Name: Lamb and Vegetables Baked in an Unglazed Clay Pot (Arni Stamnas)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 3 medium onions, sliced; Sea salt; 4 cloves garlic, minced; ½-1 teaspoon minced fresh chili pepper, or ⅓-½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes; 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes; 1 cup strained fresh tomato puree or 2 tablespoons tomato paste diluted in ⅓ cup warm water; 1 tablespoon dried oregano; 3 medium eggplants, cut into 1-inch cubes; 2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes; ½ cup olive oil; 1 bay leaf, crushed; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 3 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Foods of Greece

By Aglaia Kremezi

Published 1993

About

Unglazed clay jars, used by women to bring water from the village fountain, are called stamna. The story goes that some women fed their sons or husbands who were guerrillas in the mountains by leaving a water jar filled with food near the fountain. During the night the men came secretly and collected it.

Since the water jar has only a small opening, tiny pieces of meat and vegetables were inserted in the jar, which was then sealed with dough and baked.

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