Byzantine Beef in 5 Stages
Spring flowers speckle the ground, emerging from the hard soil with a force that only nature understands; a mosaic carpet to hail the new season. Winter’s stark and lifeless domination is finally ebbing away. But I err towards the dramatic. A couple of bright sunny days still come with the shockingly cold gusts that remind us that the days of low and slow stews remain, at least for a few weeks more. While a mosaic of different flora rid the ground of its dull muddy hues, this stew teases the palate with a variety of spices and flavours: smoky mellowness of cinnamon meeting subtle incense like clove and the long lasting tang of star anise. A veritable bazaar for a single dish. (Sadly, my only experience of a bazaar was in Istanbul where I was entering while all the local traders and visitors were exiting, heading to the nearby mosque for prayer. My personal Canute against the tide. I hate crowds. I didn’t return). After my visit to Istanbul, I tried to put together something
