05/06/2026
ETLİ GÜVEÇ (LAYERED ONE-POT SLOW-COOKED BEEF & VEGETABLES): Ok, what are you having for dinner tonight, because you know as soon as my big casserole dish comes out, there’s some serious one pot delicious goodness coming your way. Think of this as the lazier, easier (if that’s even possible) sister version of Yanyana Tavası.
The concept of Tava is very similar to Güveç, the only difference being that the latter is layered into a deep clay pot known as a “güveç” (you can use a casserole dish, like I’m using here if you don’t have a traditional güveç), weighted down, with the meat at the bottom, rather than spread out into a large round metal baking tray. It’s the perfect dish for long, lazy weekends due to the slow-cooking methods, but it makes a good, hearty midweek meal too. Recipe is on my blog (link in bio - it’s quite an old one, so search for “ETLİ GÜVEÇ (LAYERED ONE-POT SLOW-COOKED BEEF & VEGETABLES)) and also in my first book, Meliz’s Kitchen. For this recipe I use braising beef, but you could also use the more traditional lamb, or chicken. Please make it.
Serves 4-6
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp Turkish sweet red pepper paste (tatlı biber salçası) + 100ml boiling water
400ml chicken / beef stock
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
800 g (1 lb 9 oz) beef braising steak, diced
2 large red onions (300 g/10½ oz), thinly sliced
8 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
¾ tsp coarse black pepper
2 kapya biber / tomato / small red bell peppers
2 large long green mild (carliston) pepper / 2 small green bell peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into 2-3cm pieces
750 g (1 lb 10 oz) Cyprus or Maris Piper potatoes, peeled, cut into 3cm chunks
3 slices of fresh lemon
½ tsp dried mint
1 tsp dried oregano
4 tomatoes, halved and sliced
