Bulgaria's Famous Baked Cabbage

This is a typical Bulgarian winter dish. Since most people pickle large quantities of cabbage at home, it is easy to make. The pungent smell of baking cabbage gives some coziness in cold winter days.

What you need:

* 1 head cabbage
* 3 spoonfuls paprika
* 1 spoonful pepper
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1/3 cup vinegar
* salt to taste
* 3 chopped tomatoes
* 1-2 chopped peppers

How to make it:

Cut the cabbage, peppers and tomatoes and mix well with the rest. Add 1/2 to 1 cup water and transfer to a baking dish. Bake at least 1 hour, probably even 2, until the cabbage is soft. Stir often to make sure that the cabbage on top does not burn to black.

This dish is more often prepared using pickled cabbage. Then no vinegar or salt is added.

If you are not a vegetarian, you may bake a chicken or ribs together with the cabbage, in the same pan.

Gyuveche is a popular dish you can make with just about anything you have in the fridge. It gets its name from the small individual ceramic dishes in which it's traditionally cooked and served. I suppose you could prepare the recipe in a casserole dish, but then you'd have a casserole, not a gyuveche.


What you need (Serves 1):

* About 200-300 grams cheese (you may use as many different kinds of cheese as you like, but make sure to include feta cheese as it is the traditional one for this dish and is not as oily when it melts)
* 1 egg
* various chopped herbs

And everything else is optional because Bulgarians use whatever is left over in the fridge to make this dish:

* any kind of cooked chicken, pork, or beef
* any kind of sausages or hot dogs
* vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, small hot pepper, mushrooms, cooked potatoes
* fresh greens: parsley, dill, celery leaves

Method

Chop or dice everything you want to put in. Make alternating layers of cheese, meat, and vegetables, and finish with cheese. Bake in the oven at 200 C (app. 375 F) for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Break the egg on top and put back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes depending on how well-done you like your eggs. Serve with fresh bread or toast. Enjoy!

Bulgarian Red Pepper Stew

Serves 1 or 2

Ingredients

1/2 cup Dried lentils
1/2 cup Dried navy pea beans (small White beans)
2 lg Onions, chopped
6 md Red peppers, seeded and Chopped
2 ts Dried basil
1 ts Dried marjoram
1/4 ts Dried thyme
1/4 ts Cayenne (to taste)
1 1/2 ts Paprika
1/4 ts Salt
1/8 ts Ground black pepper
3 1/2 Cups vegetable Stock
1 6 oz can prune juice
1/4 cup Dry red wine (optional)
2 tb Dry sherry (optional)
1/4 cup Tomato paste
Plain nonfat yogurt(opt)
Fresh parsley
Method

Cover lentils and navy beans with plenty of water and soak 4 hours or overnight. Drain. In a large nonstick saucepan, saute onions in sherry or red wine or stock until soft (5 minutes) Stir in peppers and saute 5 minutes more. Add basil, marjoram, thyme, cayenne, paprika and cayenne, saute another few minutes. Pour in remaining stock, wine or sherry. Add drained lentils and beans. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer gently about 1 1/2 hours or until beans are soft. Mix in tomato paste, prune juice, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for several minutes more. If the stew seems too thick, add more stock or water. Serve garnished with yogurt and chopped parsley.

Not to forget one of the most popular casseroles in Bulgaria, Kavarma.

Kavarma is a traditional meat and pepper stew (this version pork, but can also be found in chicken or beef varieties).

Kavarma should be baked in the oven in traditional earthenware bowls - (as Nets explained above, these are called 'guvech' - see photo) you can buy these bowls most hardware shops in Bulgaria.

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Ingredients (serves 4):

800 g pork (fillet is best)
5 red peppers (the 'flat' Bulgarian ones)
4-5 onions (the larger and softer the better)
1-2 tomatoes
1 cupful button mushrooms
1 small green chilli (if you prefer your dishes spicy)
1/3 cupful white wine
Chubritza (a Bulgarian herb - it is possible to replace with ‘Herbes de Provence’ but not the same taste!)
sprinkle of paprika
parsley (fresh and finely chopped)
half a cupful of lard or sunflower oil
salt and pepper

Instructions:

Cut the meat into small pieces and brown in the lard or oil. Add the onions and continue to fry until the onions are tender.

