BULGARIAN SALADS

Shopska Salad (the Bulgarian favourite)

Ingredients for 4:
4 spring onions
4 medium tomatoes
1/2 cucumber
1 green pepper
1 red pepper

Optional:
olives
chopped parsley
grated feta cheese to sprinkle salad
salt, pepper, vinegar and olive oil

How to prepare:
Cut all ingredients in slices or cubes. Season with salt, pepper, add the chopped parsley, 1 tbs. of vinegar and 2 tbs. of olive oil and mix well. Sprinkle with feta cheese and enjoy either on its own or as a side dish.

Bulgarian Potato Salad

Ingredients for 4:
4-5 large potatos
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 spring onions
juice of 1/2 a lemon
olive oil
fresh parsley or dill

How to prepare:
Peel and boil the potatos for about 20-25 minutes, drain and leave to cool.
In a salad bowl – add the finely chopped spring onions, salt, pepper to taste, the lemon juice and olive oil, and mix gently. Cut the potatos into cubes and add the the salad bowl. Gently mix, sprinkle with parsley or dill if you serve the salad with fish. Serve as garnish to grilled or BBQ’ed meat. Or enjoy on its own.

Snezhanka Salad

Ingredients for 2-3:
500g yogurt
1/2 cucumber
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1 tablespoon olive oil
fresh dill – finely chopped
salt

How to prepare:
Snezhanka – dip style version. Peel the skin of the cucumber using a potato peeler, chop in small pieces, squeeze between your hands to drain most of the water, season with salt, add the chopped garlic, olive oil and dill, and leave for 10 minutes. Then add the yogurt and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

BULGARIAN SOUPS

Tarator (cold soup)

Ingredients for 2-3:
500g yogurt
1/2 cucumber
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1 tablespoon olive oil
fresh dill, finely chopped
salt

Prepare in the same way as Snezhanka salad, but do not squeeze the water. Dilute the yogurt with 1 cup of cold water, stir well and mix with the seasoned cucumber. Perfect for a hot summer’s lunch.

Spinach Soup

Ingredients for 4:
1/2 kg spinach
60g butter
2 tablespoons plain flour
500ml milk
pepper
salt

How to cook:
Boil the chopped spinach in salted water for about 15-20 minutes, drain, leave to cool for 10-15 minutes, then puree. Heat a pan, melt the butter, add the flour, stir well, fry for 1-2 minutes, then add the pureed spinach. Add the milk and 200ml of the water in which the spinach was cooked. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and season with pepper.
Serve with croutons (bread cubes fried in butter).

Marrow Creamed Vegetable Soup

Ingredients for 4-5:
2 medium marrows (400g), washed, cut in cubes
2 medium potatos (225g), washed, peeled, cut in cubes
1 large onion (200g), peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon butter or oil
1 tablespoon paprika
2 cubes chicken stock
1 litre water
4 garlic cloves, minced or chopped
1 tablespoon dill (either fresh or dill weed)

How to prepare:
In a 1.5 litre lidded pan heat the butter or oil, add the onions and stir to cover with butter, sprinkle the paprika and stir to coat the onions, add the marrows and potatoes and stir well, add 1 litre of water and the stock cubes, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Take off the hob, stir in the minced garlic and the dill, cool for 10 minutes. Drain the liquid (and keep!!!), puree the vegetables in a food processor or use the puree attachment of your mixer, combine with the liquid, stir well and enjoy!

BULGARIAN STARTERS

Kyopolou (Eggplant Dip)

Ingredients for 4:
2-3 aubergines/eggplants
4-5 peppers (red and green mixed)
2-3 medium tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 fresh bunch parsley
red wine vinegar
sunflower oil
salt

How to prepare:
Bake/roast the aubergines, tomatoes and peppers on a hot plate or in the oven (220C), peel their skin and cut into small pieces. Add the crushed garlic. Mix well, add oil and vinegar, salt to taste, stir again. Arrange into a serving dish, top with finely chopped parsley. Serve with toasted bread or bread sticks. Unbelievably tasty!

