Gyuvech

Ingredients

Meat

• 500 gpork shoulder, cubed

Vegetables

• 2onions
• 2sweet peppers
• 2tomatoes
• 1aubergine
• 2courgettes
• 3potatoes
• 200 ggreen beans
• 200 gmushrooms
• 4 clovesgarlic

Seasoning

• 100 mloil
• 1 tbsppaprika
• 1 tspdried savoury
• 1bay leaf
• salt
• black pepper
• 200 mlwater or stock

Optional topping

• 2eggs
• 100 mlyoghurt

Directions

1. The pot gives the dish its name. A gyuvech is a wide shallow unglazed earthenware vessel, and cooking in one is the whole method.
2. If the clay pot is new, soak it in cold water for an hour before its first use, and never put a wet clay pot into a hot oven or a dry one over a flame.
3. Brown the meat in a little of the oil and set it aside.
4. Cut every vegetable into large chunks rather than dice.
5. Cut them big. Everything cooks for well over an hour, and small pieces disintegrate into a purée when the dish should have distinct pieces you can still identify.
6. Layer the vegetables and meat into the pot with the garlic, paprika, savoury and bay, seasoning as you go, and pour the rest of the oil over.
7. Add only the 200 ml of liquid, which will look like far too little.
8. Resist adding more water. The vegetables give up a great deal of their own, and a gyuvech is meant to bake almost dry so that the flavours concentrate rather than boil away.
9. Cover with the lid, or seal the top tightly with foil.
10. Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 2 hours.
11. Long, low and sealed for most of it. That slow covered cooking is why the dish exists at all and why it tastes unlike the same ingredients in a saucepan.
12. Take the lid off for the last 20 minutes to let the top colour.
13. For the topping, beat the eggs into the yoghurt, pour it over at that point, and return it uncovered until set and golden.
14. Let it stand 10 minutes and bring the pot to the table to serve from.
15. Savoury, chubritsa, is the Bulgarian herb for this and belongs in it more than any other.

Technique

• The vegetables are seasonal and the list above is a suggestion rather than a rule.
• A meatless gyuvech is every bit as traditional as the pork one, and common through Lent.
• Unglazed clay breathes, which is what lets the dish cook nearly dry without catching.

Substitutions

• A heavy casserole with a tight-fitting lid.
• Dried summer savoury or thyme if you cannot find chubritsa.

Variations

• Kavarma, made in small individual clay pots.
• With rice added to the pot partway through.
• Monastery gyuvech, meatless and made with beans.

History

Named for the earthenware pot it bakes in, in which vegetables and meat cook slowly under a sealed lid.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gyuvech?

Gyuvech is a main from Bulgaria: slow oven stew named after its earthenware dish. Named for the earthenware pot it bakes in, in which vegetables and meat cook slowly under a sealed lid.

How long does Gyuvech take to make?

Gyuvech takes 30 min of preparation and 2 hr 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Gyuvech?

Yes, within limits. A heavy casserole with a tight-fitting lid. Dried summer savoury or thyme if you cannot find chubritsa.

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

The pot gives the dish its name. A gyuvech is a wide shallow unglazed earthenware vessel, and cooking in one is the whole method.