Ingredients
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500 g Lamb shoulder or any kind of fatty lamb meat
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2 pcs Potatoes peeled and diced
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2 pcs onion peeled roughly chopped
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2 pcs tomatoes roughly chopped
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1 pcs aubergine peeled and chopped
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1 pcs bell peppers roughly chopped
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1 pcs zucchini peeled and chopped
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1 pcs Carrot peeled and sliced
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100 g green beans
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5-6 pcs garlic cloves finely chopped
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1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
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300 ml Water
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20 ml Olive oil
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a pinch Black pepper
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1 tablespoon Salt
Directions
Guvec (Güveç) is one of my favourite dishes of traditional Turkish cuisine. It is a hearty and delicious casserole. The best part is – Guvec recipe is incredibly easy. It is made of slowly cooked meat with a variety of vegetables such as eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, etc.
As with many other traditional dishes, there are countless variants of Guvec. Depending on the meat in Turkish cuisine, there are several basic types, and they are:
- Türlü Guveç – made of vegetables
- Kuzu Guveç – made of lamb
- Dana Guveç – made of beef
In the parts of Turkey by the sea, it is even made of seafood. Karides or shrimp Güveç is popular there.
Guvec Recipe Origin
The specificity of it is that traditionally it is made in a clay pot, which is also called Güveç. Hence the name. However, if you do not have a clay pot, nothing for it, any casserole pot will do.
Even today, the traditional way of preparation can be found in the rural parts of Anatolia. Guveç pot is sealed with dough and cover with the grill ashes and slow-cooked overnight. Also, the custom of wearing Guvec pot in a local bakery has been preserved until today. Interestingly, a similar custom exists in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the preparation of their traditional dish – Bosnian Pot. Even more interesting is that Bosnian Pot is an almost identical dish to Guveç. But to make the gastronomic and historical entanglements even bigger, in Bosnian cuisine, there is also a dish called đuveč. It is the Bosnian version, and in addition to meat and vegetables, rice is the main ingredient. Bosnian Guveç is more like a pilaf.
Like many other dishes, it spread throughout the Ottoman Empire and is especially popular in the Balkan Peninsula. You can find local varieties in the already mentioned Bosnian cuisine as well as in Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia. There, this dish got its local name – đuveč. As is the case with Bosnian cuisine and in the cuisines in these countries, in addition to meat and vegetables, rice is the main ingredient.
In Romania it is known as Ghiveci, in Bulgaria it is Gyuvech, and in Greece Giouvetsi or Youvetsi. In Greece, it is served with orzo pasta or small square noodles.
This Guvec recipe, like many others, I got from one of my friends, and he is an even bigger foodie than me.
Steps
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1
Done
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Chop eggplants, potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes into larger cubes. Slice carrot and courgette and roughly chop onion and garlic. |
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2
Done
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Cut the meat into larger chunks. Coat a large casserole pot with oil and place the meat on the bottom. |
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3
Done
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Put the vegetables on the meat. In this way, the meat will be baked sooner and will absorb juices from the vegetable. Add salt and black pepper to taste and add cumin. |
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4
Done
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Pour over 300 ml of water and a few spoons of olive oil. Cover the bowl and place in the oven to bake at 190 ° C for about 2.5-3 hours. |
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5
Done
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Serve Guvec as a main dish. Yoghurt can be a great addition to it. |