Mish-Mash (a type of omelette)

Ingredients for 3-4:
3 medium tomatoes
3 red peppers
1 onion
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
200g feta cheese
3 eggs
chopped parsley
salt and pepper to season

How to cook:
Cut the ingredients into small pieces. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onions, then the peppers and the tomatoes and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the cheese and eggs and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Delicious with toast.

Cheese Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients for 2-3:
3 small green peppers
125g feta cheese
frying oil
1 tomato (cut 3 disks or squares from the hard part of the tomato)

How to cook:
Cut a hole on top of each pepper, taking all seeds out and wash. Cut the cheese into 3 pieces or adjust depending on the number of pepper, fill each pepper with the cheese and close the hole with a tomato square (see above). Then fry each side of the peppers in a pan or you can use a deep-fat fryer. Leave to cool, then peel the skin and serve.

BULGARIAN MAIN DISHES

Monastery Gyuvetch (Hotch-Potch)

Ingedients for 4-5: 1 kg braising beef or pork
4 medium tomatoes
120g mushrooms
1 cup rice
1 onion
150 g olives
1 bunch of parsley
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
25g butter
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 cups beef stock
black pepper, paprika and salt

How to cook:
Cut the meat into cubes or small pieces and fry in a pan with a little oil for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped onions, beef stock and paprika, 5 minutes later add the mushrooms and rice and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, add salt to taste, the butter, 1 tbs. sugar and whole olives, and cook for further 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 190C. Transfer the content of the pan into a baking dish and cook for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and pepper before serving.

Moussaka

Ingredients for 4-5:
1/2 kg of minced meat (best mix pork and beef but beef only will do too)
1 kg of potatoes, peeled and finely chopped in cubes
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
parsley, 1/3 cupful, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup yogurt
2 tablespoon flour
salt and pepper to taste
oil for cooking
2 tablespoons chubritza (a Bulgarian herb which you could substitute with some Herbes de Provance or Oregano), of course the taste will be different.

How to make it:
Fry the onion and the minced meat in a little oil. The more fatty the meat is, the less oil you need. In about 10 minutes take it off the hob and mix well with the potatoes, tomatoes, and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake for about 45 minutes at 190C, or until the potatoes are cooked. Stir the eggs, the yogurt and the flour together and pour it over the dish. Bake for 10 more minutes. It’s delicious with cold yogurt on the side. Enjoy!

Kavarma Kebap

Ingredients for 3-4:
400-500 g frying beef or pork steak
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 glass of wine
3-4 tablespoons fat or oil
1 tablespoon cornflour
1/2 cup beef stock
paprika, pepper, salt

How to cook:
Cut the meat in strips, season with salt and pepper and leave for half an hour. Then heat the fat in a pan and brown the meat. Take the meat out and put aside, in the same oil fry the finely chopped onion for 2-3 minutes and add to the meat. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and gently stir to mix the meat and onions.
Add the stock, wine and the chopped garlic to the hot oil in the pan, bring to the boil, simmer for few minutes to reduce the sauce, then thicken with cornflour. You can serve with mashed or roast potatoes using the sauce as gravy.

Sarmi (Stuffed Vine Leaves)

Ingredients for 4-5:
3 tablespoons oil
6 spring onions, chopped
1 heaped teaspoon paprika
300g minced veal
300g minced pork
200g rice
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
1 tablespoon freshly chopped mint
salt and black pepper
32 Vine leaves
boiling water
240ml plain yogurt
25g melted butter
extra paprika

How to make it:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan then add the onions and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes until softened. Add the paprika, meat, rice, mint, parsley and salt, mix well then pour in enough boiling water to just cover the mixture. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place the vine leaves in a large mixing bowl and cover with boiling water. Boil off any remaining liquid from the rice mixture if necessary then place one teaspoonful of the meat mixture on each vine leaf. Roll the leaves up into little parcels and arrange, seam side down in a wide saucepan. Gently pour 360ml/12fl.oz. of hot water over the parcels, bring to simmering point then cover and simmer on a low heat for about 30 minutes. When almost ready, mix some extra paprika into the melted butter.
To serve – carefully transfer the parcels to a serving dish using a slotted spoon then pour the melted butter mixture and yogurt over the top. Serve immediately.

