Keto Stifado with sautéd butter zoodles – You’ll never miss pasta again
Keto Stifado is not new to Greek Goes Keto. However, the original recipe, which you can see here, takes a bit longer to prepare. This is why we worked on a quicker and easier version of Keto Stifado. We had in mind that it doesn’t have to include a tone of onion. Even though Stifado is quite friendly to Keto way of eating, in the original Greek version there’s a slight overuse of onion which then brings the dish to low-carb, but not Keto level.
For the purpose of speeding up the meat preparation, we switched to veal instead of beef. Veal is extremely popular in central Europe! And then, we thought we could play with our Keto “Makaronia” (Greek word for pasta) and make the zoodles tastier than ever. With this dish, you’ll switch anyone to Keto!
How to pick a good veal cut for Keto Stifado?
For this recipe, we wanted a fatty part, but without too many ligaments. That is why we asked our wonderful butcher to cube the veal neck for us. This was a great decision! The meat was ready in less than 30 minutes and all the juicy flavour stayed intact. Now, if you cannot find veal (some of our American Ketonians have trouble with finding veal) you can prepare this with beef, but you will need to double the cooking time. Furthermore, you will have to cut the meat cubes a bit smaller.
The Greek tradition and connection to pasta
What can we say, Italians influenced the Greeks on so many levels, that even Pastitsio became a must! Pasta is present in modern Greek cuisine as much as it is in Italy. In the land of Ketonia, we don’t want this. Now, you can prepare our Keto Gnocchi or Keto Ravioli, but if you really want to stay safe, you’ll love these sautéd zoodles. Zucchini, in fact, is extremely easy to digest and could be one of the friendliest Keto veggies with only 3g net carbs per 100g! So, are we ready do seduce someone with a perfect Keto Stifado paired with sautéd butter zoodles? As nutritious and delicious as it can be!!!
Where did the word Stifado come from?
Meat stews, especially made with internals have been popular in Greece ever since ancient times. A proof of that is the infamous Spartan blood soup. However, just before the Ottomans, Greece was largely influenced by Venetians. From the north of Italy came the name “Stufado” which then evolved into Stifado. Venetians did not bring just the word, eating stews with cubed meat became a must in all wealthy homes around Greece. This is why even today Stifado is prepared on special occasions. The most delicious version is made with rabbit meat! However, the standard beef version is really nutritious and provides long satiety! Furthermore, the veal version that we’ll present you today has the advantage of the ease of preparation and it can really save you time. At the same time, you’ll have an attractive, turbo-delicious and nutritious dish to enjoy!
Original stifado cooking always includes dry red wine. However, if you really want to keep your carbs low, skip this part.
Veal Stifado with Zoodles
Ingredients
- 500 g (1 pound) cubed veal neck you can use beef too
- 4 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp goat, sheep or buffalo butter you can use grass-fed cow's butter
- 1 tbsp red paprika powder
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp dried parsley you can use freshly chopped
- 1 tsp red, black and white pepper mixture freshly ground
Zoodles
- 150 g (7 oz) zucchini cut into zoodles
- 1 tbsp goat, sheep or buffalo butter you can use grass-fed cow's butter
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/3 tsp black pepper freshly grated
- 1 tsp dried dill
Garnish
- 2 tbsp aged goat cheese (you can use parmesan) freshly grated
Instructions
- Finely chop the garlic and saute it in a deep skillet or a wok with butter. Add cubed veal and stir with a wooden spoon until the meat is brown from all sides. Now add red paprika powder, sea salt, cinnamon and oregano. Keep steering.
- Pour 1/2 cup of warm water over the meat, add 2 bay leaves, cover the skillet with a lid and cook for 10 minutes at medium temperature. Stir occasionally and add more water if needed. Cook for another 10 minutes.
- At the end of cooking, remove the Stifado from the heat, add olive oil and stir. Now add black pepper and dried parsley.
- For the zoodles, peel and cut the zucchini with a spiraliser or a vegetable peeler. melt the butter and gently sauté the zoodles in it. Add all the spices and be very careful with stirring so that the zoodles don't break. They don't need more than 3 minutes to be ready.
- Serve the zoodles as a side dish to your Stifado: Sprinkle with freshly grated aged goat cheese, parsley or dill.
Notes
