Kavarma

Ingredients

Meat

• 700 gpork shoulder, in 3 cm cubes
• salt
• black pepper

Pot

• 2onions, sliced
• 2sweet red peppers, sliced
• 250 gmushrooms, quartered
• 3 clovesgarlic
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsptomato paste
• 1 tbsppaprika
• 1 tspdried savoury
• 1bay leaf
• 3 tbsplard or oil
• 150 mlwhite wine
• 200 mlstock

To finish

• 4eggs, optional
• 100 gsirene cheese, crumbled, optional
• parsley

To serve

• bread

Directions

1. Kavarma takes its name from the small individual clay pot it is cooked and served in, the gyuveche, and cooking it in one is most of the point.
2. If the clay pots are new, soak them in cold water for an hour before their first use, and never put a wet pot into a hot oven or a dry one over a flame.
3. Brown the pork hard in the lard, in batches, and set it aside.
4. Brown it properly. This is the one stage that happens on the hob, and it is where the depth comes from.
5. Fry the onions until soft and golden, then add the peppers and mushrooms and cook them for 10 minutes.
6. Take the pan off the heat before the paprika goes in.
7. Paprika burns in hot fat within seconds and turns bitter, and off the heat it blooms instead.
8. Stir in the paprika, garlic, tomato paste and savoury, then the tomatoes, wine and stock.
9. Savoury, chubritsa, is the Bulgarian herb here and it belongs in the pot more than any other.
10. Divide the meat and the sauce between the clay pots, filling them about three quarters full.
11. Leave headroom. The sauce rises as it bakes and a full pot boils over into the oven.
12. Cover each pot and bake at 180°C (355°F) for 1 hour.
13. For the last 10 minutes, take the lids off and crack an egg into each pot, or scatter crumbled sirene over.
14. The egg goes in whole and is meant to set with a soft yolk, so give it ten minutes and no more.
15. Scatter parsley over and bring the pots to the table on plates, still bubbling.
16. It is eaten straight from the pot with bread, and the pot stays hot for a long time.

Technique

• Gyuvech is the large shared clay dish and kavarma the small individual one; the recipes are close cousins.
• Chicken kavarma is just as common and cooks in about half the time.
• Unglazed clay breathes, which lets it cook almost dry without catching.

Substitutions

• Small ovenproof ramekins or a single casserole.
• Dried summer savoury or thyme if you cannot find chubritsa.

Variations

• Made with chicken.
• Gyuvech, the large shared version with more vegetables.
• With a slice of sujuk sausage added to each pot.

History

Meat and vegetables baked slowly in an individual clay pot; the name comes from Turkish kavurma, meaning fried.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kavarma?

Kavarma is a main from Bulgaria: clay-pot pork with peppers, mushrooms, onions. Meat and vegetables baked slowly in an individual clay pot; the name comes from Turkish kavurma, meaning fried.

How long does Kavarma take to make?

Kavarma takes 25 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Kavarma?

Yes, within limits. Small ovenproof ramekins or a single casserole. Dried summer savoury or thyme if you cannot find chubritsa.

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

Kavarma takes its name from the small individual clay pot it is cooked and served in, the gyuveche, and cooking it in one is most of the point.