Fërgesë

Ingredients

• 6green horn peppers (about 450 g), or 3 romano peppers
• 4ripe tomatoes (500 g), skinned and chopped
• 60 gbutter
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 3garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tbspplain flour
• 400 ggjizë (Albanian curd cheese) or well-drained ricotta
• 150 gfeta, crumbled
• 2eggs, beaten
• 1 tspsweet paprika
• ½ tspchilli flakes
• salt and black pepper
• 1 tbspchopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Char the peppers directly over a gas flame or under a hot grill for 8–10 minutes, turning, until blackened and collapsing. Seal them in a bowl under a plate for 10 minutes, then rub off the skins, deseed and tear into strips.
2. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat and soften the onion for 6–8 minutes without colouring it.
3. Add the garlic and paprika and fry 30 seconds only, until the fat turns orange and smells sweet, not bitter.
4. Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute, then add the tomatoes and simmer 10–12 minutes over medium heat until the sauce is thick, glossy and no longer watery on the spoon.
5. Fold in the pepper strips and the chilli flakes, season, and take the pan off the heat to cool for 5 minutes.
6. Mash the gjizë with the feta and the beaten eggs until it is lumpy rather than smooth, then fold it through the warm sauce so it stays in visible curds.
7. Scrape into a buttered clay tavë or a 20 cm baking dish and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20–25 minutes, until the top is patched brown and the middle only just trembles when you shake the dish.
8. Rest 5 minutes, scatter with parsley, and serve bubbling in the dish with plenty of bread for scraping.

Technique

• Do not beat the curd smooth. Fërgesë Tirane should set into soft white pockets suspended in red sauce; a homogeneous puree means it was overworked.
• Cooling the sauce before the eggs go in stops them scrambling into threads.
• The clay tavë matters more than it sounds: it holds heat so the dish arrives at the table still bubbling, which is how it is always served in Tirana.

Substitutions

• Gjizë is hard to buy abroad: drain 500 g ricotta overnight in muslin, or use full-fat cottage cheese pressed through a sieve, plus an extra pinch of salt.
• No fresh horn peppers? Jarred roasted peppers, drained and patted dry, are an honest stand-in.

Variations

• Fërgesë verore, the summer version made only with fresh tomato and pepper, no flour.
• A Korçë style enriched with more butter and a spoon of thick yogurt stirred in at the end.

History

Peppers, tomato and curd cheese cooked in a clay pan; the Tirana version adds liver or veal to the mixture.

Frequently asked questions

What is Fërgesë?

Fërgesë is a main from Albania: peppers, tomato and curd cheese baked until bubbling. Peppers, tomato and curd cheese cooked in a clay pan; the Tirana version adds liver or veal to the mixture.

How long does Fërgesë take to make?

Fërgesë takes 20 min of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Fërgesë?

Yes, within limits. Gjizë is hard to buy abroad: drain 500 g ricotta overnight in muslin, or use full-fat cottage cheese pressed through a sieve, plus an extra pinch of salt. No fresh horn peppers? Jarred roasted peppers, drained and patted dry, are an honest stand-in.

What is the most important thing to get right in Fërgesë?

Mash the gjizë with the feta and the beaten eggs until it is lumpy rather than smooth, then fold it through the warm sauce so it stays in visible curds.