A recipe from my #1 Amazon bestseller The Great Mediterranean Comfort Food Tour

“A culinary exploration of each area's unique contribution to healthy cuisine … served up with a dash of wit that made me laugh even as I took notes about what dish to try next.” Dru Pearson, author of Europe on a Dime

VICTORIA'S TURLI TAVA (VEGETABLE STEW WITH CHICKEN)
​Bitola, North Macedonia
 
Olive oil to coat bottom of pan
1 or 2 large onions
2 red peppers
4 potatoes
1 eggplant
1 or 2 zucchini
1 to 2 cups okra
2 chicken breasts, boned and cut up as for stew
Salt and chili pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic
¼ to ½ cup chopped celery leaves
1 or 2 very large tomatoes
 
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 Fahrenheit).
 
Put olive oil in bottom of large oven-proof pan; a clay dish is more traditional, but use what you have. Cut next six ingredients into large chunks and sauté 10 minutes. Stir in chicken pieces and cook another 20 minutes. Add salt and chili pepper. Remove from stovetop. Slice half the tomato and lay on top in a nice pattern. Chop garlic without removing skin and scatter on top. Shred remaining tomato and pour on top, keeping it to the edges around the sliced tomato. Garnish with chopped celery leaves or parsley. Cover and place in oven.
 
Check occasionally to see if more liquid is needed; if it is, add a little water. After 15 minutes, increase temperature to 260 Celsius (500 Fahrenheit) and cook another half hour. 

​​For more details, see my post Bitola, Best-Kept Secret in the Balkans.