Recipe name: Tarator
Type: Cold summer yogurt soup
Ingredients:
1 long peeled cucumber, chopped or grated
several garlic cloves, minced or smashed
4 cups Bulgarian yogurt (at least!!!)
several cups of water (depending on how big your bowl is)
salt
1 bouquet of dill, finely chopped (the more dill, the better)
vegetable oil
How to cook it:
Mix all ingredients in a ball. Served cooled (with ice cups on hot summer days)
Cultural context: Tarator is the ultimate summer meal that can be eaten at any time of the day. It is easy to make, nutritious and the ingredients are cheap and easy to find. It used to be food for the fields - which meant that people used that to rehydrate themselves on hot summer days.
It is common in Bulgaria and several varieties exist in neighbouring countries. Probably the original recipe (which is quite different) came from Persia but most people in Bulgaria argue on that.
Recipe name: Stuffed peppers
Type: Main course
Ingredients:
6 green or red peppers
1/2 kilo minced meat
1 cup of white rice
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of savory
pinch of oregano, cumin, savory, black pepper
How to cook it:
Fry the meat untill well-done and add the spices. In a separate pan, cook the rice in some oil for about 5 minutes, then add a cup of water and let it simmer until the rice absorbs it all. When ready add everything together. Take off the heat and use the mixture to stuff the peppers. Put the stuffed peppers in a casserole or a pot, fill with water just below the top of the peppers and bake/cook for about 30 minutes on maximum heat.
Cultural context:
Stuffed vegetables are quite common on the Balkans and the recipe probably originates from the Middle East.
Recipe name: Shopska salad
Type: Salad
Ingredients:
4 ripe tomatoes
2 long cucumbers
1 onion
1 red or green pepper
chilly peppers
parsley (the more, the better)
2 tablespoons oil
Bulgarian cheese - grated (again, the more, the better)
How to cook it:
Chop all ingredients and mix in a bowl. Served with a good deal of local rakiya (brandy).
Cultural context:
That recipe exists all over the Balkans. The Greek horiatiki salad has the same ingredients. Same goes for the Serbian and Turkish equivalents. The recipe for Shopska salad, now a trademark of Bulgarian cuisine, was actually invented in the 1960s by the Bulgarian tourist operator Balkanturist to cater for the needs of a salad that would scream 'Bulgaria' - the chefs there adapted the recipes for the salad that already existed in the neighbouring countries and added chilly pepper to the thing (which gave the salad its name). Shoppes or shopi in Bulgarian are one of the minorities in Bulgaria famous for their love of chillies.
Recipe name: Mousaka
Type: Main cousre
Ingredients:
1 kilo potatoes, cut in small cubes
half a kilo ground meat
4 eggs
2 cups of yougurt
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
savory
1/2 cup vegetable oil
How to cook it:
Cook the minced meat in 1/4 cup oil in a pan until well-done. Add the salt and the pepper. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the potatoes and mix well. Put in the oven for at least 40 minutes at maximum heat. Mix the eggs and the milk separately and pour on top. Cook for another 10 minutes or until the top turns brownish
Cultural context: The recipe is popular all over the Balkans and its origins come from the Middle East. It is usually a celebration dish and doesn't get cooked on a daily basis.
Recipe name: Bob chorba (white beans soup)
Type: Soup
Ingredients:
1 kilo beans
water
2 onions, chopped
3 carrots
2 tbsp oil
3 tbsp flour
1 tsp paprika
4 tomatoes (or a can of tomatoes)
chilly peppers
black pepper
paprika
salt to taste
How to cook it:
Soak the beans in the water overnight. Next morning boil. Remove several waters as that would make the soup better. Add the chopped ingredients. Keep boiling until the beans are completely cooked.
Cultural context:
Popular all over the Balkans but mostly in Serbia and Bulgaria. Origin is unkown.
Recipe name: Sarmi (stuffed vine leaves)
Type: Appetizer
Ingredients:
15-20 big vine leaves
2 cups white rice
onion
1 teaspoon oregano
3 tablespoons oil
3 cups water
How to cook it:
Steam the vine leaves to make them soft for the rolling. Fry the onion in the oil until brown, add the rice and oregano and add the water. Boil until water is absorbed. Use the mixture to fill the leaves, shaping them like small bundles (smaller than your little finger). Put in a pot, fill with water so the bundles are fully submerged, boil for about 45 mins on maximum heat. Serve hot or cold with yogurt.
Cultural context:
This is a popular appetizer served all over the Balkans - usually at diner time during the months when the vines are green.
Recipe name: Nettles soup
Type: Soup
Ingredients:
Nettles (around 2 kilos)
two cups of white rice
onion
black pepper
salt
savory
How to cook it:
Put the rice in a pot and start boiling. Add the other ingredients and boil at maximum heat for half an hour. Stop boiling when the rice is cooked.
