I’ve written loads about locations to go to in Bulgaria, however to this point, I haven’t addressed considered one of my favourite subjects: meals. Bulgarian meals is a mixture of Greek, Turkish, and Serbian influences, and it varies barely in numerous areas.
Bulgarian Breakfast
Folks in Bulgaria love pastry and fried dough within the mornings. One of the crucial common Bulgarian pastries is the banitsa. Conventional banitsa is a spherical pie, full of a mixture of cheese, yogurt, and eggs. It’s excellent for a scrumptious savory breakfast and a glass of ayran enhances it very effectively.
Mekitsa is one other common alternative for breakfast in Bulgaria. They’re deep-fried easy donuts and you may mix them with something you need, both candy or savory. The easiest way to savor a mekitsa is to slice it open and fill it like a taco together with your favourite topping(s).
Bulgarian fried toasts are much like French toast, however versus these, often include a slice of cheese in Bulgaria. It’s a hearty breakfast that may hold you happy for a lot of hours.
Lyutenitsa is a highly regarded Bulgarian delicacy. It’s a red-colored relish, comprised of peppers and tomatoes. It could possibly even have eggplants, garlic, and spices. It’s scrumptious on a slice of bread for breakfast, nevertheless it additionally grew to become a preferred garnish for meat dishes. In case you see it within the menu, don’t draw back from it. And when you’re staying in a self-catering residence, a jar of lyutenitsa is a scrumptious price range breakfast choice.
I’ve to say another breakfast dish Bulgarians eat at house, popara. It’s a kind of porridge, made with scorching milk, chopped bread, butter, and cheese. It doesn’t sound or look interesting, nevertheless it isn’t unhealthy in any respect and children find it irresistible.
Typical Bulgarian Meals
A Bulgarian restaurant meal often begins with a shot and a salad. By a shot, I imply fruit rakia, a reasonably sturdy and flavorful drink. Salads are available all styles and sizes, however from my observations, Bulgarian favor easy vegetable salads with their drink.
Salads and Spreads
The most well-liked Bulgarian salad is a straightforward Shopska. To make shopska salad, you want cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and grated cheese. You could find slight variations of the Shopska: peeled tomatoes, roasted peppers, no onions, and many others. Both approach, you’ll be able to hardly discover a place the place they don’t serve a Shopska in Bulgaria.
Remaining within the salads or appetizers division, conventional Bulgarian eating places often have a number of spreads on the menu. Keep in mind lyutenitsa? You could find it in most common eating places, along with an eggplant paste. You too can strive kyopolou – an aubergine and roasted peppers dish, or katak – an expansion of cheese, yogurt, roasted peppers, and garlic. One other must-try is snezhanka, an expansion with cucumbers and yogurt, similar to Greek tzatziki. Snezhanka can include or with out garlic, and typically it additionally has nuts. All of those go very effectively with the pita bread, which (once more!) can include or with out garlic.
In case you’re near the ocean, there’s all the time a tarama (fish roe) unfold to be tasted. In case you can’t make up your thoughts, most eating places have mixed platters, so you’ll be able to style extra appetizers. You may simply have a full meal on these salads and spreads, a Greek-style mezze meal.
Bulgarian Meals – Soups
The selection of soups in Bulgaria isn’t very broad. A typical restaurant will often have a good hen soup and a few season’s veggies cream soup. Anyway, there are two stars of the Bulgarian soups present: fish soup, and tarator soup.
The fish soup is a must-try when you’re on the Bulgarian coast someplace. There are some variations between the fish soup on the northern Bulgarian coast and the one within the southern sea space. Within the north, the soup is extra hearty, cooked with tomato paste and served with a cold paste on the aspect to spice it up if you wish to. Within the south, the soup is extra clear, with a lemony style. Each of them are scrumptious, but when I had to decide on one, I’d go together with the one within the north with a little bit of the chilly paste.
Now, the tarator is one thing else. It’s a chilly soup, made with yogurt, and cucumbers and served with dill. Although it’s very unusual, and many individuals avoid it, I discover it very refreshing at lunch on a scorching day. Give it a try to let me know when you preferred it or not within the feedback beneath!
Fish and Seafood
In case you like consuming fish, the Bulgarian shoreline will appear (or style) like paradise. Menus are filled with mussels, sea snails, shrimps, or squid. They arrive steamed, fried, grilled, in risottos, and typically in soups. The fish can be marinated, smoked, grilled, and fried, there’s loads to style. I really like the recent mussels steamed with wine and garlic.
Bulgarian Meals – Meat Dishes
Bulgarian typical meals is often tasty and filling, and there’s no scarcity of meat dishes on the menus. Let’s check out a few of the hottest meat dishes in Bulgaria.
For barbecues, Bulgarians have their kyufte and kebapche. They’re each minced meat meatballs, however the kyufte is spherical and the kebapche is lengthy. The bizarre style comes from the cumin they put together the meat with. You may style the Turks’ affect in these grilled dishes. They go very effectively with a cabbage salad, or possibly with French fries and lyutenitsa.
Sach dishes are a must-try if you end up in a conventional Bulgarian restaurant. The sach is a clay pot the place they prepare dinner meat and greens. Then, the sach pot involves the desk on a steel stand, and it stays scorching for a very long time, protecting the meals heat all through the meal. In reality, the meals will likely be lengthy gone and the pot will nonetheless be scorching.
Kavarma is one other typical Bulgarian meals. It’s a mixture of meat and greens cooked within the oven. The recipe varies from area to area and even from household to household, nevertheless it’s all the time a hearty meal, excellent for a cold day.
I might go on and on about Bulgarian meals, nevertheless it’s time to move to dessert. Simply to set issues straight, don’t draw back from different issues both. A large bean salad, vine leaves sarmi, some roasted peppers, or lukanka (conventional Bulgarian sausage), shouldn’t be missed whenever you encounter them.
Bulgarian Desserts
The desserts in Bulgaria are principally influenced by Turkish delicacies. You could find baklava and such in pastry outlets in all places. There are additionally lots of outlets that show a variety of desserts you’ll be able to have a slice of, however they by no means appeared inviting to me.
My favourite Bulgarian dessert although is the nougat ice cream with figs, a deal with with roasted walnuts and inexperienced figs protect.
Closing Ideas on Bulgarian Meals
As you’ll be able to see, I really like Bulgarian Meals. The 2 smells that make me consider Bulgarian dishes instantly are peppers roasting on the grill and the odor of recent figs. If you wish to learn extra about Bulgarian meals, or try the trendiest Bulgarian metropolis, learn my Food in Plovdiv put up subsequent.