The tava is the metal or ceramic dish that you put in the oven. This dish, variations of which exist in many parts of the med, is my own version of comfort food when i have worked hard and can't be bothered to spent ages preparing something. You can make this with any meat incl chicken, lamb and with just vegetables or even prawns. The basic ingredients are the meat, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and a bit of Cinnamon. But, you can add other veggies such as paprika or eggplant. The usual method is to place all these ingredients in the greased tava dish add some water, cover and wack in the oven. In this recipe i do the same but once cooked i take the lid off and allow the meat and potatoes to brown a little bit before serving

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• 1/2 kilo Pork chopped in large cubes with some fat still on
• 4 medium sized potatoes
• 1 large tomato
• 1 large onion
• 1 small stick of Cinnamon
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• Rock salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

Preparation

Most tava dishes come without a lid so i cover mine with a layer of tin foil. Otherwise you can use a casserole dish

Peel and slice potatoes and cut in half and place in the tava with a little of olive oil. Coarsely slice and add the other vegetables and add the meat. Pour the rest of the olive oil over the ingredients and season with salt and pepper add the cinammon and a half a cup of water poured down the side of the dish.

Cover and place in the oven at 180 degree for 35 minutes or until you can easily poke a knife through the potatoes. Remove foil or lid and cook a further 10 minutes.

Serve with a simple salad of tomato, cucumber, and a little fresh coriander and fresh bread.