Greek beef stew

Preparation – 6 hours + 10 minutes

Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic cloves. Rinse the zucchini, remove the ends and divide into not too large chunks. You can make this stew in a crock pot or dutch oven, or use any other heavy bottomed pan.

If you're using a dutch oven, you need to sear the meat first in some oil or butter until all sides are brown and then season the meat with salt and pepper.

Then sauté the onion and garlic briefly and then add the greek spices, zucchini, bay leaves, beef stock cube and the can of tomatoes. Always add a little liquid while simmering, otherwise the meat will burn in the pan.

It's not necessary for the slow cooker to add water. Let it simmer gently for about 2. 5 to 3 hours, or until the meat is tender. The exact time depends on the type of meat you use.

Turn the meat regularly. For the slow cooker, just add the chopped onion and garlic, along with the greek herbs, bay leaves, cubed beef stock, zucchini and canned tomatoes to the slow cooker.  

Place the meat on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Theres no need to sear the meat or to sauté the other ingredients first. Then set the slow cooker to the lowest setting for about 6 hours.

It is not necessary to remove excess fat and muscles first, you can do this while you create pulled beef as soon as the meat is done. Turn the meat once halfway through.  

Finishing the Greek beef stew – 20 minutes

Meanwhile create a tzatziki, or use store-bought tzatziki. Peel the red onion and slice into thin (half) rings. Cook the rice and slice the olives into halves and set the feta cubes aside.

As soon as the meat is tender, you can use 2 forks to create pulled beef and remove any excess fat or muscles. Remove the bay leaves and transfer the pulled beef back into the sauce.

Season with pepper and salt and serve with rice, tzatziki, red onion, feta and olives. Enjoy!