Becky (tickleme.multiply.com)

well, 'estofar' in spanish means stew and 'estofado' is, i guess, just an elaborated version of the word. you can use it with almost every meat you can find but best with red meat. try googling it and you'll see calamaris are also one of the fav choices. however, different meat means you need to modify your recipe accordingly. don't ask me how though. lol.

ingredients
red/dry white wine
tomato puree
herbs
mushrooms (of your liking!)
potatoes (in cubes)
carrots (in cubes)
onions (in cubes)
garlics (sliced)
600g sliced red meat (of your liking!)
cumin powder
cinnamon powder
paprika
brown sugar
flour
boiling water
ajinomoto
salt
freshly grounded black pepper
oil (olive/ butter/ up to your liking!)

method
firstly, seasoned your red meat with black pepper, salt, ajinomoto and the various powders (it's really up to you what sort of powders you wanna use, actually). then semi-fry your meat and remove it. then, fry your garlic till it's half brown, throw in the onions and followed by the herbs and spices/powders (my mom said you've gotta tumis them to get better smell).

after that, throw in the potatoes and your semi-fried meat. put more dashes of ajinomoto, salt and black pepper. stir fry and then pour the boiling water (2 cups perhaps?). cover the pot and let it simmer. add more water if it's getting dryer.

once the potatoes are half-cooked (check and see if their soft), add the carrots, mushrooms, tomato puree (about 5 tbps) and flour (about 2 tbps). add in the brown sugar to your liking (but i would advice that you should not exceed four tbsps unless you're really into sweet stew). stir and let it simmer still.

taste it and if the taste is fine and the meat is tender (and cooked, of course) with all the potatoes and carrots being soft, throw in a few dashes of wine. stir a lil more and voila, your estofado is done!

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this recipe was heavily modified by me from the ones i found online to suit more to my taste but i assure you, it's still yummy. this meal can take up to an hour plus to cook. it's a lot of slow cooking and all but it's worth your time and effort. best if you eat it with rice or garlic bread. also, this dish is great for pot lucks as it is easy to prepare and all cos it's a guarantee people will love it!