TECHNIQUE FOR COOKING IN A GYUVECH
Cooking in this vessel is a very creative and simple process. Simply follow these basic principles: Fill with lots of vegetables (you can saute onions & garlic til golden), add a little liquid (choose from stock, wine, juice or a combination). Add meat if so desired (generally it’s best to sear meat whether it’s chicken, pork, beef or sausages). Add a handful of herbs, toss well and cover. The gyuvech should be filled 1/2 to 3/4, no less. Put it into a pre-heated low oven into a cold oven and set the temperature from 250 to 300 degrees and walk away (take an aromatheray bath or watch a good movie) for a couple of hours depending on the amount of ingredients used or . You’ll have a delicious one pot meal filled with nutrition that can be different every time you use it.
GYUVECHE
Gyuveche is typically baked and served in this lidded 16 ounce ceramic pot meant for an individual serving.
1 tablespoon red pepper lyutenitsa*
1 small finely chopped onion
1 thinly sliced medium tomato
4 thin slices sausage, your choice
1 sweet pepper, cut into thick slices
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cheese, your choice
1 egg
Grinding of black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsely
Oil the bottom of each 16 oz. gyuveche. Add lyutenitisa and onions first, followed by tomatoes, sausage and peppers. Add water and cover with the lid; bake at 350F for about 40 minutes. Remove form the oven. Sprinkle with grated cheese and break an egg on top; sprinkle egg with a grinding of black pepper and return to the oven for 5 minutes ofr until the egg is done. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Serve hot with plenty of bread to soak up the wonderful juices that form at the bottom of the pot. Serves 1
Red Pepper Lyutentisa
5 large roasted red bell peppers (peeled & seeded), 1 small minced onion, 2 serrano chilies, 5 tbsp tomato paste, 1/4 cup sunflower oil and salt to taste. Place all ingredients in a blender & puree until smooth.
Recipe provided by permission of Linda Joyce Forristal, author of Bulgian Rhapsody: the best of Balkan Cuisine.
Delicious roast chicken in a Bulgarian Gyuvech
(Thanks to Pat French from the Bulgarian Cultural Center in Pittsburgh.)
Simply roast covered for one hour in 350 degree oven and then one hour uncovered. You can add lemon, garlic, onion with seasoning in the cavity. Rub a little oil and season surface of the chicken. And you can add some chopped onion on the bottom. The natural juices create a divine gravy which can be reduced a little. Clean-up is easy, too. (More recipes...)
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