: Pat the 2 ¼ lb beef chuck or shin dry with kitchen paper. Heat half the 2 tbsp olive oil in a heavy casserole over a high heat and brown the meat in 2–3 batches, 4–5 minutes a batch, until deep brown on all sides. Lift onto a plate.

Step 3: Lower the heat to medium, add the rest of the 2 tbsp olive oil and the onions and fry for 8 minutes, shaking the pan, until golden in patches. Add 4 cloves garlic and 2 tbsp tomato purée and stir for 1 minute.

Step 4: Pour in the ¾ cup dry red wine (or stock) and 3 tbsp red wine vinegar and let it bubble for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan. Return the beef and its juices with 14 oz chopped tomatoes, 1 ¼ cups hot water, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 whole cloves, 5 allspice berries, 3 bay leaves, 1 tsp sugar, 1 ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper.

Step 5: Bring to a simmer, cover tightly and cook over a very low heat for 2 hours, or in the oven at 325°F. Shake the pot now and then rather than stirring, so the onions don't break up.

Step 6: The stew is ready when the beef breaks apart with a spoon and the sauce is thick and glossy. A common mistake is boiling it hard; the meat tightens and goes stringy, so keep it at a lazy bubble. If the sauce is thin, uncover for the last 15 minutes.

Step 7: Fish out the cinnamon and bay, taste for salt and rest off the heat for 10 minutes. It tastes even better the next day; cool within 2 hours, keep in the fridge up to 3 days and reheat until piping hot.