DescriptionShopska salads are unique to Bulgaria with wonderfully complementary ingredients that make the perfect salad for every occasion. Shopska salad got its name many years ago from a local community called Shopi living around Bulgarian capital Sofia. The Shopi are credited with developing the original recipe.
Ingredients:
400 g red tomatoes
1-2 fresh cucumbers (about 200 g)
1 small hot pepper
150 g white cheese (sirene)
2 medium onions
4 medium green peppers
A few olives
A bunch of parsley
Sunflower oil
Red wine vinegar
Salt
Preparation:
Peel and chop the onions finely. Clean and remove the stem and the seeds of the green peppers (can be used with or without the skins), then slice into small rectangles.
Chop up the hot pepper and cucumber into more rectangles and mix everything together in a big serving bowl. Add salt and mix again.
Form a mountain of salad in the bowl or divide onto individual plates or small bowls. Grate or finely chop the sirene over the salad to form of an impression of a snow-capped mountain.
Garnish with one single olive on the top with a few parsley leaves.
Finally, add sunflower oil, vinegar and salt to your own taste before mixing and tucking in.
Notes:
This recipe has a versatility that is second to none. It can be served up on any occasion, even at the start or the end of a meal or in many cases just on its own.
When this dish is served to Bulgarian guests, it is good to serve Rakia and Ayran alongside it. This is the tradition here.
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That sounds delicious! I will have to try that some day. I'm adding a link to it! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteI want to ask if you find any difference in the taste of Bulgarian tomatoes when compared to American ones?
ReplyDeleteI LOVE shopska salad. I ate tons of it on both visits to Bulgaria.
ReplyDeleteWhen I visited Bulgaria the first time I bought a cookbook and it has two recipes for shopska salad. One is called Shopska Salad and the other one is called Shopska Salad The Other way. Very cute.
I also went to a very small restaurant in Belogradchik and was served "A Slap in the Face." It was a a plate sized hamburger patty with sliced cucumbers for hair, carrots for eyes, capsicum for a nose and parsnip pieces for teeth.. oh.. and radishes for red cheeks.
Bulgaria is a wonderful country. :) The changes over the past 4-5 years are amazing. There is such optimism everywhere.