Basila

This is a comfort food from childhood and a staple in my kitchen. The authentic dish is precise, however, in efforts to simplify my cooking, I found I can take liberties and not substitute on flavor or texture. If your family isn't keen on green peas, you can use any other vegetable.

1 lb. ground sirloin beef

1 onion sliced or chopped

1 T. cinnamon

1/2 T. all-spice

salt and pepper to taste

1 can of your favorite tomato product (diced, sauce, etc.), my favorite are diced tomatoes

1 16 oz. bag of frozen green peas (or green beans, or baby frozen okra, etc)

1.5 cups rice (Gemma loves Jasmin rice!)

Cook the rice while making the basila.

Brown the ground beef on medium high in a skillet. As the meat is browning, you can add the onions, cinnamon, all-spice, salt and pepper. Once all the meat is browned, onions softened and juices somewhat evaporated, add the diced tomatoes and stir to incorporate. Add the green peas and bring the basila to a boil. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Guten Appetit!
Jasmin

A note from Gemma: My 5 year-old Josh walked in the house after riding his bike one afternoon last week & exclaimed "Mmmm! That smells like my favorite dinner!"  I was cooking Basila!  He & his sister loved it!  I will say that my kids are not fond of chunks of tomatoes, so I use tomato sauce or a small can of tomato paste with some water added.  They are also not crazy about peas - which is too bad because they add such a lovely bright, green color!  I used canned green beans the last time I made it & the whole family chowed down.  Also, as Jasmin says "Don't be afraid of the cinnamon & allspice!"  It sounded weird to me at first - meat with these spices - but, let me tell you; It is amazingly delicious!!  Try it tonight!