Bulgarian Pork Skewers with Fried Potatoes & Lyutenitsa

Name: Bulgarian Pork Skewers with Fried Potatoes & Lyutenitsa
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: 250 g Pork neck steaks, cubed; Red bell pepper × ½; Onion × ½; 4 tbsp Sunflower oil; 1 tsp Paprika; ½ tsp Chubritsa (summer savory); 1 clove Garlic; 1 pinch Salt; 1 pinch Black pepper; 200 g Potatoes; 2 tbsp Lyutenitsa; 20 g Sirene (white brine cheese)

65 min · Easy · Serves 1

1150 kcal per serving · 53g protein

Shishcheta are the skewers you smell at every Bulgarian street grill and village fair: juicy cubes of pork neck in a red paprika marinade, threaded with pepper and onion. This version cooks in a grill pan on the stove, on the plate it always comes on — crisp fried potatoes with sirene grated over them while they are still hot, and a spoonful of lyutenitsa on the side.

Open in Mixit →

Ingredients

250 g Pork neck steaks, cubed
Red bell pepper × ½
Onion × ½
4 tbsp Sunflower oil
1 tsp Paprika
½ tsp Chubritsa (summer savory)
1 clove Garlic
1 pinch Salt
1 pinch Black pepper
200 g Potatoes
2 tbsp Lyutenitsa
20 g Sirene (white brine cheese)

Method

Cube the Pork

Cut the pork neck steaks into even cubes about 3 cm — roughly the size of a walnut.
Mix the marinade

In a medium bowl, stir 1 tbsp of the sunflower oil with the paprika, chubritsa, crushed garlic, a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper into a red paste.
Toss the pork cubes

Toss the pork cubes in it until every piece is coated, then leave for 30 minutes at room temperature (or covered in the fridge for up to 24 hours).
Cut the potatoes while the pork marinates

Peel the potatoes and cut them into batons about 1 cm thick. Rinse them in cold water until it runs clear, then dry them thoroughly on a tea towel.
Thread the Skewers

Cut the pepper and onion into pieces about the same size as the meat. Thread everything onto 2–3 skewers, alternating meat, pepper, meat, onion — and leave a small gap between pieces.
Heat a dry grill pan

Heat a dry grill pan (or heavy frying pan) over medium-high heat for 2–3 minutes — a drop of water should sizzle and vanish instantly.
Lay the skewers

Lay the skewers in and cook about 12 minutes total, turning them a quarter-turn every 3 minutes, until browned with dark grill marks on all sides.
Fry the potatoes while the skewers grill

Heat the remaining 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a deep frying pan over medium-high heat until a potato baton dropped in sizzles at once. Fry the potatoes in a single layer for 10 minutes, turning them twice, until deep gold and crisp, then lift them onto kitchen paper and salt them straight away.
Rest the Meat

Move the skewers to a plate and let them rest for 3 minutes so the juices settle back into the meat before you eat.
Build the plate

Pile the hot potatoes onto the plate and grate the sirene over them straight away, while the heat is still in them. Lay the rested skewers on top and spoon the lyutenitsa alongside.