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.

My Little Girl's Chili

My older daughter is a food enthusiastic and she likes to experiment with flavors and tastes that are familiar to her. But usually she doesn’t want to try new foods. Most of the time, she wants to stay in her comfort zone. As she is growing older, her passion for food is increasing and I noticed that slowing she is adventuring herself into new flavors. A few months ago, she tried chili for the first time and she really liked it! Isn’t that exciting?

Today we tried to “recreate” the chili she ate at the cook-off! It was fun to come up with our own chili recipe. It was even better to work with my 8 year old daughter. For the first time we worked together developing a new recipe. I found a new way to spend quality time with Virginia.

Above all, Virginia is very happy with her chili creation. It was very comforting to eat such a tasty dish in a cold night.

Virginia’s Chili


Ingredients:
1lb of ground beef
5oz of pork breakfast sausage
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
2  cups of chicken stock
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ¼ cups of onion, chopped
15oz (1 can) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon of paprika
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
½ cup of tomatoes, diced
Salt and pepper, to taste


In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic for about 3 minutes. Stir in ground beef and sausage. Cook the meat mixture for about 5 minutes breaking up big chunks of meats with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the meat and its drippings to a 5-qt slow cooker. Add chicken stock, cumin, chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, tomato paste and diced tomato. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 hours in high or for 4 to 5 hours in low. Stir in pinto beans drained and cook for another 30 minutes or until fully heated. Test seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.

Garnish with shredded cheese and jalapeno peppers if desired.