Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bulgarian Cuisine
Fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy produce and grilled meat form the basis of Bulgarian cuisine,
and, as well as home-grown Balkan traditions, it has been heavily influenced by Greek and
Turkish cookery. Pork and chicken are the most popular meats, while tripe also features
heavily on traditional menus. You will also find recipes including duck, rabbit and venison,
and fish is plentiful along the Black Sea coast, but less common elsewhere.
Grilled Meats & Stews
Grilled meats (
skara
), especially pork, are among the most popular dishes served in Bul-
garian restaurants,
mehana
(taverns) and snack bars. You can't escape the omnipresent
keb-
abche
(grilled spicy pork sausages) and
kyufte
(a round and flat pork burger), which are
tasty, filling and cheap staples of Bulgarian menus, usually served with chips/fried potatoes
(
pârzheni kartofi
) or salad. The
kyufte tatarsko
, a seasoned pork burger filled with melted
cheese, is another variant. The Greek-influenced
musaka
(moussaka), made with minced
pork or veal and topped with potatoes, is a quick lunchtime staple of cafeterias.
Shish kebabs (
shishcheta
), consisting of
chunks of chicken or pork on wooden skewers
with mushrooms and peppers, as well as various
steaks, fillets and chops are widely available.
Meat stews and 'claypot meals' (hot, sizzling
stews served in clay bowls) are traditional fa-
vourites.
Kavarma
, normally made with either chicken or pork, is one of the most popular
dishes. Exact recipes vary from one region to the next, but the meat is cooked in a pot with
vegetables, cheese and sometimes egg, and is brought sizzling and bubbling away to your
table.
Pig, cow and lamb offal, in various forms, is a distressingly common feature of many a
restaurant menu. If you're in the mood for something different, though, you could try such
delights as stomach soup (
shkembe chorba
) or maybe some brain (
mozâk
) or tongue (
ezik
),
which come in various forms, including in omelettes. Spleens and intestines also turn up in
soups and grills.
The Food & Cooking of Romania & Bulgaria
by
Silvena Johan Lauta features 65 easy-to-follow tra-
ditional regional recipes.
