The Bulgarian salad (or Šopska salata) is, like the Greek salad and the Caprese salad, a modern invention.
Origin of Bulgarian salad
The Bulgarian salad first appeared in a Bulgarian cookbook from 1940. In the years that followed, some adjustments were made to the recipe and the version we know today dates from 1955. This variant was developed by Petar Doychev, the man who tried to put Bulgarian tourism on the map. Hotels on the Black Sea in particular served this salad to their guests.
This salad is the only one left of five or six recipes that were specially devised for tourists. All arranged from above. That is how it worked during the communist regime, but it worked this time. The Bulgarian salad was eventually praised as a national culinary symbol. The fame of the Bulgarian salad has now spread throughout Southeastern Europe.
The Bulgarian salad is still served to tourists. The salad is usually accompanied by a glass of regional spirit, often Bulgarian grozdova (grape brandy) or slivovitz (plum brandy).
Composition Bulgarian salad
The Bulgarian salad is made from fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, red or spring onion, raw or roasted peppers, parsley and sirene, which is the Bulgarian version of Greek feta. The salad is sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil, although in the original recipe it was the much cheaper sunflower oil . This adjustment is not so strange, because Bulgaria is in the transition area between sunflower oil and extra virgin olive oil. Often wine vinegar is also used because it accentuates the somewhat sour taste of the tomatoes.
In theory you can make your own roasted peppers by roasting a pepper on a gas burner, turning it regularly, letting it rest in a bowl covered with foil and then removing the skin, but we don't do that. We like easy salads. So buy a jar of roasted peppers from your local supermarket
Ingredients:
- One roasted red pepper
- Three Roma tomatoes (cut into quarters)
- Half a cucumber (cut into half-centimeter thick half-moons)
- 15 grams of parsley (finely chopped)
- A small red onion or a spring onion (finely chopped)
- Sea salt to taste
- Two tablespoons of red wine vinegar - Extra virgin olive oil
- 100 grams of feta (crumbled)
- Extra: 50 grams of pitted black olives
Directions:
In theory, you could make your own roasted peppers by roasting a pepper on a gas burner, turning it regularly, letting it rest in a bowl covered with foil for a minute or so, then peeling off the skin, resulting in burnt fingertips, but we don’t do that. We like easy salads.
- Mix the peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, parsley in a bowl.
- Season with a little sea salt.
- Add two tablespoons of red wine vinegar.
- Toss the salad well. - Drizzle with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. - Just before serving, sprinkle the feta and any olives over the salad.
