Ghiveci, Romanian vegetable stew with rice

Name: Ghiveci, Romanian vegetable stew with rice
Ingredients: 5 medium onions (750 g); 30 ml oil; 1 large eggplant (500 g); 2 peppers (300 g); 3 carrots (240 g); 1 teaspoon salt (5 g); 40 g rice; 150 ml water; 500 g tomatoes; 15 g parsley

Salad - Ghiveci, Romanian vegetable stew with rice by Lucretia P. - Recipia

Eggplant softens quickly, and the stew stays juicy with grated tomatoes. Ghiveci brings together onion, peppers and carrots with eggplant and tomatoes in a soft, saucy dish with a taste of summer. I also added a handful of rice; I prefer the carrot grated coarsely, so I can feel its texture among the vegetables. Preparation: 25 minutes. Cook time: 38 minutes. Total time: 63 minutes. Serves: 6. Approximately 180 kcal and 5 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

5 medium onions (750 g)
30 ml oil
1 large eggplant (500 g)
2 peppers (300 g)
3 carrots (240 g)
1 teaspoon salt (5 g)
40 g rice
150 ml water
500 g tomatoes
15 g parsley

Preparation

1. Finely chop the onions. Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion for 8 minutes, until softened and translucent. 2. Wash, peel and dice the eggplant. Dice the peppers, wash and grate the carrots. Add them to the saucepan, season with salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring; the eggplant will start to soften. 3. Add the rice and 150 ml of water. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, until the rice is almost tender. 4. Grate the tomatoes and add them to the saucepan. Simmer for another 10 minutes, until the rice is tender and the cooking liquid has thickened. 5. Finely chop the parsley and scatter it over the top before serving.

Notes

Keeps for up to 3 days in a covered container in the fridge; when reheating, add a tablespoon of water if it has thickened too much. Serve with fresh bread, perfect for mopping up the juices left on the plate. A good eggplant has smooth, shiny skin without soft spots and feels firm when pressed. If it’s very large and has lots of seeds, you can remove the seedy part; the flesh may be more spongy. Coarsely grated carrot is more noticeable on the spoon, while finely grated carrot almost disappears into the sauce. Very juicy tomatoes can sometimes release too much liquid; leave the saucepan uncovered until the liquid thickens. To make it without rice, leave out the 150 ml of water too, and it will be a vegetable-only ghiveci. You can replace the eggplant with 250 g of diced zucchini, added in the last 10 minutes, since it softens quickly. When the tomatoes are very ripe and juicy, don’t add any water beyond the amount used for the rice.