Bulgarian cuisine


Bulgarian cuisine is part of the cuisine of Eastern Europe, sharing characteristics with other Balkan cuisines. Bulgarian cooking traditions are diverse because of geographical factors such as climatic conditions suitable for a variety of vegetables, herbs, and fruit. Aside from the variety of local Bulgarian dishes, Bulgarian cuisine shares a number of dishes with its neighboring countries, in particular with Turkish and Greek cuisine.
Bulgarian cuisine includes a significant contribution from Ottoman cuisine, and therefore shares a number of dishes with Middle Eastern cuisine, including moussaka, gyuvetch, kyufte, baklava, ayran, and shish kebab. Bulgarian food often incorporates salads as appetizers and is also noted for the prominence of dairy products, wines, and other alcoholic drinks such as rakia. The cuisine also features a variety of soups, such as the cold soup tarator, and pastries, such as the filo dough-based banitsa, pita, and the various types of börek.
Main courses are very typically water-based stews, either vegetarian or with lamb, goat meat, veal, chicken, or pork. Deep-frying is not common, but grilling—especially of different kinds of sausages—is prominent. Pork is common, often mixed with veal or lamb, although fish and chicken are also widely used. While most cattle are bred for milk production rather than meat, veal is popular for grilling meat appetizers and in some main courses. As a substantial exporter of lamb, Bulgaria's own consumption is notable, especially in the spring.
Similar to other Balkan cultures, the per-capita consumption of yogurt among Bulgarians is traditionally higher than the rest of Europe. The country is notable as the historical namesake for Lactobacillus bulgaricus, a microorganism chiefly responsible for the local variety of dairy products., a white brine cheese similar to feta, is also a popular ingredient used in salads and a variety of pastries.
Holidays are often observed in conjunction with certain meals. On Christmas Eve, for instance, tradition requires vegetarian stuffed peppers and cabbage leaves sarmi. New Year's Eve usually involves cabbage dishes, Nikulden involves fish, while Gergyovden is typically celebrated with roast lamb.

Traditional Bulgarian foods

Bulgarian breakfast

Banitsa – baked pastry made of layered stuffing and phyllo. There are many varieties with different names, with arguably the most famous one being with eggs, sirene, and yogurt.Börek – a filled pastry made with layers of filo dough.Tutmanik – similar to pita, made with yeast dough and milk, but with white cheese.Milinki – bread-roll-type pastry with eggs and sirene
  • Princess with minced meat – open-faced baked sandwich with minced meat, and possibly some yellow cheese on top
  • Princess with yellow cheese – open-faced baked sandwich with yellow cheese on top
  • Princess with eggs and cheese – open-faced baked sandwich with egg and sirene mixture on top
  • Mekitsi – deep-fried dough pastry, typically served with jam, honey, sirene, or icing sugar
  • French toast – bread dipped in eggs and milk and fried in oil
  • Kazanlak doughnuts – a specific type of doughnuts, from the town of KazanlakBuhti – deep-fried dough balls, often served with jam, honey, or sireneLangidi – somewhat similar to American-style pancakes, soft and eggyPalachinki – Bulgarian-style pancakes that are thinner than American pancakes and sometimes rolled around stuffingKatmi – another variant of Bulgarian pancakes, which are bigger and thicker and are rolled around stuffingPopara – might be made from rusks, bread, or kozunak with tea, milk, or sour milk.

Cold cuts

Banski starets – spicy sausage, native to the Bansko regionElenski but – air-cured ham sausage, seasoned with herbsLukanka – spicy salami of minced beef and porkPastarma – spicy beef sausage; a variant of Anatolian dried meat called pastirma.Sujuk – flat cured, dark red sausage, common in the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, and North Africa

Soups and stews

Tarator – cold soup of cucumbers, garlic, yogurt, and dill
  • Vegetable soup – with various fresh vegetables and potatoes
  • Nettle soup – with rice and sirene
  • Spinach soup – with sirene and eggsBob chorba – hot bean soup
  • Lentil soup – soup made with brown lentils
  • Mushroom soup – with forest mushrooms
  • Chicken soup – made with vermicelli, potatoes, and vegetablesTeleshko vareno – boiled veal, potatoes, and vegetables in consomméRibena chorba – a traditional spicy fish soup, made with thyme and fresh lovageTopcheta soup – meatball soup thickened with egg yolks and yogurtKurban chorba – lamb meat and lamb organ meats, eggs, and vegetablesShkembe chorba – spicy soup made of tripe, reputed in Bulgaria to be a "hangover cure"Pacha – a sour pork's-trotter soup, with sour ingredients such as pickles, bitter fruit, or vinegar in the brothGyuvetch – spicy vegetable stew with vegetables and sometimes different meats, often cooked in a clay potSmilyanski fasul – Smilyan bean stew
  • Potato stew

