Turkish vegetable stew (Sebze güvee)

Turkish cuisine is known for its kebabs and meze, but is also renowned for its beautiful, slow-braised stews. These dishes are derived from traditional Ottoman culture, which was in turn influenced by ancient Persia.

The stews were traditionally cooked in villages over slow fires for long periods to extract the maximum flavour from the ingredients. Usually heavy with meat, such as lamb and beef, where the meat was cooked until it melted on your tongue. However, modern cuisine has also developed numerous vegetarian and vegan versions, such as this recipe.

This is a stew that pops with flavour. The hearty stew is loaded with vegetables and perfectly cooked chickpeas that have a subtle bite. The biber salcasi or harissa cheat makes it pop with the olives and liberal amounts of chilli. This is a stew that you will have seconds of.

This is a fantastic cookbook by a British chef who specialises in cuisines from the Middle East and Turkey. It is filled with recipes for kebabs, stews, other Turkish favourites, and some more contemporary dishes. Everything I have cooked from this book has been fantastic; it is one of my favourite Turkish cookbooks.

For more wonderful recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in 4 cups water overnight

3 cups water

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 small bay leaf

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely sliced

1 lb potatoes, chunked with skins

2 zucchini, chunked

1 red pepper, sliced

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

4 tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup black olives

2 tablespoons red pepper paste (biber salcasi) or harissa

2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper flakes

1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds

11/2 teaspoons dried oregano

A pinch of saffron

2 cups water

1 teaspoon pepper

Salt, to taste

A handful of parsley, minced

Rinse out the chickpeas and add them to a pot with the water, garlic, bay leaf and salt. Bring to a boil. Scoop off any scum from the top. Simmer for 30 minutes till the chickpeas are cooked through but not mushy. Ensure that the chickpeas have a nice bite. Rinse out and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pot, add the onions and cook for 3 minutes till the onions are soft but have not taken on any colour.

Add the remaining ingredients, except the parsley, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes. Taste for salt and spice, and adjust as needed.

To serve, heat up the stew and stir in the parsley. Serve immediately with pita bread or couscous.