Albanian Fergesë (tomato, pepper and feta dip) 16+ ways

AKA the most fun you can have with feta, tomatoes and peppers

A dish of dreams

Did you know Albania has an incredible food culture?

I didn’t have a clue until I went there for the first time last year. The country has influence from Greece, Turkey, Persia, and the Balkans which means plenty of fresh vegetables - and lots and lots of feta-like cheese called Kaçkavall.

One of the national dishes is Fergesë. It originates in the capital of Tirana which is exactly where I stay when I’m in Albania.

I ordered this dish a lot.

We’re basically talking about a gooey, messy dip of tomatoes, bell peppers, and feta. Serve it with bread and it’s the lunch or side dish of dreams. It’s also incredibly flexible - this is one of those dishes that every family has their own recipe for.

Traditionally, this dish is placed in clay pots and roasted in the oven but you can also make it on the stovetop (or in the oven in a standard dish). I’ve also included some alternatives for when tomatoes and peppers are not in season - like now.

Get ready for a taste explosion.

Albanian Fergesë

The original recipe (serves 4 for lunch)

• 4 roasted red peppers (from a jar is fine), roughly diced

• 4 medium-large tomatoes, roughly diced

• 1 medium white onion finely chopped

• 150-200g (5-6oz) feta cheese, crumbled

• 4 minced garlic cloves

• Small handful fresh parsley roughly chopped

• Salt to season

Set an oven-friendly saucepan on the stovetop over a medium heat. Pour in a small glug of olive oil and heat up. Tip in the onions and fry until they are translucent. Add the minced garlic and fry for a few more minutes.

Tip in the tomatoes and red peppers and season with salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes have started to break down and release their juice.

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the feta cheese and parsley. Put in an oven at 180C/350F for 20-30 minutes.

Serve with flatbreads.

Variations

The peppers

You can roast your own peppers when they’re in season under a broiler. Turn them until they’re blackened on all sides then once cool, slip them out of their skins.

Jarred peppers are best out of season.

You could use fresh peppers if you don’t want to / can’t roast them. Just dice and add at the same time as the tomatoes.

Green bell peppers are often used as an alternative to red ones.

The tomatoes

If you can’t get hold of decent tomatoes, you could use good quality canned tomatoes.

The cooking

If you don’t have an oven, you can still make this dip on the stovetop. Just break down the tomatoes and peppers for a while longer - say 30-40 minutes - until they’re thickened and dip-like.

Additions

Albanians sometimes add chicken livers to Fergesë. Dice a few livers, brown them on the stove and mix them in before putting the dish in the oven. You could also do the same with minced veal, beef, or pork. The other night I made this on the stovetop and added a couple of browned chicken legs on top whilst it was cooking. It transformed it into a whole meal and I can tell you, it was glorious.

It’s common to include plain yogurt in the mix before it goes into the oven. I haven’t tried like this but I could see how it would work well, so go for it if you have some in your fridge. Make sure it’s full-fat yoghurt otherwise it may split during cooking.

You could add some olives before putting the dish in the oven, like this version I recently enjoyed:

Swap out the parsley for oregano or leave out the herbs entirely if you don’t have any to hand. Dried herbs would work well too.