Stifảdo - chicken and baby onions stew

      My father liked hunting with my uncles on the winter weekends when hunting was permitted; so we often had wild rabbits and birds for special meals at home. 
     The most common and delicious way to cook game in Greece is  stifảdo (στιφάδο). This is a meat stew with baby onions. Since most people, including myself; don’t  like hunting,  stifảdo can also made with beef, rabbit or any kind of poultry hunted down at your local butchers
      Baby onions keep their shape during cooking making for a nice presentation and giving  a sweet taste to this dish. Adding a teaspoon of tomato paste gives a warm rich color to the sauce.

Serves 4


4 chicken legs (or any other part)
1 onion chopped
½ cup olive or vegetable oil for frying (110gr)
28 baby onions
½ cup of olive oil for cooking (110gr)
1tsp tomato paste
1.5 litres water
6 cloves
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove
1Tsp vinegar 
salt and pepper to taste 


    Peel the baby onions, wash them under running water, and drain them.
In a frying pan over medium heat add 1/2cup of olive or vegetable oil and when hot cook the baby onions for 2-3 minutes until they have wilted. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside on kitchen paper. 
    In the same skillet with the same oil fry the chicken in batches until lightly golden. Then strain and  transfer to a plate.
    In a cooking pot over medium heat add the other 1/2cup of olive oil and the chopped onion. When onion has wilted add the chicken, vinegar, garlic, tomato paste, bay leaf, cloves and 1 1/2litre of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for half an hour.  
    Now that the chicken is almost done, add the baby onions to the pot, season with salt and pepper and cook for 30 minutes more or until the onions are soft.
Serve warm.