Macedonian · main

Ѓувеч (Gjuveč, Baked Lamb, Pepper and Rice Tray)

Name: Ѓувеч (Gjuveč, Baked Lamb, Pepper and Rice Tray)
Prep time: 2 h 3 min
Total time: 2 h 19 min
Cuisine: Macedonian
Ingredients: lamb shoulder roast — 900 g; white rice — 300 g; red sweet pepper — 400 g; green peppers — 200 g; onions — 400 g; tomatoes — 500 g; eggplant — 250 g; okra — 200 g; sunflower oil — 92 g; sweet paprika — 15 g; dried summer savory — 1 g; salt — 12 g; freshly ground black pepper — 5 g; water — 700 g

Ѓувеч (Gjuveč, Baked Lamb, Pepper and Rice Tray) reads umami 7.0, richness 6.5 and sweetness 4.7 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Macedonian main, about 2 hr 19 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 7.5 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 5.5 / 10
Sour & Bright — 2.1 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.9 / 10
Rich & Fat — 7.0 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 3.3 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.0 · Richness 6.5 · Sweetness 4.7 · Salinity 3.6 · Allium 2.9 · Fruity 2.9 · Earthy 2.6 · Sourness 1.9 · Herbaceous 1.8 · Nutty 1.8 · Bitterness 1.5 · Warm Spice 1.4 · Floral 1.4 · Funk & Ferment 1.3 · Citrus 0.8 · Heat 0.6

What's in it (14)

lamb shoulder roast — 900 g
white rice — 300 g
red sweet pepper — 400 g
green peppers — 200 g
onions — 400 g
tomatoes — 500 g
eggplant — 250 g
okra — 200 g
sunflower oil — 92 g
sweet paprika — 15 g
dried summer savory — 1 g
salt — 12 g
freshly ground black pepper — 5 g
water — 700 g

Time & effort: about 2 hr 19 min (2 hr 3 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 102.6 kcal, 6.3 g protein, 4.5 g fat, 9.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (10 steps)

Heat the oil in a heavy pan over high heat and brown the lamb hard on all sides, about 8 minutes. Work in two batches; crowded meat steams.
Lower the heat to medium, add the onions to the same pan and cook 10 minutes until slack and golden at the edges.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the paprika and summer savory for 30 seconds, so they perfume the fat without catching. Summer savory is the Balkan herb here and dried oregano is not a stand-in for it; look for chubritsa in Bulgarian and Macedonian shops.
Spread the peppers, aubergine, okra and the chopped half of the tomatoes across the bottom of a wide earthenware tava or a roasting dish.
Scatter the rice evenly over the vegetables and season with the salt and black pepper, then tip the lamb and its onions over the top.
Pour the hot water or stock down the side of the dish and lay the sliced tomatoes over the surface in overlapping rows.
Cover with foil or a lid and bake at 190C for 60 minutes.
Uncover and bake 30 minutes more, until the rice has drunk the liquid, the top tomatoes have shrivelled and blistered and there is a crust at the edges where the fat has caught.
Let it stand 15 minutes before serving. Gjuveč is eaten from the tray it was baked in.
Substitutions: light lamb stock can stand in for the hot water.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Bosanski Lonac (The Bosnian Pot) — Bosnian
Tamales Cubanos — Cuban
Old-Fashioned Beef Stew with Root Vegetables — American
Pabellón Criollo — Venezuelan
Testi Kebabı (Lamb Sealed and Cooked in a Clay Jug) — Turkish

Keep reading: what umami, richness, sweetness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.