History

The dish takes its name from the Turkish kavurma (roasted meat), reflecting Ottoman influence on Bulgarian kitchens. Bulgarian villages each have a personal recipe; the clay pot (gyuvech) holds the heat and concentrates the sauce into a thick, paprika-stained gravy. In Plovdiv tavernas the pot arrives bubbling at the table with bread for mopping and a glass of mavrud red wine.

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 800g pork shoulder, cut into 3 cm cubes
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 2 red peppers, sliced
  • 200g mushrooms, halved
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon sweet Bulgarian paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried savory (chubritsa)
  • 200ml white wine
  • Sunflower oil, salt, pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
  2. Brown the pork in oil in a heavy pan over high heat, working in batches. Transfer to a clay pot or oven dish.
  3. Cook onions in the same pan until soft. Add peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in tomato paste, paprika and savory. Pour in the wine and let it reduce by half.
  5. Pour the vegetables over the pork in the clay pot. Cover.
  6. Bake for 90 minutes until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened.
  7. Rest 10 minutes. Serve with crusty bread and a glass of Mavrud.

Tip from the editors. If you don't have a clay pot, a Dutch oven works fine. Add a beaten egg over the top for the last 10 minutes if you want a traditional Bulgarian skin.

Where to eat kavarma

Kavarma in Plovdiv

Restaurant Alafrangite ★ 4.3

Traditional Bulgarian$$old-townMon-Sun 11:00-23:00

Restaurant Alafrangite occupies an 18th-century Revival house with a courtyard garden in Old Plovdiv. Bulgarian salads and meat dishes anchor the long menu.

Signature: Sarmi, Bulgarian salads

ul. Kiril Nektariev 13, 4000 Plovdiv

Odeon Restaurant ★ 4.1

Bulgarian$$old-townMon-Sun 11:30-23:00

Odeon Hotel-Restaurant on Otets Paisiy serves classic Bulgarian cooking with a covered courtyard, a few minutes' walk from the Old Town's southern gate.

Signature: Kavarma, Kebapche

ul. Otets Paisiy 40, 4000 Plovdiv

Stariyat Plovdiv ★ 4.3

Eastern European$$kapanaMon-Sun 10:30-00:00Until 00:00

Stariyat Plovdiv runs the charcoal grill until midnight. Kebapche, kyufte, shopska on the rooftop or in the courtyard; late-table Bulgarian classics.

Try: Charcoal kebapche and Bulgarian salads

ul. Frederic Joliot-Curie 6A, 4000 Plovdiv

Boris Palace ★ 4.3

Bulgarian and European$$$old-townMon-Sun 12:00-22:00

Boris Palace, a Saborna Street Revival mansion turned boutique hotel, serves Bulgarian and European with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

Signature: Bulgarian mezze plate, Slow-roasted lamb

ul. Saborna 49, 4000 Plovdiv

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