Salads

Ovcharska salata – shopska salad, with the addition of grated egg, mushrooms, and sometimes ham
  • Ruska salata – salad with potatoes, carrots, gherkins, ham and mayonnaiseShopska salad – a common salad of chopped cucumbers, onions, peppers, and tomatoes with white cheeseSnezhanka – chopped cucumbers with yogurt, dill, garlic, and often walnutsTurshiya – pickled vegetables, such as celery, beets, cauliflower, and cabbage, popular in wintertime; variations are selska turshiya and ''tsarska turshiya''

Sauces, relishes, and appetizers

Lyutenitsa – purée of tomatoes, red peppers, and carrots, often served on bread and topped with white cheeseKyopulu – roasted eggplant and bell peppers, mashed with parsley, garlic, and other ingredientsLyutika – spicy saucePodluchen sauce or yogurt sauce – yogurt with garlic, oil, paprika, salt, and sometimes dillKatino meze – hot starter with chopped pork meat, onion, and mushrooms with fresh butter and spicesDrob po selski – chopped liver with onion and peppersEzik v maslo – sliced tongue in butterSirene pane – breaded Bulgarian brine white cheese bitesKashkaval pane – breaded kashkaval bites
  • Mussels in butter – with onion and fresh herbs; traditionally from Sozopol

Skara (grill)

Kyufte – meatballs of minced pork meat, seasoned with traditional spices and shaped in a flattened ballKebapche – similar to meatballs, but seasoned with cumin and shaped in a stickParjola – pork steak, chop, or flankShishcheta – marinated pieces of chicken or pork and vegetablesKarnache – a type of sausage with special spicesNadenitsa – a type of sausage with special spicesTatarsko kyufte – stuffed meatballsNevrozno kyufte – very piquant meatballs
  • Chicken in caulCheverme – used in celebrations such as weddings, graduations, and birthdays; a whole animal, traditionally a pig, but also chicken or a lamb, is slowly cooked in an open fire, rotated manually on a wooden skewer from 4 to 7 hoursMeshana skara – consists of kebapche, kyufte, shishche, and karnache or nadenitsa
  • Grilled vegetables – usually a garnish or a side dish
  • Grilled fish

Main dishes

Ghivetch
  • YahniyaPlakiya
  • SarmaDrob Sarma
  • Wine, Tepsi, or Tas kebabKavarmaKapama
  • Mish-mash – popular summer dish made with tomatoes, peppers, onion, white brine cheese, eggs, and fresh spices
  • Pilaf – rice with chopped meat, vegetables, or musselsMoussakaChomlekMlin
  • Stuffed courgettesPulneni chushki – Bulgarian stuffed bell peppers
  • Peppers börek
  • Roasted beans
  • Beans with sausage
  • Pork with rice
  • Roasted chicken with potatoes
  • Pork with cabbage
  • Chicken with cabbage
  • Roasted potatoes
  • Drusan kebab
  • Rice with chicken
  • Tatarian meatball
  • Meatball with white sauce stewKjufteta po Chirpanski – meatballs with potatoes; a recipe from Chirpan
  • Meatloaf 'Rulo "Stephanie"'
  • Potato balls with sauce
  • Panagyurishte-style eggs
  • Fried courgettes with yogurt sauce
  • Chicken in katmi – popular in a "Thracian" variety
  • Fish Zelnik – with sauerkraut and rice
  • Fish in pastry – usually in celebration of St. Nicholas
  • Stuffed carp or Nikuldenski carp – prepared for the feast of St. NicholasChushki burek is a popular dish made of stuffed red peppers with filling Bulgarian cheese, eggs and herbs and fried.

Breads and pastries

Dairy products

Bulgaria has a strong tradition of using milk and dairy products. Bulgaria even has a namesake strain of bacteria, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, used to make many of its cheeses and fermented foods which gives it a distinct flavor.Sirene – soft and salty white brine cheese that appears in many Bulgarian dishesKashkaval – hard yellow cheese, often used in appetizers; kashkaval Vitosha is made from cow's milk, while kashkaval Balkan is made from ewe's milkKiselo mlyako – Bulgarian yogurt, produced using Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus; used in many Bulgarian dishes

Sweets

The name halva is used for several related varieties of the Middle Eastern dessert. Tahan / tahini halva is the most popular version, available in two different types with sunflower and with sesame seed. Traditionally, the regions of Yablanitsa and Haskovo are famous manufacturers of halva.

Spices and herbs

Other staples

Traditional Bulgarian drinks

Wine

Beer

Distilled liqueurs

Rakia

Fermented beverages

Boza – the most popular recipes are from Radomir and LyubimetsAyran – cold, yogurt-based beverageMatenitsa – Bulgarian buttermilk

Hot beverages