mish-mash — Bulgaria

Mish-mash is a warm-weather dish found in Bulgaria, combining softened vegetables with eggs and a brined cheese, eaten as a light meal at lunch or breakfast, close to other Balkan and Mediterranean dishes built on eggs and vegetables. Its name, which translates loosely as a jumble or a mix-up, points to the way the ingredients are simply combined in the pan rather than layered or arranged. It is reported across the country, especially in spring and summer when tomatoes and peppers are at their best, and appears both on home tables and on the menus of small mehanas. Cooks vary the vegetable mix from one region to another. To prepare it, chopped onion and peppers are softened in oil, then tomatoes are added and cooked until they collapse into a light sauce. Beaten eggs are poured over the vegetables and stirred gently until just set. Crumbled sirene is folded in at the end so that it warms through without fully melting, and the dish is finished with chopped parsley. Sources note variations in which garlic, scallions, eggplant, okra or carrots are added, as well as versions without sirene or without onion. The dish is usually served straight from the pan with bread, with no single vegetable mix taking precedence over another.