Fried Peppers with Brynza (Chushki Byurek)

How to roast the peppers

1. Sometimes at home, just for myself, I make lyuti chushki this way, with hot peppers.

2. Cut off the stems and remove the seeds. Remove the inner membranes.

3. Roast the peppers until soft. Brush the skins lightly with vegetable oil and roast in a microwave or oven: the pepper should be soft enough to flatten and stuff. In a microwave, it takes 4-5 minutes on full power, checking from time to time. In the oven it takes longer, so keep an eye on it.

   

   Roasted Bulgarian pepper keeps all the flavor of a fresh one. If you can peel off the thin outer skin, which looks like a film, so much the better. If not, never mind. Peppers can also be roasted over an open flame or with a torch: the outer skin then comes off easily and the peppers turn sweet.

   Let the peppers cool until you can handle them.

How to make the brynza filling

1. Grate the brynza on a fine grater.

   

2. Prepare the dill and the tomato. Pick the dill leaves off the stems, discarding the coarse stalks, and chop them very finely. Scald the ripe tomato with boiling water and peel it. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and chop the flesh very finely with a knife.

3. Mix the grated brynza, dill and tomato flesh. Add the dried savory, pepper to taste and, if the brynza is only lightly salted, add salt to taste.

   

   If the brynza is a bit dry, you can add one egg white to the mixture. Mix everything thoroughly with a fork into a smooth paste.

   

How to stuff and bread

1. Stuff the peppers loosely with the mixture. If a little leaks out, it doesn’t matter. In cross-section the pepper should be flat and oval, so it is easy to fry.

   

2. Bread the peppers. Break an egg into a small bowl and beat it with a fork. Dust the pepper with flour, otherwise the breadcrumbs won’t stick well.

   

   Dip the pepper in the beaten egg and roll it in breadcrumbs, or better still, in stale white bread grated on a grater.

   

How to fry

1. Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan and heat it quite hot. Lay the breaded peppers in the hot oil.

   

2. Fry the peppers on both sides until golden brown.

   

   Then you can turn the heat down and fry the peppers for a few more minutes, turning them from time to time so the breading doesn’t darken. But as soon as the breading is done, the fried peppers with brynza are ready. Extra frying is up to you.

Serving

1. Put the brynza-stuffed peppers on a plate and add a slice of lemon.

   

   Peppers stuffed with brynza are perfect for breakfast or as an appetizer.