Euvedge (Goulash-Type Stew)

Daniele1969's Note:

People have been getting confused with this title and I am SO sorry. This is not really a "stew," but more like a Goulash. I am REALLY sorry Windhorse 23 was confused about that. This recipe is my number one FAVORITE dish. Mom usually made it with meatballs made from ground lamb and raw rice, but I never ate them so I've left them out; I'll submit the meatballs separately for those of you who would like the recipe - I'll name the recipe Euvedge Meatballs. Now, this is what I consider comfort food. I would eat this over plain white rice and know that life could not get any better. This is also one of those dishes that is even better cold the next day.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 medium onions, cut into crescents
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 cup water
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 4 medium zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 red bell peppers, cleaned and cut into 1 inch strips LENGTHWISE
• 4 large potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1/2 lb green beans
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a deep, heavy stew pot, sauté onions in oil until soft.
2. Add Garlic and sauté another 30 seconds to release the flavor, but not burn the garlic.
3. Stir in tomato paste and sauté for 4-5 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes and water and stir well.
5. Bring to a simmer.
6. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer covered until the potatoes and green beans are done.

Reviews

[windhorse23]

Sorry, but I had some problems with this recipe. I hate to give a negative review, but I know I rely on the reviews and I imagine others do, too. First of all, this makes way more than 8 servings--more like 12 at least. When I cut up the vegetables they were overflowing from even the biggest bowl in my kitchen. The directions for cutting the vegetables were confusing (e.g. cutting the peppers into one in strips: one inch by how long?) I ended up just chunking everything. The recipe calls for one cup of water. This was barely enough to cover the bottom of the huge soup pot I had to use to fit all the veggies. So I used more like a quart of water. Lastly, the stew was very bland. I ended up adding seasonings, including zahatar and crushed red pepper. On the plus side, the recipe gets points for ease of preparation and for excellent nutrition. I wish I could say I will make this again, but I don't think I will.

[karky]

This was very good, although I had to cut back on some of the vegetables in order to get this to fit in my chili pan. Also, I had about 1/2 cup of whole cream in the refrigerator, so I added it to make the juice creamy. My husband really liked it!!!