Bulgarian

Bulgarian recipe posts on this blog describe dishes closely associated with Bulgarian cuisine or that we know originated in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian braised duck with sauerkraut

Bulgarian braised duck with sauerkraut

Leave a Comment / Bulgarian /

Bulgarian braised duck with sauerkraut, called патица с кисело зеле (patitsa s kiselo zele), takes only about 2 hours to prepare but it tastes like it took you all day. It’s a perfect dish for the holiday table or anytime you want something a little special. The sauerkraut part, kiselo zele, takes about a month if you’re going to do it from scratch but you can substitute prepared Polish sauerkraut from the supermarket or even use fresh cabbage in a pinch (I’ll tell you how).

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Bulgarian braised duck with sauerkraut Read More »

Bulgarian sauerkraut kiselo zele

Bulgarian sauerkraut kiselo zele

5 Comments / Bulgarian /

Bulgarian sauerkraut, kiselo zele (кисело зеле), requires only brine and time to prepare. Unlike other methods of making fermented cabbage, in the Bulgarian method you pickle the whole head of cabbage rather than shredded pieces. Bulgarians characteristically make their kiselo zele in very large batches (20 heads or more) in large barrels fitted with a siphon to churn the brine periodically. Since I don’t eat sauerkraut in such quantities, and don’t have room for a 55-gallon drum in my apartment, I wanted to adapt the method for small batch production. This post documents my (very successful) results. Jump to the end for the recipe.

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Bulgarian sauerkraut kiselo zele Read More »

Shopska salad the bulgarian national salad

Shopska Salad – The Bulgarian national salad

6 Comments / Bulgarian /

Shopska salad, the Bulgarian national salad, if there can be such a thing, uses all the colors of the Bulgarian flag in its primary ingredients: green cucumbers, red tomatoes and white sirene (сирене), or Bulgarian feta cheese. Other ingredients may include onion, peppers (both sweet and hot), and olives. Typical seasonings are salt, pepper, fresh parsley, sunflower oil and vinegar. My version contains all these except olives but feel free to add any kind of olives you like to your shopska salad (kalamata would be very tasty and very authentic).

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Shopska Salad – The Bulgarian national salad Read More »

Banitsa Bulgarian cheese pastry

Banitsa the Bulgarian feta cheese pastry

2 Comments / Bulgarian /

Banitsa, the Bulgarian feta cheese pastry, is ubiquitous in Bulgarian life. After living in Sofia for nearly a year, banitsa is the first food I missed upon returning home. This is the recipe I wanted to share with the world and the reason I started thinking about writing this blog. In Bulgaria there was a small kiosk outside my apartment building that sold warm banitsa. So I had a ready supply whenever I wanted a taste–which was often. However, I had to get there early because they would sell out daily. I would also find banitsa in other kiosks throughout the city, or sold from vendor windows along the sidewalks, or in cafes, or in people’s homes…as I said, it was ubiquitous.

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Banitsa the Bulgarian feta cheese pastryRead More »

Banitsa the Bulgarian feta cheese pastry Read More »

Bulgarian Easter bread kozunak recipe

Bulgarian Easter bread kozunak

Leave a Comment / Bulgarian /

Each Eastern European culture has many dishes traditionally served for the Easter holiday season. Generally speaking Easter is preceded by a period of fasting which culminates in a veritable feast on Easter Sunday. The Bulgarian Easter bread kozunak (козунак) is made from a rich dough not unlike challah that is a treat and indeed a reward for the austere eating that is supposed to come before the sumptuous holiday repast.

Kozunak is a sweet, eggy bread, usually braided, sometimes decorated with almonds or alcohol-soaked raisins, and often baked with a colored Easter egg on top. Bulgarian Easter egg decorating tradition dictates that you begin with a red egg before using other colors, at least in some homes. I’ll be using a red decorated egg to adorn my kozunak here.

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Bulgarian Easter bread kozunak Read More »

Lutenitsa Bulgarian roasted red pepper relish

Lutenitsa roasted pepper relish of Bulgaria

3 Comments / Bulgarian /

Lutenitsa roasted pepper relish (лютеница) may be the number one food export out of Bulgaria after feta cheese and yogurt. (We will talk about Bulgarian yogurt another time).  This spicy-sweet condiment makes a delicious snack or appetizer.  Spread it on a toasted bread round or cracker, serve it with meatballs or sausage, or simply spread it on a cold cut sandwich.  Adjust the heat by using more–or hotter–peppers, or eliminate the heat altogether by omitting the chilis.  

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Lutenitsa roasted pepper relish of Bulgaria Read More »