Fergese

Fergese is a dish of green peppers and tomatoes cooked down with onion and then baked with a fresh curd cheese, gjize, until it sets into a thick savoury mixture, served bubbling in the clay dish it was cooked in with bread for dipping. It is associated particularly with Tirana, where it is called fergese Tirane, and it comes in two main forms: the vegetarian one, and a version with liver, which is more common in the countryside. It is eaten as a starter to share or as a main course, and it is one of the dishes that turns up on every menu in the country. Made well it is sharp from the peppers and rich from the cheese; made badly it is oily and flat.

What you actually see

• Peppers and tomato cooked down - the base of the dish.
• Curd cheese baked in - the gjize that sets the mixture.
• Served bubbling in clay - the dish it is cooked and brought in.
• Vegetarian and liver versions - the two forms on most menus.

When to go

Year round; peppers are best in late summer and the dish is at its peak then. One hour. Lunch or dinner. Tirana restaurants serve the version the dish is named for.

Honest expectations

It can be very oily depending on the kitchen. Portions are rich and one shared between two is often enough as a starter. The liver version is not always labelled clearly. Tourist restaurants on the coast make a poor version.

Nearby

Tirana is the home of the named version; it is served nationwide.