Soup Kitchen Cookbook Project

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I just thought of another recipe that would lend itself to institutional service well and uses a lot of produce. You'd have to multiply it, of course. I got it from a library book that I failed to make a note of over thirty years ago. You can believe the instructions/method are paraphrased because I was hand copying recipes. At that time, libraries didn't offer copier service, much less computers and the card catalog was manual.  You can tell the recipe is old because I've crossed out a call for 3 T of shortening they wanted you to brown the beef and onions in. An 80/20 ground beef has plenty of fat on its own, but I wouldn't drain it, as the dish has a lot of veggies and is not greasy as I've written it and made it. If you are working with a fattier mix, you may want to drain it, but considering your eaters, probably not.

 

Masbahet El Darweesh from Lebanon

 

2 T flour

1 lb ground beef

1 c onion, chopped

1/8 t nutmeg

1/8 t ground cloves

1 t salt (I noted that it needs more, closer to 1 T)

1 med eggplant, sliced 3/8"

2 med zucchini sliced 1/4"

3 med tomatoes chopped or sliced (I've done both ways, and sliced is quicker)

2 medium potatoes peeled and sliced 1/4" (I've made with well-scrubbed unpeeled which may work for your circumstances)

1-1/2 c stock or broth (bouillon works)

 

Add flour to raw ground beef in a skillet and mix. This helps thicken your broth and veg juices. Cook onion and beef together. Stir in spices. Layer veggies in your baking pan sprinkling salt as you go. Save a little to finish on top of the final beef/onion layer.  I like to keep the potato layers near the bottom so that the juicier veggies baste them, but mix them up. Sprinkle cooked beef and onion mix over top and pour in your broth. Cover with foil or a lid if you have some for your hotel pans and bake at 350 F for about an hour or until veggies (especially the potato) are tender. I've made this many times over the years and it's a very good dish.

 

Crusty bread is ideal, but supermarket white bread, which you said you always have will work fine too. That's all you need for a hearty meal.

 

Depending on your audience, you may want to call it beef and vegetable casserole so as to not alienate those who don't cotton to unfamiliar foods. It really isn't that exotic though, and the light spicing really brings it together.