Givech (Romanian vegetable stew)

In almost all Balkan countries you will find a kind of vegetable stew based on the Turkish Güveç. This one ist the one of my grandmother from Romania.

According to Wikipedia, Güveç is the name of a variety of earthenware pots used in Turkish cuisine, and of a number of casserole/stew dishes that are cooked in them. The pot is wide medium-tall, can be glazed or unglazed, and the dish in it is cooked with little or no additional liquid.

Grandmother uses all veggies she has home

I still remember the taste of my grandmothers Givech that I only started to like with time and with growing up.

You don't throw away food

My grandmother had still experienced the war and throwing away food was an absolute no-go. So, every Givetch was a bit different due to the various kinds of vegetables used. The only thing consistent were the potatoes and tomatoes.

The Givech can be served hot or cold, as a side dish, or as a vegetarian main dish. I also like to serve it as part of a mezze platter.

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants cut into 1 inch cubes

4 tablespoons of olive oil

1 large onion sliced

2 bell peppers, any color, cut into 1 inch cubes

3 medium carrots peeled and sliced

1 large new or wax potato, cubed

3 medium zucchinis sliced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

10 g dill

Salt, pepper

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 180°.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the cubes of eggplant on the baking sheet in one layer and spray on top with the oil. You may need more than one baking sheet to accommodate all the eggplant. Bake in the preheated oven for twenty minutes, until the eggplant turns golden brown. Remove from the oven.

In a large sauté pan heat four tablespoons of oil on medium high heat, and sauté the onion for two minutes. Add the bell peppers and the carrots, and keep sautéing for another five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies start to brown.

Add the potato to the pan and sauté for five minutes, stirring to make sure the potato does not stick to the pot. Add the zucchini and the roasted eggplant and stir gently for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and black pepper, give the dish a final stir. Cover the pot, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook for about thirty minutes. There may be some veggie juice left on the bottom of the pot, which is fine, as long as you don’t end up with soup. Add the chopped dill.

If you have a lot of liquid left, remove the lid and cook the veggies over high heat, until most liquid evaporates.