Bulgarian Cuisine-Grape Stuffed Leaves, Shopska Salad, Tarator, White Feta Cheese and Yougurt

The Bulgarian cuisine is a part of the Eastern European cuisine and it includes many famous dishes such as grape stuffed leaves, white feta cheese, and the famous Bulgarian yogurt containing the lactobacilli which is beneficial for the intestinal flora and so on.

One of my favorite Bulgarian dishes is the stuffed grape leaves although they can be done with sour cabbage leaves as well. My grandmother used to make this all the time with grape leaves neatly wrapped with rice and ground meat, while my mother prefer to make them with cabbage leaves. Either way, I love eating dolmades, which are also popular in Greece.

The grape leaves are soaked in brine and they are sold in the supermarket in jars filled with brine.

How to prepare DOLMADES: It takes about 40 minutes to prepare plus 15 minutes to soak them in the brine

Products you need:

• Grape leaves ( or the alternative is to use marinated sour cabbage leaves)
• 1 cup of medium grain rice
• ground beef or ground pork
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh parsley
• 2 table spoons of lemon juice
• Add salt and black paper to your taste

Take the grape leaves out of the brine from the jar and spread the leaf open. Cut off any stems and reserve some leaves to cover the bottom of the saucepan or discard any leaves that have wholes in them. Then boil the rice in hot water for at least 10 minutes to soften and add salt and paper, ground meat, chopped onion and finely chopped parsley and little bit of olive oil. Stir and then fry it for 5 minutes.

Then with a tablespoon scoop a little bit of the mixture and put it in the middle of the grape leaf.

 Carefully wrap the leave, fold the stalk end over the filling, then the left and the right sides into the middle and wrap it tight. Repeat with the remaining filling mixture until all leaves are tightly and neatly wrapped. Arrange them in the pan and then pout the olive oil and lemon juice on top. Don’t forget to line the saucepan with some reserved grape leaves on the bottom first, and then put the dolmades on top. Bring them to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer covered for about 40 minutes.

You can serve the dolmades either hot or cold and enjoy this delicious Bulgarian meal! You can even top it with some fresh yogurt if you eat it cold to add extra flavor to it. This dish is one of my all-time favorite Bulgarian meals!

Another popular Bulgarian food is the FETA WHITE CHEESE which I absolutely love eating! The Feta cheese is a big square junk of cheese that is kept soaked in salty brine to keep it fresh and tasty. You can add FETA cheese to almost anything. It is especially popular as a topping for salads or it can be spread on a piece of bread and butter and on top you put the feta cheese spread.

How to prepare SHOPSKA SALAD:

Ingredients you need:

• Fresh ripe tomatoes
• European Cucumber
• Fresh Parsley
• 1 Onion Chopped
• Green marinated Olives
• Olive Oil and Vinegar
• White FETA Cheese
• Lettuce leaves
• Salt

Preparation of SHOPSKA SALAD:

Chop the tomatoes and the cucumbers in small cubical shape pieces. Chop the lettuce and the fresh parsley. Mix it all in a bowl with shaved onion, olive oil, vinegar and salt.

Then add the green or black olives on top in a circle, sprinkle with crumbled Feta cheese and put a piece of parsley leaf in the middle to top it off.

Then you are ready to eat this delicious salad and you can add more crumbled Feta cheese on top to your liking!

The Bulgarian yogurt is famous for containing the probiotic Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, which is beneficial for the digestive system and the intestinal flora.

People in Bulgaria eat a lot of Yogurt and it is a very popular product and very healthy too.

This Lactobacillus Bulgaricus is naturally found in the fermented milk and it was first identified in 1905 by the Bulgarian doctor Stamen Grigorov.

Today you can go to any GNC or health store and find there Probiotic tablets of this beneficial ingredient Lactobacilus as it is proven to help with digestion and it is healthy for the digestive and intestinal system.

Bulgarian white yogurt is a great desert to it by itself or it can be added as an ingredient to make other dishes, for example: TARATOR, which is a great cold soup served during the hot summer days to cool off.

How to prepare TARATOR (cold yogurt-based soup)

Products needed:

• Bulgarian white plain Yogurt
• 1-2 Cucumber
• Garlic, Salt and Olive Oil

Cut the cucumbers in small cubical shaped pieces i.e. cut them into small cubes. Crush the garlic into very fine mixture and add salt and olive oil to it. Mix it with the cucumbers to soak in the flavor of the garlic. You can also add crushed walnuts as a fine powder.

Then mix and stir the yogurt and blend it with some cold water until it becomes a nice creamy watery substance. Add the other ingredients in the cold soup and stir.

Serve cold and enjoy your healthy soup!