The delicious Bulgarian cuisine/ Bulgarian food: starters (part 1)

 

One of the things I miss the most as a Bulgarian living abroad is the Bulgarian...cuisine! Thats why today I would to talk about/ show you (some of) the delicious and healthy dishes I have grown up with:-) In this entry I will start with the starters, as we have many (both cold and warm). You need to know that the Bulgarians eat extremely a lot of vegetables, I dont refer only to salad, as almost every meal starts or contains a salad. A lot of the ingredients or often the whole dish is just veggies (not that we dont have meat and fish dishes), even if one does not see it at first glance..

 

One of the most famous cold starter is the mix of baked peppers, aubergines and tomatoes (known as  "кjopolu"(bg. "кьопоолу"). The yoghurt salad made out of yoghurt, cucumber s, walnuts and dill is called "Snejanka" (as the girl in the fairy tale ). Both starters (as presented and served at one of best traditional restaurants in Sofia, "Pod lipite") are on the third picture. Another typical Bulgarian starter are the baked red peppers, peeled and served with oil.

 

The white cheese baked in the oven, together with honey and fresh thyme, is very yummy warm dish or starter, depending on your hunger. A dish, that symbolises the arrival of the warm months is the grilled courgettes-plate. It is always served with yoghurt sauce, granished with garlic and dill...I enjoyed the plate below this weekend in the very good restaurant "Manastirska magerniza" in the center of Sofia.