You are a gourmet fan who wants to try something new? How about Bulgarian cuisine? For those of you who don’t know it’s one of the most popular cuisines on the Balkans and its dishes are loved by the Slavic nations. It offers great diversity of dishes and fantastic mix of flavors and aromas. Bulgarian cuisine is famous for it’s good quality vegetables, variety of delicious dairy products, most popular of which is yogurt, multiple spices that add amazing taste to the food. The recipes for the dishes are very old and passed from generation to generation. Bulgarian dishes distinguish themselves with an easiness and quickness of preparation because the ingredients are simple and affordable, almost everyone has them in their kitchen pantry. Bulgarian cuisine will totally impress you with its delicious grilled meat specialties, colorful salads, mouth-watering pastries.
The cooking traditions of Bulgarian national cuisine are diversified thanks to the favorable geographical factors. Bulgarian climate is suitable for the growing of variety of vegetables, fruits and spices. We can easily notice that Bulgarian cuisine is influenced by the traditional cuisine of Russia, Greece and Turkey and also uses some culinary ideas from the Middle Eastern Cuisine. Grilling is more common in Bulgarian cuisine, rather than deep-frying.
Here are one of the emblematic traditional Bulgarian dishes everyone should try:
Banitza
One of the most symbolic dishes of Bulgaria. It’s made of stacked up layers of filo pastry dough, mixture of beaten eggs and Bulgarian brine cheese and baked until golden brown. It’s consumed with yogurt or a milk drink called “airyan”
Shopska salad
One of the most popular Bulgarian salads. The name “Shopska”comes from the name of a group of people called “shopi” who live in the country’s capital Sofia and are believed to be very thrifty. It’s made from chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions and sprinkled with Bulgarian white cheese on top. Sunflower oil is used as a dressing for this salad and it’s usually consumed with rakia (Bulgarian alcoholic drink)
Stuffed peppers
They are a dish similar to Dolma. It’s really simple but amazingly tasty dish at the same time. Red or green peppers are stuffed with a mixture of rice, ground pork or beef, onions, carrots, tomatoes and then baked. They can be served with again yogurt or white sauce.
Moussaka
This traditional Bulgarian dish is often confused as being Greek in the West countries. It’s made from potatoes cut into cubes, ground meat, tomatoes, onions, then topped with a white sauce made from yogurt, eggs and flour and baked.
Tarator
It’s one of the simplest Bulgarian dishes for preparation and perfect for summer time. It is a cold soup made of cucumbers, Bulgarian yogurt, garlic, dill and can be topped with walnuts. The origins of this dish are controversial. Some claim the original recipe for the dish is Greek because tarator is really similar to the Greek tzatziki salad which contains strained yogurt and olive oil but it’s thick in consistency.
Kavarma
This dish in comparison to the other we have already mentioned is not very much popular outside the country. Its ingredients can vary depending on the region but it generally consists of marinated cooked pork meat and vegetables like onions, peppers, tomato sauce, red, wine, black and red pepper.
You can try all these and other authentic dishes in the variety of restaurants in Bansko. But if you want to try something different than Bulgarian food, then you will find a great spot in this famous ski resort where you can enjoy an amazing variety of Italian food. There is a wonderful place where you can taste authentic Italian food made with original recipes – restaurant Leonardo Bansko. This restaurant is located in Bansko and offers you a rich menu of Italian and Mediterranean gourmet specialties made with authentic recipes and original fresh products. All tasty dishes there are made with great attention to detail, artistic spirit and culinary mastership.
This restaurant will not only impress you with delicious Italian cuisine but it will also charm you with its cozy and exquisite atmosphere full of light and gentle lavender scent. Its elegant interior has modern design in pastel colors and has a great view to outdoor swimming pools.