Favorite Bulgarian Foods

Today, I am going to share some of my favorite Bulgarian foods and give a little information about their ingredients.  When I was growing up, my grandmother was producing our vegetables, fruits, and dairy products, so I was able to enjoy the home-grown flavor of these products.  Here is a list of foods favorite to me and most traditional in Bulgaria:

1.Shopska Salata

http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-shopska-salad-bulgaria-food-34148552.html

This is the most famous salad in Bulgaria, which is made from fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and Bulgarian white cheese (Sirene), made with the help of the unique bacteria which lives only in Bulgaria.  Every restaurant in Bulgaria has this salad on its menu.

2. Banitsa

https://tarasmulticulturaltable.com/banitsa-bulgarian-cheese-pie/

    Banitsa is made of pastry sheets, eggs, yogurt, and cheese (Sirene), but sometimes instead of cheese, one could substitute with different products such as spinach, apples and cinnamon, leaks and cheese, or pumpkin with walnuts.

3. Tarator 

http://przepisy.swiatkobiety.pl/obiad/news-bulgarski-tarator,nId,1522655

Tarator or Cold soup, which I always explain to my friends when I prepare for them, is perfect soup for hot summer days.  It is made of Bulgarian yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, walnuts, and dill.  Often, I prepare this cold soup for the hot summer days in Florida, which I believe are brutal, and this soup helps me to stay refreshed.

4. Bulgarian Moussaka

https://www.deliciousmeetshealthy.com/simple-moussaka-recipe/

Moussaka‘s main ingredients are potatoes, ground beef, carrots, different spices, and layer of yogurt on the top.  Its taste is different from the Greek Moussaka, which is based on eggplants insted of potatoes.

5. Meshana Skara

http://www.nora-theexplorer.com

Meshana skara is a combination of different grilled meats such as kyufte (meatball), kebabche (grilled minced meat), pork steak, chicken steak, shishche (skewer), and karnache ( sort of Italian sausage).

6. Torta Garash

https://gong.bg/oshte-sport/zona-bez-sport/multimedia/video/shifyryt-na-garash-torta-s-bylgarski-koreni-437056

Finally, let’s not forget the desert, which made its popularity during 1930s – Torta Garash; one of my favorite deserts, which I always make a request to my mom to make it when I go visit.