Baked White Cheese with Tomato & Egg

45 min · Easy · Serves 1

560 kcal per serving · 25g protein

A little clay pot of bubbling white cheese, tomato and pepper with a touch of chili and an egg baked on top — Bulgaria's favourite thing to order at a mehana. It's rich, salty and made for tearing bread into. No clay pot (gyuveche)? Any small ovenproof dish works exactly the same.

Ingredients

• 125 g Sirene (white brine cheese)
• Tomato × 1
• Bell pepper × 1
• Egg × 1
• 1 tbsp Sunflower oil
• 1 pinch Chili flakes
• 1 pinch Sugar (optional)
• 1 pinch Black pepper
• 2 sprig Fresh parsley

Method

1. Heat the oven

   

   Heat the oven to 200°C.

2. Dice the tomato

   

   Dice the tomato and cut the pepper into thin strips, then toss both in a small clay pot or ovenproof dish with the oil, chili flakes and a pinch of sugar. No salt — the cheese brings plenty.

3. Bake the Sirene

   

   Lay thick slices of the sirene over the vegetables and bake for 15 minutes, until the tomato is bubbling at the edges and the cheese has gone soft and slumped.

4. Crack in the Egg

   

   Make a small hollow in the middle with a spoon and crack the egg into it. Bake for another 8–10 minutes, until the white is fully set and milky but the yolk still wobbles slightly.

5. Rest & Dip

   

   Let it stand for 5 minutes — the pot stays scorching hot and keeps cooking the egg. Scatter over parsley and black pepper and serve with crusty bread for dipping.