Add the sliced mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, wine, pepper, salt, paprika (optional chilli), chubritza and a splash of warm water.

Stir, pour into individual earthenware bowls (or a large earthenware bowl) and bake for one and a half hours at 180°c.

Serve with finely chopped parsley and large pieces of crusty bread.

Leaving out the pork also makes a delicious vegetarian meal.

ROUSSE FISH SOUP

Ingredients

750 gms. fish (carp, pike-perch etc)
100 gms. carrots
100 gms. onions
100 gms. potatoes
60 ml. oil
60 gms tomatoes
60 gms. celery.
16 gms. flour
1 lemon garlic
Salt to taste

Method

Clean fish and cut into large pieces. Boil with the carrots, onion, celery, and tomatoes in
2litres of water approx 20 minutes Remove fish from the pot and bone it. Strain the soup.
Fry ½ an onion finely chopped carrots, celery, and salt in the oil, add flour and pour
with some of the soup into the pot for boiling, adding the diced potatoes and then the fish,
simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Serve hot with lemon slices, and a finely
chopped dried chilli pepper.

BULGARIAN HOT POT

12 banana capsicums
6 large ripe tomatoes
200 gms Bulgarian fetta cheese
2 tbspns canola oil
2 tbspns cornflour
1 egg
1 tbspn paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Grill capsicum till charred and put in a bowl covered for 10 minutes. Peel skins off, cut
off stems and discard the seeds.
Grate the cheese. Peel the tomatoes after soaking in boiling water.
In a saucepan heat 2 tablespoons of oil add the chopped up tomatoes to cook.
When the tomatoes are simmering add the capsicums, paprika and cheese. Stir and let
simmer for 10 minutes add seasoning to taste.
Add cornflour to cup of water to form a paste. Add this to the mixture and stir
continuously. Set aside and when cooled add beaten egg, stir for 30 seconds and then serve.

ROAST MEAT WITH YOGHURT

Ingredients

1 kgm veal, mutton, or pork
350 gms tomatoes
200 gms onions
200gms capsicum
150 gms butter
250 gms yoghurt
3 eggs
15 gms flour
3-4 small hot peppers salt, pepper, paprika, savory

Method

Cook in earthenware saucepan or one with a tight lid. Bone the meat and cut in bite size
pieces, lay at the bottom of the saucepan and add the finely chopped onions, tomatoes and
capsicum (chunky), whole hot peppers, salt, black pepper, paprika, savory and parsley. Stir
together and add oil and a cup of hot water. Cover tightly and simmer for 2 ½ hours. Transfer
to a pan and pour over beaten eggs with yoghurt and flour cook 15 minutes in the oven.

FRESH GREEN BEANS AND LAMB STEW (Borp i Ugnesbkoo Mesor)

Ingredients

8 shoulder Iamb chops
1 kgm stringless green beans
2 onions
810 gm can tomatoes or 1kgm fresh
1 tbspn tomato paste
½ tspn basil
3 tbspn parsley
½ tbspn mint
1 tbspn flour
salt and pepper to taste


Method

In a large saucepan place lamb trimmed of all fat but bones in tact. Cover slightly with
water and bring to the boil. Skim all froth from the top of the water and discard. Turn the meat
once or twice making sure there is enough water to cover the meat and continue to skim.
Simmer the meat for 30 minutes.
In the meantime top and tail beans, wash and cut into 4 cm. lengths. Add to meat and
stock and bring to the boil quickly. Lower heat to simmer for 10 minutes. Add onion.
In another saucepan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, when hot add seeded diced tomatoes
together with the juice and cook for 15 minutes. Now mix tomato paste, basil, parsley, mint
and flour in a little water add this to the tomato mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Now add
tomato sauce to meat and simmer for 1 hour without a lid. Serve with roast potatoes and crusty
bread.

