Bosanski Lonac: The Bosnian Pot Stew You Never Stir
Description
Bosnia's national dish: beef, lamb and big pieces of cabbage, potato, carrot and pepper layered raw into one pot and left under a lid for three hours. No browning, no stock, and no stirring — the layers are the recipe.
Ingredients
For the meat
For the vegetables
For the pot
Instructions
Build the pot
-
Heat the oven
Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat it to 160°C (325°F). If you are using a clay pot, soak the pot and its lid in cold water for 30 minutes and do not preheat — a clay pot has to start in a cold oven and heat with it, or it cracks.
-
Start with the meat
Put the beef and lamb in one layer in the bottom of a 6 L (6-quart) Dutch oven, deep pot or clay pot. This is the hottest part of the pot, and the fat and juices the meat releases rise through everything stacked above it.
-
Season between the layers
Scatter half the salt, all the peppercorns, the paprika and the whole garlic cloves over the meat. Seasoning goes between the layers — there is no stirring later to spread it around.
-
Add the dense vegetables
Layer the onions over the meat, then the potatoes, then the carrots, keeping each layer level rather than piled to one side.
-
Finish with the quick-cooking layers
Add the green beans and the pepper strips, then the cabbage wedges cut side up, and finally the tomatoes. Tuck in the bay leaves, lay the parsley bundle on top and scatter over the rest of the salt.
-
Add the liquid
Pour the wine, if using, and the water down the side of the pot. It should come about halfway up the contents, not cover them — the vegetables release a great deal of their own. Sprinkle the stock powder over the top if you are using it.
Cook it and leave it alone
-
Cover and cook for three hours
Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook at 160°C (325°F) for 3 to 3½ hours, until a knife slides into the beef with no resistance. If your lid is loose, lay a sheet of parchment over the pot first. Add 30 minutes if you started a clay pot in a cold oven.
-
Leave it alone — do not stir
Every time the lid comes off you lose the steam the top layers are cooking in, and stirring breaks the potatoes and cabbage down into the broth. On the stovetop, one look at the two-hour mark is enough: if the bottom is dry, pour 120 ml (½ cup) of hot water down the side and re-cover.
Rest and serve
-
Rest for 15 minutes
Take the pot out and let it stand, covered, for 15 minutes. The broth settles and the meat firms up just enough to lift out in one piece.
-
Taste and finish
Lift out the parsley bundle and the bay leaves. Taste the broth and add salt if it needs it — this is the only seasoning adjustment the dish gets. Skim the fat from the surface with a spoon if you want a lighter bowl.
-
Serve
Spoon into wide bowls, giving each one a piece of each meat, some of every vegetable and plenty of broth. Serve with crusty bread and something pickled alongside.
Nutrition Facts
Servings 8
Serving Size 1 of 8 bowls
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 440kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 18g24%
- Saturated Fat 7.6g38%
- Trans Fat 0.3g
- Cholesterol 111mg37%
- Sodium 760mg34%
- Potassium 1490mg32%
- Total Carbohydrate 34g13%
- Dietary Fiber 8g29%
- Sugars 10g
- Protein 39g78%
- Vitamin A 320 mcg RAE
- Vitamin C 87 mg
- Calcium 116 mg
- Iron 5.2 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
- Meat: two or three cuts with fat on them, ideally bone-in, is the traditional rule. Beef chuck with lamb shoulder is the classic pairing; veal, mutton and beef short ribs all belong. Avoid lean cuts, poultry and anything smoked or cured.
- No lid? Cover the pot tightly with parchment and then foil, and weigh it down with an ovenproof plate. The seal matters more than the pot.
- Slow cooker: layer exactly the same way, cut the water to 240 ml (1 cup) because nothing evaporates, and cook on low for 8 hours. Instant Pot: keep the layers, use 360 ml (1½ cups) of water and pressure cook on high for 35 minutes with a full natural release — tender, but the layers hold their shape less well.
- Clay pot care: soak for 30 minutes before every use, always start in a cold oven, and never set a hot pot on a cold surface. Clay cracks from sudden temperature change, not from heat.
- Make ahead: better on day two. Refrigerate up to 4 days and reheat gently on the stovetop for at least 15 minutes. Freezing works for up to 2 months but turns the potatoes grainy.
- How the nutrition was calculated: from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient in the list, adjusted with the USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors (Release 6) for cooking in liquid that is served with the dish, then divided by 8. The optional wine is not included. Vitamin C is the least certain figure — those retention factors are measured over ordinary cooking times, and three hours under a lid will push it lower, so treat 87 mg as an upper bound. Skimming the fat lowers the fat and calorie figures.
