Bulgaria’s Daily Bread
You’ll get wholesome grub while dining out in Bulgaria – so long as you know what you’re ordering. Words by Roger Norum
IN MEDIEVAL BULGARIA,
when times were tough, harvest stores were meagre and the weather outside was just plain dismal, a local proverb would make its way down from town crier to the hoi polloi: Гладна мечка хоро не играе ("A hungry bear doesn’t dance"), reminding the nation’s peasants to eat before work and work before play.
It worked fine for Bulgaria’s masses in the Middle Ages – agriculturally speaking, the country thrived for centuries – but how does one know what to eat when arriving in Bulgaria today? Few menus come in English, waiters aren’t always forthcoming with suggestions and many of the names of dishes seem incomprehensible. Who, for example, has ever heard of turshiya, kyopolou, choubritsa, tarator or snezhanka? Can you risk ordering something that might turn out to be smoked sheep’s head or a chewy lye-marinated fish?
Well, don’t let a few tricky consonant clusters get you down. These five dishes just mentioned are simply the local names for pickles, eggplant. herbs, yoghurt soup and tzatziki. There. Feel better about ordering now?
Of course, this isn’t to say that Bulgarian dishes are exactly the same as their Balkan, Slavic and Turkish counterparts (even if you disagree with this notion, never tell this to a local, for whom Bulgarian yoghurt and Turkish yoghurt are like apples and rotten oranges). Bulgarians have been borrowing, adapting and spicing up recipes from their neighbours for centuries, and they’ve come up with plenty of tasty dishes on their own. In the kitchen, Bulgarian chefs meld strong influences from their Ottoman past with folksy meat-andveggie recipes from the countryside to create some truly outstanding dishes.
So when in Sofia, do as the Romans regularly did during the several centuries they occupied the city: eat loads. And experience some of the best food this side of the (former) Iron Curtain. Here, we offer a brief guide to eating well in the country.
Start with an obligatory shot of rakiya – Bulgarians down a shot of this robust, potent spirit made from plums or grapes before almost every meal. Next, tuck into a shopska salad, a gardener-and-shepherd’s special of cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and sirene, a salty sheep cheese.
Hot and cold starters and soups come next. Chushki byurek is a large pepper crammed with cheese, or go for the tarator, a chilled yoghurt and cucumber soup. If you can find it, one delectable pre-main dish is the sirene v pergament (lit. "cheese in parchment"), a tasty brick of basil-flavoured white cheese enveloped inside folds of translucent vellum (NB: while the parchment itself looks quite tasty, it is definitely not edible. trust me).
Then, the main course. Meat is where it’s all at in Bulgarian kitchens, and popular chicken and lamb recipes include kyufteta (spicy meatballs), parzhola (chops) and shish, skewers of spiced meat often cooked over an open fire. Fish dishes are somewhat less popular, though Bulgarians do a good pan-fried lefer (bluefish) and skumriya (mackerel), often sided with a hearty tomato sauce.
Despite meat being such a staple – some Bulgarians don’t consider dishes without meat to actually be edible – restaurants in the capital do often serve solid vegetarian dishes. Manatarki (mushrooms) and tikvichki (courgettes) are two safe bets, while gyuveche, an earthenware-served stew chock full of beans, peppers and aubergines, is one of the country’s finest meals. Another veg favourite is a scrumptious omelette filled with tomatoes, peppers, eggs and white cheese that Bulgarians have assigned the rather appropriate title of mishmash.
After a hearty main, a pastry is an absolute must. The banitsa is a flaky delicacy filled with white cheese and, if you’re lucky, leek or pumpkin. It is usually served with kiselo mlyako, a yoghurt drink often flavoured with honey. Bulgarians will often claim that yoghurt originated in Bulgaria, and while most Turks would beg to differ, you won’t have tasted the real Bulgaria if you don’t try some.
