Beyond the grill dishes
Even nowadays the Bulgarians eat rather traditionally. The local cuisine is tasty and varied. You can expect a true gastronomic experience on your Bulgaria tour especially if you take your meals in country-specific restaurants - the so called ‘taverna’ or ‘mehana’, in small folksy restaurants upcountry or directly on the homestead with your friendly hosts.
The dishes are delicious, fragrant and richly flavoured and convince even the most pretentious gastronomer. The plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables on the table catches the guest’s eye immediately. In addition you will enjoy the fragrance of home-made bread mixed with various spices, the fresh taste of the white sheep cheese and the Bulgarian yoghurt.
The principle meal always starts with a salad which is mostly supposed to accompany the glass of local brandy taken as an appetizer. There are plenty of local fruit brandy types but the most preferred one is the plum brandy (Troyanska Slivova). The most preferred salad type is ‘Shopska’ but depending on personal taste different salads and starters are combined. Very popular starters are ‘Luknaka’ (hard smoked sausage), ‘Pastarma’ (dried meat) and also ‘Sarmi’ (vine leaf roulades). Do not miss the local specialties offered as main courses: Gyuvetch, Imam bayalda, Palneni piperki, Yahnia, Mish-Mash, Kavarma, Sarmi, Kachamak. The specific regional specialties will also quicken your appetite: Kapama, Katino Meze, Cheverme, different fish courses. The main course is mostly accompanied by good Bulgarian wine.
Desserts are mostly both pasty and tasty, most of them are of Turkish origin and were most probably especially invented as a fine cruelty for the diet-lovers. It is the same situation with the delicious ‘Banitsa’, ‘Baklawa’ and the tasty mixture of yoghurt with honey and nuts – all of them simply melting in one’s mouth…
Local Dishes
Shopska Salata: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onion, sheep’s cheese, parsley
Tarator: cold soup of yoghurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, walnuts, dill
Gyuwech: a mixture of vegetables, meat and potatoes
Imam Bayalda: aubergines filled with a mixture of various vegetable
Palneni Piperki: peppers filled with rice and minced meat
Jahnia: vegetables, meat and onions cooked in a pot
Mish-Mash: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers and sheep’s cheese
Sarmi: vine leaf roulades
Kavarma: pieces of meat with onions and sauce
Katino Meze: pork meat with onions and sauce in a pot, garnished with boiled potatoes
Banitza: pastry with cheese
Tikwenik: pastry with pumpkin