Bean Soup

Traditional Bulgarian soup made from white beans and vegetables. You can add dry cured or smoked ham for a better taste.

Ingredients:

2 cup white dry beans

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1/2 a celery (optional)

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tomato

3 peppers, chopped

Parsley

Sunflower oil

Salt and pepper

Preparation:

1.Saturate the bean in cold water for at least four hours, then drain and pour fresh water.

2. Boil the bean in a pot with sunflower oil and fine cut carrot, celery and onion.

3. Peppers are added later.  When the bean has turned tender, add the grated tomato, then salt and boil for another 20 minutes.

4. Serve sprinkled with parsley and pepper. 

Preparation and cooked time: 3 hours and 40 minutes

Portions: 4

Snow-White Salad

Do you remember the cold cucumber soup called Tarator? The Snow-white salad is known as dry Tarator. It's an easy to make salad with refreshing impact.

Ingredients: 

2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped

2 cups whole-milk yoghurt,

1/2 cup walnuts,

2 cloves garlic,

Dill, finely chopped

Olive or sunflower oil,

Salt

Preparation: 
1. Wash, peel and finely dice the cucumbers.

2. Add finely chopped garlic and dill, crushed walnuts, the full fat yoghurt and the oil. Salt, to taste.

3. Stir well the mixture, pour into plates and garnish with olives.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Portion: 4

Sarmas - Stuffed Vine Leaves

Traditionally, Sarmas (pl.) are indispensable part of every Bulgarian table for Christmas.

Photos by Lois Slokoski

Ingredients:  

800g minced meat, beef and pork

1 onion, finely chopped

1 cup rice,

2 tablespoons parsley

1 teaspoon paprika,

1 pepper, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

30-40 vine leaves,

100g butter or ½ cup sunflower oil,

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1. Fry the finely chopped carrot and onion in butter (or oil) and add paprika, then add the meat, pepper, rice and parsley.

Salt and pour over two cups of warm water. Simmer until the rice is cooked.

2. Scald the vine leaves with worm water. Put a tablespoon of the filling on each leaf. Roll every leaf with the stuffed filling and arrange in a saucepan.

3. Pour over one and a half cups of hot water and one tablespoon fat, then lid the saucepan and simmer on a low heat for over 3 hours.

4. Serve cold with 2-3 tablespoons of yoghurt. 

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 3-4 hours

Portions: 6

Christmas Walnut Rolls

One of our favourite Bulgarian Christmas pastry. You can make it part of your Christmas Eve dining table.      

Dough:

1 cup flour

½ cup low fat butter

1/4 cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

Filling:

1 vanilla powder

½ cup walnuts, pounded up

½ cup raisin

4 tablespoon rum

4 tablespoon honey

2 eggs

Milk

Preparation:

1. Knead dough from flour, butter, sugar and salt. Roll it out and divide into rectangles.

2. Blend the pounded walnuts with raisins, and mix with vanilla, rum and honey.

3. Whip one egg with 3 or 4 tablespoons of milk and spread the egg’s mixture above the rectangles. Add equal part of walnut filling on each rectangle and roll it.

4. Dispose walnut rolls into oiled baking dish and spread them with the other egg. Bake in moderate oven 360°F (180°C).
5. Dust cold rolls with powdered sugar.

Preparation time: 1 hour

Portion: 10

Bulgarian Style Cake

This sweet and downy cake is good idea for Christmas’ dessert. You can spread it with powdered sugar. It would be like a snow-covered. 

Ingredients:

4 eggs, beaten up

1 cup sugar

1 cup yoghurt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 baking powder

2 vanilla powders

1 tablespoon cocoa

2 and half cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preparation:

1. Beat eggs with the sugar and add the vegetable oil.

2. Pour a teaspoon of baking soda in the cupful yoghurt and add it to the mixture of eggs and sugar.

3. The flour and the baking powder are stir together and add to the main mixture. Add vanilla and stir well.

4. Warm the cake pan in an oven and put a cup in the middle, if the cake pan is round shaped. One-third of the mixture is pouring in the hot cake pan, while the other mixture and a tablespoon of cocoa are blending together and then pouring to the cake pan.

5. The cake is bake in a preheat oven to 300°F (150°C) for about 35 minutes. The first 10-15 minutes it is baked uncovered, after that the cake pan is cover with

Note: If you add more cocoa into the whole mixture, before you bake it. The cake will become extra brown.  

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 35 minutes
Pieces of cake: 24

A Walnut Cake

Sweet and crunchy walnut cake with chocolate and lemon flavour.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

350 g walnuts, grounded

9 eggs

1 lemon

Vanilla powder

For the cream:

2 glairs

½ cup powdered sugar

50 g chocolate

100 g walnuts, grounded

70 ml brandy or rum

For the glaze:

4 tablespoon cocoa

6 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon butter, molten

Preparation: 

1. Mix the sugar with grounded walnuts and add eggs (one by one), grated lemon peel and vanilla powder.

2. The mixture is spill into a cake pan and baked it in a moderate oven. When the cake is getting cold, it is sliced in two level pieces.

3. Make the cream from beaten up glairs with powdered sugar, grounded walnuts, grated chocolate and the brandy. Spread the cream between the two leveled cake pieces.  

4. Warm the milk with the cocoa, sugar and the butter.

5. The Cake is poured with the worm glaze. 

Preparation and cook time: 50 minutes

Portion: 12