Albanian recipe
How to make Fërgesë
fërgesë
Tirana and central Albania
A thick, creamy bake of peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic cooked in olive oil with gjizë, a salted Albanian curd cheese. It is eaten hot with bread, as a main dish or on the side of grilled meat.
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 green or red peppers, chopped
- 5 to 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 onion, chopped, and 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 350 g salted curd cheese (gjizë), or crumbled feta
- 100 ml olive oil
- 2 to 3 bay leaves, salt and black pepper
Method
- Heat the oven to 175°C.
- Warm the olive oil in a wide pan and cook the onion and peppers gently for about 10 minutes, until soft.
- Add the tomatoes, garlic and bay leaves and simmer for 10 minutes, until thick.
- Stir in the cheese until it melts into a creamy sauce. Taste before adding salt, as the cheese is salty, then season with pepper.
- Spoon into an ovenproof dish, ideally clay, and bake for about 15 minutes, until bubbling. Remove the bay leaves and serve hot with bread.
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A Tirana version is made with liver instead of cheese, and is known as fërgesë of Tirana.
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