BULGARIAN DESSERTS

Baked apples with vanilla syrup

Ingredients:
8-10 eq. sized apples
1/3 cupful walnut kernels
3/2 cupful sugar
vanilla, cinnamon according to taste
50g butter

How to prepare:
Peel and carefully hollow the apples. Prepare a stuffing from the beaten butter, 3/4 cupful of sugar, crushed walnut kernels and cinnamon. Stuff the apples and place in a lined dish, pour over 1-2 spoonful of water and bake in a moderate oven. Serve cold, sweetened with syrup made from cupful of sugar, 1 cupful of water and vanilla. The same recipe may be used for quinces and pears.

Sweet balls with syrup

Ingredients:
150g white cheese
3 eggs
1 cup flour
3/2 cups sugar
vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups water
1 cup sunflower oil

How to prepare:
Mix the white cheese and eggs well, before gradually adding the flour, followed by the baking soda. Shape into balls with a spoon and fry in hot oil. When cooled, pour over syrup made from water, sugar and vanilla.

Milk Banitsa

Ingredients:
400g flour
9 eggs
3/2 milk
3/2 cupful of sugar
1/2 cupful of semolina
1 spoonful of sunflower oil
1 spoonful of vinegar
1 cupful water
180g butter

How to prepare:
Prepare a medium-hard dough from the flour, 1 egg, oil, vinegar and water and roll into sheets (500g of ready pastry sheets may also be used). Place the sheets in a tray, basting each with melted butter. Bring the milk to the boil, add the sugar, remaining butter and semolina under constant stirring, followed by the beaten eggs when cooled. Mix well and pour over the pastry sheets. Bake in a moderate oven. Serve into pieces and sprinkle with icing sugar.

BULGARIAN SPECIALTIES

BULGARIAN DRINKS:

Bulgarian Boza

The Bulgarian Boza is made out of wheat or millet and should have a sweet, slightly sour taste.
Ingredients:
5 litres of water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
homemade fermantation (yeast)

How to prepare:
The flour is cooked until it gets a pinky tone, stir it while cooking. Add a little warm water, then the mixture is added to the other part of the water. Then cook the whole mixture, make sure you stir it. Add the sugar and stir until it boils. After that stir for another 5-6 minutes, then let it cool and add 1 cup of homemade fermentation. Leave the Boza in a warm place for 2-3 days to start the fermantation process. After that pour the Boza in bottles and store it in a fridge.

Bulgarian Ayran

Ingredients:
yogurt
salt
water

How to prepare:
Beat the yogurt until it gets a more liquid form, then mix with water in 1:1 proportion. Add salt to taste and consume chilled. It is the prefered drink for Bulgarians in the summertime.

BULGARIAN PIES & PASTRIES:

Banitsa (Bulgarian white cheese pastry)

Ingredients:
1 kg flour
400g white brined cheese
4 eggs
500g yogurt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
100g butter
salt

How to prepare:
Use the flour, salt and 3/2 cupfuls of water to make a hard dough which is divided into first-large balls. Let stand for about 1 hour, then roll into about 1mm thick sheets. Line with melted butter and top with a mixture of beaten eggs, baking soda, yogurt and crumbled cheese. Roll together and place in a lined dish, either lengthwise or in circles. Bake in a moderate oven and some water when ready. Cover with a cloth to make it soft.

Mekitsi (Bulgarian fried donuts)

Ingredients:
1 kg flour
3 eggs
1/2 kg yogurt
10g yeast or 1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cupful sunflower oil

How to prepare:
Beat eggs and yogurt together with the water and yeast or baking soda diluted in some cold water. Prepare a soft dough and let stand for 1 hour. Then roll into a sheet and cut out circles with a teacup. Fry in plenty of oil until a reddish hue is obtained. Serve with icing sugar, jam or cheese.