Beef or Lamb Bamiyeh

Notes: Originally from The Best Traditional Recipes of Greek Cooking, and Claudia Roden's Jewish cookbooks. Serves 6.

Ingredients

Splash of olive oil to coat bottom of pot

2 onions, finely diced

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

~3 lbs. boneless beef or lamb (cubed for stew)

3+ large ripe tomatoes, diced

1 large eggplant, peeled and diced

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 Tbsp. parsley (fresh or dried)

20 oz cut frozen okra, thawed

6 oz. white vinegar

1 tsp salt

Mise en Place

Thaw okra on the counter while preparing everything else.

Dice onions. Mince garlic (if not using bottled minced).

Dice tomatoes. Peel and dice eggplant.

Wash fresh parsley and remove leaves (discard stems). Chop parsley leaves.

Directions

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven. Saute onions and minced garlic in oil for ~5 minutes. Add meat cubes, stir occasionally until golden brown. Once meat is browned, add tomatoes, eggplant, parsley, salt, and pepper. Allow this to boil (uncovered on medium heat) for 2 hours.

While that is simmering, prepare the okra by placing thawed okra in a glass (not metal nor plastic) bowl with the vinegar and 1 tsp. salt. Let stand (mixing occasionally) until about 30 minutes before the meat finishes cooking. At that time, drain okra (do not rinse) and mix them in with the meat. Continue cooking for 30 min over low heat, uncovered. (Turn on the rice about 20 minutes before serving.) Serve bamiyeh hot over rice.