Cultural context:
Summer soup made out of cheap products. Nettles is something people gather around, it is not planted on purpose. Probably an ancient recipe.
Recipe name: Supa topcheta (meatball soup)
Type: soup
Ingredients:
1 kilo ground meat
6 tbsp. rice OR some spaghetti
1 tsp dried savory
salt & pepper
6 cups water
onion
2 medium carrots, peeled & thinly sliced
3 tomatoes, peeled & chopped
1/2 bunch parsley, minced
How to cook it:
Make the minced meat into balls and start boiling add the other ingredients and boil for at least an hour until the meat is well cooked. Serve hot.
Cultural context:
Unknown, a very popular recipe and possibly a modern one.
Recipe name: Kiufteta (meatballs)
Type: Main course
Ingredients:
1 kilo minced meat (60% pork, 40% beef)
3 onions, chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of red pepper
1 teaspoon of chilly pepper
1 teaspoon cumin or curry
2 eggs
breadcrumbs
How to cook it:
Mix all ingredients and make small balls out of the mixture. Then fry until golden brown.
Cultural context:
Originally a Turkish recipe popular all over the Balkans.
Recipe name: Meshana skara (mixed bbq)
Type: Main course
Ingredients:
1 kilo minced meat
black pepper
salt
How to cook it:
Mix all ingredients and barbeque until done.
Cultural context:
A variation of the kiufte recipe above. Origin is the same.
Recipe name: Rakiya (brandy), wine and mastika (ouzo)
Type: Drinks
Cultural context:
Most drinks in Bulgaria have a high percent of alcohol so be careful when trying.
Recipe name: Jars of zimnina (winter food supply)
Type: Main course/ Appetizer
How to cook it:
Put in a jar and boil. Boiling time varies from 3 hours to 10 minutes depending on the ingredients. Recipes vary.
Cultural context:
A way to preserve food popular for the past few hundred years.
Recipe name: Pickled chilly peppers
Type: Appetizer
Ingredients:
chilly peppers (different types)
vinegar
salt sugar
dill seeds
How to cook it:
Put the peppers in a jar and put a teaspoon of salt and pepper in it. Add the dill seeds and cover with vinegar. This type of jar does not get boiled. Eat with white bean soup.
Cultural context:
Traditional appetizer that goes well with anything. Popular among the shopi minority in Western Bulgaria.
Recipe name: Kiopoolu
Type: Appetizer/dip
Ingredients:
2 big eggplants, chopped
4 peppers (red or green or mix), chopped
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup oil
1 tbsp salt
How to cook it:
Bake and peel the eggplants and peppers and mash them along with the cloves and the spices. Serve with a lot of bread.
Cultural context:
This is originally a Turkish recipe that entered Bulgarian (and Balkan) cuisine during the period when the Balkans were under Ottoman rule.
Recipe name: Green beans soup
Type: Soup
Ingredients:
Jars of green beans
garlic cloves
tomatoes (of a jar of tomatoes)
paprika
salt chilly peppers
How to cook it:
Put the green beans in a pot and start boiling. Add the spices and the rest of the ingredients. Boil for no less than two hours. Serve hot with pickled chilly peppers.
Cultural context:
Popular winter recipe. Origin unknown.
Recipe name: Banitsa
Type: Main course
Ingredients:
1 pack of filo dough
3 eggs
half a kilo of Bulgarian cheese
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
How to cook it:
Mix the crumbled cheese, milk and eggs together. Spread some of the cheese mixture on the top of the filo dough, lay another 3-4 sheets, and keep spreading , putting some oil in between. Repeat until all mixture is used. Cut in portion sized squares and bake in the oven until golden (about 30 minutes on maximum heat).
Cultural context:
This is a traditional Bulgarian recipe cooked on celebration days, especially New Year's eve. Then, lucky well-wishes are hidden in between the filo dough and it is said that whatever you find on that day would determine your luck for the upcoming year.
Recipe name: Chushka biurek (peppers stuffed with cheese)
Type: Appetizer
Ingredients:
6 medium green or red peppers (baked and peeled)
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour (or breadcrumbs)
1/3 kilo Bulgarian cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup oil
How to cook it:
Put some cheese into each pepper then put in eggs and breadcrumbs and fry. Serve hot.
Cultural context:
Popular all over the Balkans. Origin unknown.
References:
https://www.findbgfood.com/home - a site with recipes of Bulgarian food [accessed on 24 August 2018]
References:
https://www.findbgfood.com/home - a site with recipes of Bulgarian food [accessed on 24 August 2018]
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