#beef lemonato

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Alex's Recipe for Beef Lemonato

We're focusing on culinary arts for Issue 9 of The Coda. To whet your appetite, a couple of favorite recipes from personal chefs, Mina Stone and Alex Eagleton. Our full interview with the talented cooks (and lovely couple) coming very soon!

Beef Lemonato

I decided to go with my version of my great grandmother's version of a Greek favorite. It is delicious and simple. Lemonato is a term for a dish with lemon flavor. In this case, beef is what I'm going to focus on. This is really delicious with lemon potatoes. Or rice. Or fries. Or orzo.

*Ingredient quantities based on an average pot with one layer of meat.

1 1/2 lb stewing beef (any of the "chucks" or "roasts") 8–10 cloves of garlic Olive oil Salt Pepper Greek oregano 1-2 lemons 1/4 stick of butter

So...

Season the meat liberally with salt and cracked pepper. Less liberally with oregano.

Heat your pot.

Add a layer of olive oil to the hot pot.

Add the meat and brown it well.

Once the meat is browned, remove it and add the whole garlic cloves—save one for later.

Lightly brown the garlic. If you need a little oil, add it. If the garlic start to get too brown—this can happen in a blink—add a little water. It's going to simmer either way.

Once the garlic is golden brown, add the meat and throw in some more oregano. Stir it all up and add enough water to cover the meat.

At the boiling point, turn the heat down and simmer. Make sure the pot is covered.

An hour and a half in, test for flavor—adjust salt according to taste and add water if it's dangerously low. At this point, finely grate the last clove of garlic and add some more black pepper and oregano.

1/2 hour later (about 2 hours cooking time), the meat should be fork tender. If not, give it a little more time.

When the meat is tender, remove it.

Mash up what garlic is left and add a quarter stick of butter. Stir it all and re-introduce the meat.

Add the juice of one and a half lemons and a little more pepper.

Image by Doris Ho-Kane, photographed at indie food and wine

Recipe courtesy of Alex Eagleton