Beef kapama

Wish you could smell this! Beef kapama. This gorgeous cut of beef was cooked for hours at barely a simmer in a rich tomato sauce full of warming autumn spices - cinnamon, allspice, clove. The meat just melts in your mouth. My kids had two servings each!

Have you tried this dish? You can use other meat like lamb, but I think beef is nicest. The first time I had this, my Aunt Marina made it and I went absolutely crazy for it. Her secret is to never let the meat boil. She also does not brown her beef in this case. I did this time, but you don’t have to! And it would certainly make prep even easier!

Beef kapama // Μοσχάρι καπαμά

2 1/4 lb (1 kg) boneless beef chuck roast
salt and pepper
2 tbsp all purpose flour
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, grated
1/2 cup (120ml) wine (white or red)
2-3 bay leaves
4 allspice berries
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 pinch sugar, or to taste
18 oz (500g) crushed tomatoes (passata)
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste (optional)

Pat dry the beef if needed, season liberally and dust on all sides with flour. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium high. Add the beef and brown on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and cook till just softened. Pour in wine and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom.

Add beef and any accumulated juices back to the pan along with all the spices and crushed tomatoes. Pour in enough water to just barely cover the beef. Cover pan with a lid and allow to gently cook over low heat for 2 hours, or until beef pulls apart easily with a fork. You can pretty much forget it at this point but the most important thing here is to not let it boil! Cook super gently, “barely simmering” is how I’d describe it!

When your beef is ready, if you’ve been cooking gently all along you may certainly need to reduce your sauce! So remove the beef to a bowl, increase the heat to medium high, and let your sauce simmer till reduced to your liking. At this point I added tomato paste which helped thicken the sauce and added nice flavor, but it’s optional.

When the sauce is ready, place beef back in the pan and serve!