Sofia has dozens of great authentic Bulgarian restaurants, many of them very reasonably priced. Three of the best are Manastirska Magernitsa (Khan
Asparuh Street 67, +359 (0)2 980 3883, magernitsa.com), Hitriya Petel (22 Shesti Septemvri Street, +359 (0)2 470 7464) and Beyond the Alley, Behind the Cupboard (31 Budapest Street, +359
(0)2 980 9067, www.beyond-the-alley.com), which offer, respectively, traditional, modern and nouveau-fusion takes on national dishes.
For something more lively – if slightly contrived – try a folk-style restaurant, which will put on dancing and singing performances during your meal. Two of the best are located just a few minutes outside the capital: Chevermeto (31 Cherni Vrah Blvd, +359 (0)2 963 0308, www.chevermeto-bg.com) and Vodenitsata (Kaleto area, Berkovitsa, +359 (0)2 967 1058, www.vodenitsata-bg.com).
FOOD QUIZ
Bulgaria is no the only country serving dishes with enigmatic names. How well can you identify the following from other Wizz Air cities?
1. Perunarieska
2. Hladetina
3. Grzyby po ?mudzku
4. Syllabub
5. Zuurkoolstamppot
6. Rodgrod med flode
7. Dovlecei umplu?i
8. Olla podrida
9. Squaqquerone
10. Beetenbartsch
ANSWERS:
1. Finnish potato bread
2. Croatian head cheese
3. Polish mushrooms Samogitian-style
4. English cream pudding
5. Dutch sauerkraut with mashed potatoes
6. Danish berries and cream pudding
7. Romanian stuffed summer squash
8. Spanish pork and bean stew
9. Italian runny cheese from Romagna
10. German beetroot borscht
W średniowiecznej Bułgarii lokalne przysłowie „głodny niedźwiedź nie tańczy” miało przypominać ludziom: jedz przed pracą, pracuj przed zabawą.
Ale jak wiedzieć, co jeść w Bułgarii, kiedy jest się tu po raz pierwszy? Kto słyszał o takich potrawach, jak turshiya, kyopolou, choubritsa, tarator albo snezhanka? Nie warto się jednak szybko zniechęcać. To po prostu lokalne określenia na pikle, bakłażany, zioła, zupę jogurtową i tzatziki. Oczywiście nie oznacza to, że bułgarskie dani są takie same, jak bałkańskie, słowiańskie czy tureckie. Bułgarzy przez wieki adaptowali i urozmaicali receptury sąsiadów, tworząc jednocześnie wiele własnych dań.
Krótki przewodnik kulinarny po kuchni bułgarskiej:
Zacząć koniecznie należy od rakyii- owocowej wódki, pitej prawie przed każdym posiłkiem. Następna w kolejce jest sałatka szopska z ogórków, pomidorów, papryki i sirene, słonego owczego sera.
Wśród przystawek i zup najpopularniejsze są chushki byurek (papryka faszerowana serem) oraz atrator (chłodnik jogurtowo- ogórkowy). Doskonale smakuje sirene v pergament- zawinięta w pergamin kostka przyprawionego bazylią twarogu (radzimy nie zjadać pergaminu).
W ofercie dla wegerariańskich królują manatarki (grzyby) i tikvichki (cukinia).Do najlepszych potraw należy gyuveche (zupa gulaszowa z fasoli, papryki i bakłażana). Można też zjeść mishmash (omlet z pomidorami, papryką i twarogiem).
Dania główne są przeważnie mięsne: kyufteta (ostre pulpety), parzhola (kotletyz kością) i shish (skrawki opiekanego na ogniu ostro przyprawionego mięsa), ale też rybne: lefer (bluefish) i skumriya (makrela), często z ostrym sosem pomidorowym.
I w końcu ciasta. Banitsa to cienkie ciasto nadziewane twarogiem oraz porem lub dynią, podawane z kiselo mlyako (jogurtem z miodem).
