Sunday, March 7, 2010

Bulgarian Comfort Food for two

The first time my husband prepared for me a Bulgarian dish called Guvech I couldn’t stop eating it. Guvech is a Bulgarian casserole dish made with crumbled feta cheese, eggs, roasted peppers and whatever else you like. You can add ham or salami or skinless sausage. You can turn it into a fantastic vegetarian casserole by omitting the meat.

It is traditionally made in a clay pot but you can use individual casserole dishes as well. The word guvech means “earthenware casserole” in Turkish and it was probably introduced in Bulgaria during the time they dominated the country. Although I couldn’t find out much about the origin of this casserole dish, one thing is certain: It’s delicious and healthy!

I would like to share with you my first recipe but there are many variations to this recipe.



Eggs & Feta Cheese Guvech

Ingredients:
¾ cup of ham or salami, chopped or diced
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
½ cup of fresh tomatoes, sliced
¼ cup of peperoncini peppers
¼ cup of green onions, sliced
¾ cup of feta cheese, crumbled
12 kalamata olives, pitted
½ cup of roasted pepper, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon of olive oil
4 eggs
Ground paprika, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste


Preheat the oven to 385F.

Divide the first 8 ingredients equally between two 8 inch casserole dishes. Crack two eggs on top of each casserole dish. Season with paprika, salt and pepper. Remember that the olives and the feta cheese may contain a higher amount of salt so you just need to sprinkle some salt on top of the eggs.

Loosely cover the casserole dishes with foil. Use a fork or toothpick to carefully make a few holes on the foil for part of the steam to escape during the cooking process.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until eggs are set.


P.S.: Just omit the meat to turn it into a great vegetarian casserole dish.

2 comments:

  1. That looks divine!!! You had me at the words Feta Cheese..I love Feta ;-) I will be trying this very soon!

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  2. Oh. Yum. I love the feta, kalamata olives, and red pepper combo! I will have to try this. I am a vegetarian, so I could leave out the meat or sub it for a veggie meat. Thanks!

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