Selska Parzhenitsa with Pancetta
Селска пърженица·(sel-skah par-zheh-nee-tsah)
Mish-Mash & The 15-Minute Skillet
A village skillet isn't a slow Sunday braise. Since you probably don't have a baba curing pork in your suburban garage, diced pancetta is your secret weapon; hitting a cast-iron skillet until the fat renders into a pool of clear, sputtering oil, it delivers the unadulterated, salty pork flavor. In fifteen minutes, you build a fast base of sweet leeks, blistering peppers, and jammy tomatoes bound with soft eggs and sharp sheep's milk feta; let the tomatoes sizzle and reduce before the eggs hit the pan, then eat it straight out of the skillet with a heel of crusty bread.
Ingredients
- pancetta4 oz
- leek1 large
- cubanelle or anaheim peppers3 med
- vine-ripe tomatoes2 large
- dried summer savory1 tsp
- eggs3 large
- sheep's milk feta3 oz
- sea salt1 pinch
- crusty bread1 loaf
Method
- 01
Render the pork fat.
Place a heavy skillet over medium heat and add the diced pancetta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders out and the meat turns golden and slightly crisp, about 4 minutes. Do not drain the fat; it is the soul of the dish.
- 02
Blister the peppers and leeks.
Toss the sliced leeks and chopped peppers directly into the sizzling pancetta fat. Sauté until the leeks soften and turn translucent, and the peppers begin to blister and sweeten, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- 03
Reduce the tomatoes into a jam.
Pour in the diced tomatoes with all their juices and sprinkle in the summer savory. Turn the heat up slightly to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until the water evaporates. You want a thick, jammy vegetable ragout where the pork fat begins to separate at the edges.
- 04
Bind with eggs and feta.
Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and pour them evenly over the vegetable mixture. Scatter the crumbled feta across the top of the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low.
- 05
Soft scramble and serve immediately.
Using a wooden spoon, gently fold the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes until the eggs are just set but still soft and glistening. Pull the pan from the heat immediately so the eggs don't rubberize, and serve straight from the skillet with torn bread.
Notes
Respect the pork fat.
American bacon is heavily smoked, which overpowers the subtle sweetness of the leeks and peppers. Stick to unsmoked pancetta to accurately replicate the flavor of authentic Bulgarian slanina.
Sourcing your savory.
Summer savory (chubritsa) is the defining herbaceous note of Bulgarian cooking. If you absolutely can't find it dried, a 50/50 blend of dried oregano and thyme will functionally mimic its flavor profile.