Ghiveci, Romanian fasting vegetable stew

Name: Ghiveci, Romanian fasting vegetable stew
Ingredients: 30 ml oil; 2 cloves garlic; 300 g bell peppers (2 medium); 600 g eggplants (2 medium); 500 g zucchini (2 medium); 720 g tomatoes (6 medium); 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper; 480 ml water

Salad - Ghiveci, Romanian fasting vegetable stew by Artemisa F. - Recipia

Ghiveci, a Romanian fasting vegetable stew, starts with chopped garlic in the pot, before the peppers, then simmers covered with 480 ml of water. The eggplants, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes soften together, while thyme gives it the simple flavor of a fasting vegetable stew. I choose firm eggplants with taut skin and no soft spots. Prep: 20 minutes. Cook: 34 minutes. Rest: 0 minutes. Total: 54 minutes. Serves: 4. About 180 kcal and 4 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

30 ml oil
2 cloves garlic
300 g bell peppers (2 medium)
600 g eggplants (2 medium)
500 g zucchini (2 medium)
720 g tomatoes (6 medium)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
480 ml water

Preparation

1. Wash the vegetables, cut the eggplants, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes into pieces about 1 cm across, then finely chop the garlic. 2. Heat the oil in a pot and cook the garlic for 1 minute, stirring constantly. It should just sizzle gently, without browning. 3. Add the peppers and cook for 3 minutes, stirring from time to time, until they start to soften. 4. Add the eggplants, zucchini and tomatoes to the pot. Add the thyme, salt, pepper and 480 ml of water, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.

Notes

You can replace the zucchini with 500 g of green beans cut into short pieces; the stew will still be suitable for fasting. Choose firm eggplants with taut skin, and cut the vegetables into similar-sized pieces so they soften at about the same time. For very large eggplants with lots of seeds, remove the seedy part if the flesh seems bitter. Larger pieces may need another 5-10 minutes of simmering, until they soften in the middle too. If the tomatoes are very juicy, leave the lid ajar towards the end so the liquid thickens. The stew keeps in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, put it in a pot over low heat and stir from time to time. Serve with fresh bread.