Gyuveche is a delicious dish from Bulgaria. My version of gyuveche is made with beef, mushrooms, carrots, celery, and cheddar cheese. The dish is then topped with thin potatoes and over-easy eggs!
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What Exactly is Gyuveche?
Gyuveche from Bulgaria is not named gyuveche because of the ingredients in the dish. Instead, the name comes from the clay pot that the dish is cooked in. Gyuveche is a catch-all term for a recipe that is cooked in the clay pot, usually with vegetables and beef and almost always topped with potatoes and eggs.
Unfortunately, I didn’t own a true gyuveche pot. Instead, I had to take concept of the gyuveche recipe and make it in a ceramic baking dish. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you if you need to do the same.
Personalizing your Gyuveche
A gyuveche is normally used as a way to clear out the refrigerator at the end of the week. There is a base of potatoes at the bottom and the top of the dish. Sandwiched between them are layers of meat, vegetables and cheese. A gyuveche changes based on the house you’re in, the person that’s cooking, or the week that it’s being made. If you have leftover carrots one week but not the next, totally fine! If you suddenly acquire a bunch of peas you need to get rid of, throw them in! And if you want to try feta cheese instead of cheddar, nothing is stopping you!
The gyuveche recipe that I’ve posted here today is what I made and tested a few times in my home. You can, of course, follow what I have written, but don’t be afraid to change it up if you want to as well.
Still, though, I’m partial to this gyuveche recipe, mostly because I LOVE the cheddar cheese that I used in it. I made sure to use a high-quality, creamy cheddar. It really mixed well with the beef to create an awesome, gooey, delicious texture.
Expert Tips
UPDATE: After speaking with a Bulgarian, here are a few things you can do to make this recipe even closer to how it is typically made in Bulgaria:
- Use sunflower oil instead of olive oil
- Do not add potatoes on top
- Use pork instead of beef
- Use kashkaval cheese (if you can find it) instead of cheddar
Did you like this recipe from Bulgaria? Thanks for taking the time to read it! If you make this as home, make sure to take a photo of it and share it on Facebook or Instagram. Tag @TheForeignFork and @thousandhillslg or leave a comment on this post letting me know what you thought. If you liked this recipe, make sure to also check out this recipe for Silpancho from Bolivia or this Cevapi from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Gyuveche from Bulgaria
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil + more for potatoes, can sub sunflower oil
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- ½ lb Mushrooms, sliced
- 3 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
- 3 carrot sticks, chopped
- 3 celery sticks, chopped
- 5 eggs
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Chubritsa to taste, optional
- 5 oz high quality Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic until fragrant. Then add the onions and mushrooms and saute until almost cooked.
- Add in meat and spices to taste and continue stirring the meat until cooked fully through. Drain.
- In a separate bowl, drizzle the potatoes rounds with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Use your hands or a spoon to mix and make sure that the potatoes are evenly coated.
- In a casserole dish, spread a small layer of olive oil across the bottom of the pan. Layer half of the thinly-sliced potato rounds on the bottom of the pan.
- Top the potatoes with half of the shredded cheese. Add the meat and mushroom mixture, then layer on the carrots and celery, then the rest of the cheese.
- On top of the mixture, place the second half of the thinly-sliced potatoes.
- Place in the oven and cook for about 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are just starting to brown.
- Once the potatoes are browning, remove the casserole dish and crack the five eggs on top the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Place back in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until the whites of the eggs are set but the yolk is runny.
- Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
- Leave a comment on this recipe letting me know what you think.
Hristo says
Well usually in Bulgaria we don’t use olive oil we use sunflower oil also we don’t put potatoes in it and instead of cheddar use kashkaval. And also it’s never done with beef in Bulgaria we eat pork.
The Foreign Fork says
Thanks so much for those tips Hristo! I always want the recipes to be as authentic as possible so I’m going to make notes of these things in the article 🙂
Meghan Hallewell says
This dish was a hit at our kitchen table!! I used sweet potatoes instead of regular because James doesn’t like potatoes, and we didn’t add the cheese because we are doing a modified whole 30 during the week. We loved it! I did cook the eggs longer than recommended because I didn’t think they were done, so I will follow your 8 minute rule on that next time!! I know with a runny yolk it will be even better!!
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Oooh, sweet potatoes sounds like an AWESOME addition to this dish. I am going to need to try making it with sweet potatoes next time!