Hadžijski ćevap – veal and vegetables in parcels

Remove tough membranes from the veal, weigh out 800 g of boneless meat and cut it into approximately 3 cm pieces. Pat the meat dry. Finely chop the onion and cut the cleaned pepper into approximately 2 cm pieces. Quarter the mushrooms, or halve smaller ones, keeping the edible stems. Dice the tomatoes with their skins and seeds; collect all their juice. Chop the parsley and set it aside. Wash your hands and utensils after handling raw meat.

Heat all the oil and 30 g butter over medium heat in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid. Brown the meat in two uncrowded batches for 4–5 minutes each, turning the pieces until lightly browned. Take care not to burn the butter. Transfer the meat to a bowl and keep all the juices that collect around it. Leave all the fat in the pot.

Put all the onion in the pot and cook over medium-low heat for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until soft. Pour in the initial 450 ml hot water and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Add all the meat with its reserved juices, all the salt and the black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and cover.

Reduce the heat and, once a gentle simmer returns, braise the veal, covered, for 90–110 minutes until almost tender. The liquid should only bubble gently. Stir along the bottom occasionally and check the liquid level. If it is running low, add small amounts from the 150 ml hot reserve; this is one shared supply for all the cooking in the pot. If the meat is still tough, braise it for another 15–20 minutes before adding the vegetables.

Add all the pepper and mushrooms. Cook without a lid over medium-low heat for 10–12 minutes, stirring gently, until the vegetables soften and release their juices. Add all the tomatoes with their juice and cook for another 5–8 minutes. The meat should now be tender and the vegetables should keep their shape. If the veal still clearly resists a fork, cook it longer before wrapping. Only if liquid is running low, use what remains of the same reserve of up to 150 ml. If the sauce is watery, reduce it for 5–10 minutes without a lid; it should remain juicy, not soupy. Stir in all the parsley. Toward the end, preheat the oven to 190°C with top and bottom heat.

Prepare 4 large pieces of aluminum foil and 4 sheets of parchment paper approved by the manufacturer for 190°C. Lay paper on each piece of foil and spread it with a share of the remaining 10 g butter. Shape the parcels inside a deep bowl, dividing all the veal, vegetables and sauce into 4 servings. Gather the paper above the filling, leaving some room for steam, then fold and tightly crimp the edges of the outer foil above it. Carefully transfer the sealed parcels to a baking sheet, seams facing up. Do not pour away any sauce left in the pot; divide it among the parcels before sealing them.

Put the baking sheet on the middle oven rack and bake the parcels for 15–20 minutes at 190°C with top and bottom heat. The meat is already tender before baking; this stage heats the servings thoroughly and brings the flavors together inside the sealed wrapping. Let them rest for 5 minutes after removing them. Place each parcel on a deep plate and open carefully, folding the edges away from your face because of the hot steam. Serve at once with all the sauce; the paper and foil are only packaging.