Greek Eggplant And Beef Stew

 This Greek stew is popular in the villages and extremely filling. You need to make sure that you use the brisket type of beef, as mentioned in the ingredients below.

Ingredients

1kg beef (brisket) cut into small portions

1 kg eggplants (long, not round)

2 onions finely chopped

3 cloves garlic crushed

500g fresh tomatoes roughly grated

400ml sunflower oil

200ml olive oil

500ml water

2 tbsp parsley finely chopped

2 tbsp basil roughly chopped

2 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

4 allspice berries

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Remove strips of the eggplant skin – not the whole skin, but alternate strips, so that it looks ‘stripy’.

Cut the eggplants into 2cm slices, place in a bowl of salty water and leave for 1 hour, covered with a dish to ensure that they remain submerged in the water.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a pan and sizzle the beef for about 3 minutes on each side, until it has started to colour.

Add the onion and garlic and stir 2-3 times.

Add the tomato, bay leaves, cinnamon, allspice and the 500ml water.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for approx. 1½ hours until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened.

Add salt and pepper.

Remove the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and allspice and set aside.

Put the sunflower oil in a frying pan, press the eggplants with your hands to drain them and then fry them until they turn golden brown. Depending on the size of your pan, they may not all fit in one go, so you may have to split them into more than one lot.

Place them on a dish with absorbent kitchen paper.

Transfer the meat and its sauce to a wide, shallow pan and add the eggplants.

Add the parsley and gently stir.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the basil and more salt if needed.


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Eat and Enjoy!