Mouth watering recipes here.
l always love homemade soups for the winter from the vegetables l harvested straight from my garden.
l stored the unripened tomatoes in a cool dry cupboard for them to ripen and once ripened l pulp them down to a mush and sieved it through a mesh.l added cream and some other spices and then froze the tomato soup in ice cream containers ready whenever l need them on a very cold snowy night.
That will certainly warm one's cockles.But l grew hair on my chest instead to keep me warm

snail wrote:

But l grew hair on my chest instead to keep me warm

Why don't you add your recipe here

Here's something for a bit later

Bulgarian Christmas bread or koledna pitka

This recipe for Bulgarian Christmas bread or koledna pitka requires only one rise. It is typically eaten on Christmas Eve and throughout the holidays. Often, a silver coin is tucked inside and the one to find it should expect good luck in the coming year. There are many ways to shape this bread, but I think this sunflower look is most festive.



Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2.2 pounds all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons oil or softened butter
4 large eggs (reserving 1 egg yolk to brush on bread)
1 tablespoon salt

(1) In small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Stir in sugar and 2 tablespoons flour until well combined. Transfer to a stand mixer bowl, and add remaining flour, oil or butter, 3 whole eggs and 1 egg white (reserving remaining egg yolk to brush on the bread before baking), and salt. Knead until smooth and pliable. If dough is too dry, add 1 tablespoon warm water at a time until desired consistency is met. Likewise, if dough is too wet, add 1 tablespoon flour at a time until deisred consistency is met.

(2) Divide dough into 7 equal-size balls. Place 1 ball in the center of a greased 12-inch baking tray like a pizza pan without a lip. Cover with greased plastic wrap while you roll each of the other balls into 10-inch circles and, using a pizza cutter, cut into 8 triangular pieces.

(3) Lightly brush the top of each triangular piece with oil or melted butter. Stack three pieces on top of each other. Twist to form a cone. Repeat with remaining dough. You will have 16 "
cones."
Arrange these around the center ball of dough with the wide side of the cone facing out. Cover and let rise until almost doubled. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

(4) Slash an "
X"
in middle ball of risen dough. Brush bread all over with remaining beaten egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon water. Bake about 15 minutes and cover top loosely with foil to prevent overbrowning. Bake an additional 15 minutes or until instant-read thermometer registers 190 degrees when inserted in the thickest part of the dough. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Pull off "
cones"
for individual servings.

Here's one from Bulgaria

TOMATO SOUP

Ingredients

600 gms tomatoes
4 tbspns butter
2 onions
¾ cup vermicelli
salt and pepper
3 eggs

Method

Brown finely chopped onions in butter add salt to taste, then add peeled grated tomatoes
together with the water. Boil for 8-10 minutes and add crushed vermicelli.
Remove from heat and in small bowl beat the eggs and add some soup to this and slowlypour all back into soup. Serve with chopped parsley and black pepper.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh thank you nets I will be trying some of these here in the uk now its getting colder

Roasted pumpkin with Honey



I found this one so I don't know what its like so if you do make it let us all know the outcome, Sorry about the translation but you should get the Gist!!

Even though chocolate, donuts and pancakes are the most commonly used means for depression, your pumpkin with honey is the most dear.

Ingredients

Half a medium pumpkin
copper in appearance and taste, possibly home
1 cup hot water
two or three mint straka
ground walnuts


Method

Clean the pumpkin and cut into pieces.

Choose a large, shallow baking dish and place your pumpkin in it.

Then put the honey, water, mint (in Bulgarian traditions used geranium) and put in preheated oven at 250 degrees, then baked until the water has evaporated.

It should form a nice crust with smells of autumn .

Serve in small dessert dishes or bowls and sprinkle top with crushed walnuts. serve with milk or green tea, and the best in the company of friends or relatives, who will enjoy the true quality of this dessert.

I can't imagine roasted pumpkin with honey but then the Bulgarians do eat a lot of things I wouldn't each to their own I say but I would like to give this one a try so if I do I will report back

I've had this before and it was very nice, I think its better if you BBQ the pumpkin just to give it that little extra flavour