Nouranyeh's Recipe

Italian Grandma Makes Ciambotta (Vegetable Stew)

Category: Italian Grandma Recipes

Ingredients are listed in the above Photo.

Directions:

Its is a thick soup or vegetable stew. The fresher the vegetables the better. Canned vegetable are not so good. You need a big pot and a medium pot.

You need to cook the fresh string beans as they will be tough otherwise. In a small pot filled with water add the string beans with some salt. Cook the string beans for 5 to 10 minutes until tender, but not mushy.

Cut the string beans and the rest of the vegetables into stew/soup sizes. Not too big and not too small. You want to be able to chew them and still pick them up with a spoon. It is a stew, not a soup.

In a big pot or skillet on medium-high heat, you fry all the other vegetables, (except the cooked string beans), in 1/2 cup of Olive Oil. Cook the onions & garlic first. Then the Basil and Parsley. Then add fresh tomatoes, but if you don't have them use a good quality peeled whole plum tomatoes from a can. Then add the cubed potatoes & chopped celery. Salt & Pepper to taste. Stir occasionally. You may need to add some water now and them, but remember, this is not a soup. It is a stew. It can be a thin or thick stew. I like a thin stew with extra broth that can you soak up with some crusty Italian bread. You boil the stew until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife or fork.

Add the string beans to the pot and stir them in.

Serve hot in bowls with crusty bread.