Local Dishes

1. Баница

   Ba-ni-tsa

   Banitsa (layered filo pastry)

   Usage

   Sheets of thin oiled pastry (кори) layered or rolled and baked. The usual filling is сирене (white brine cheese) and egg. A bakery breakfast staple, often sold alongside боза. Other fillings get other names — тиквеник with pumpkin, зелник with greens or leek

   Grammar Note

   Feminine noun. Bulgarian puts the definite article on the end of the word, so you will also see баницата ("the banitsa"). Plural: баници

2. Шопска салата

   Shop-ska sa-la-ta

   Shopska salad (summer vegetables under grated white cheese)

   Usage

   Tomato, cucumber, pepper and onion dressed with salt and oil, then buried under grated сирене. No creamy dressing is used; some places use roasted rather than raw peppers. Commonly ordered first, as the accompaniment to ракия

3. Овчарска салата

   Ov-char-ska sa-la-ta

   Shepherd's salad (with ham, egg and cheese)

   Usage

   A heavier version of шопска салата with boiled egg, ham, кашкавал (yellow cheese) and often mushrooms added. One plate is enough for a light meal

4. Снежанка

   Sne-zhan-ka

   Snezhanka (strained yoghurt and cucumber salad)

   Usage

   Strained кисело мляко mixed with cucumber, garlic, walnut and dill. Also called сух таратор ("dry tarator"). Served cold as a starter — it is a salad, not a soup, and comes with a fork

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; definite form снежанката. The same word is the name of Snow White (from снежен, "snowy"), but on a menu it always means this salad

5. Таратор

   Ta-ra-tor

   Tarator (cold yoghurt soup)

   Usage

   Cold soup of кисело мляко thinned with water, plus cucumber, garlic, dill, oil and salt, sometimes with crushed walnut. A summer staple — it arrives chilled, not hot

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; definite тараторът (subject form) or таратора elsewhere. "Таратор, моля" orders a bowl

6. Кебапче

   Ke-bap-che

   Kebapche (grilled minced-meat roll)

   Usage

   Minced pork and beef with black pepper, cumin and salt, shaped into a cylinder and grilled. Each one weighs roughly 35–90 g, so a portion is two or three. They are not on a skewer

   Grammar Note

   Neuter; plural кебапчета, which is how they are ordered (две кебапчета = two of them). Definite form кебапчето

7. Кюфте

   Kyuf-te

   Kyufte (flat grilled meat patty)

   Usage

   Minced meat with onion and spices, shaped into a flat disc and grilled. The difference from кебапче is the shape — disc versus cylinder. Caution: кюфте also has a rude figurative sense, "a short fat person", so never apply the word to a person

   Grammar Note

   Neuter; plural кюфтета, definite кюфтето

8. Мешана скара

   Me-sha-na ska-ra

   Mixed grill platter

   Usage

   A platter combining кебапче, кюфте, шишче, пържола, наденичка and карначе. Portioned for two or more — a lot for one person

9. Шишчета

   Shish-che-ta

   Skewers (grilled meat on a stick)

   Usage

   Pieces of meat threaded onto a wooden or metal skewer and grilled, usually pork or chicken; also a component of мешана скара. The singular is шишче

   Grammar Note

   Plural of the neuter noun шишче; definite form шишчетата. The plural is the normal ordering form

10. Мусака

    Mu-sa-ka

    Musaka (potato and minced-meat bake)

    Usage

    The Bulgarian мусака layers diced potato with minced meat and is finished with an egg-and-кисело мляко topping. Caution: dishes of the same name across the Balkans and the Middle East are quite different, and this one is not necessarily made with aubergine

    Grammar Note

    Feminine; definite мусаката. It can be counted in portions — три мусаки, "three servings"

11. Гювеч

    Gyu-vech

    Gyuvech (meat and vegetable stew baked in a clay pot)

    Usage

    Гювеч is both the pot and the dish. Meat and vegetables are baked in a shallow earthenware pot and brought to the table in it, so the pot is very hot. A meat-free vegetable version also exists

    Grammar Note

    Masculine; definite гювечът / гювеча. The small individual pot is a гювече

12. Кавърма

    Ka-var-ma

    Kavarma (meat and onion baked in a small pot)

    Usage

    Pork or chicken with onion, peppers and чубрица (summer savory), baked in a гювече — a small clay pot. Meatier and drier than гювеч

    Grammar Note

    Feminine; definite кавърмата. Note the spelling with ъ — каварма is sometimes seen, but the standard spelling is кавърма

13. Сарми

    Sar-mi

    Sarmi (stuffed vine or cabbage leaves)

    Usage

    Vine or cabbage leaves rolled around rice, minced meat, onion and spices, then simmered. A meatless version is served on Christmas Eve. Vine leaves are usual in summer, brined cabbage leaves in winter

    Grammar Note

    Plural of the feminine noun сарма; definite сармите. A single roll is a сарма

14. Пълнени чушки

    Pal-ne-ni chush-ki

    Stuffed peppers

    Usage

    Peppers filled with rice, onion and minced meat and baked in a tray. A version stuffed with сирене and egg instead of meat is served on meat-free days

15. Чушки бюрек

    Chush-ki byu-rek

    Cheese-stuffed peppers, breaded and fried

    Usage

    Roasted, peeled peppers filled with crumbled сирене, beaten egg and parsley, then breaded and deep-fried. It contains no meat, so it often works for vegetarians — though it does contain egg and dairy

16. Шкембе чорба

    Shkem-be chor-ba

    Tripe soup

    Usage

    Beef or lamb шкембе (tripe) simmered soft, chopped and served in a milky broth; garlic, vinegar and chilli are added at the table. Eaten as a hangover cure. Caution: this is offal — avoid if that is not for you

17. Боб чорба

    Bob chor-ba

    Bean soup

    Usage

    Boiled white beans with carrot, tomato, pepper, onion and чубрица. On Christmas Eve it is made meat-free as постен боб, but restaurants often add sausage or bacon — ask if you are vegetarian

18. Лютеница

    Lyu-te-ni-tsa

    Lyutenitsa (roasted pepper and tomato relish)

    Usage

    A paste of roasted red peppers and tomato cooked down with aubergine, carrot, onion, garlic and cumin, spread on bread. The name comes from лют ("hot"), but most jars sold are mild

    Grammar Note

    Feminine; definite form лютеницата

19. Луканка

    Lu-kan-ka

    Lukanka (flat dry-cured sausage)

    Usage

    Pork and beef with black pepper, cumin and salt, packed into beef casing and pressed flat while it dries for 20–30 days; the cut face has a characteristic mosaic pattern. Sliced thin as мезе to go with ракия

    Grammar Note

    Feminine; definite луканката, plural луканки

20. Мекици

    Me-ki-tsi

    Mekitsi (fried leavened dough)

    Usage

    Leavened dough flattened into rounds and deep-fried, eaten for breakfast with icing sugar, jam or сирене. Not strictly a sweet — it is also served savoury

    Grammar Note

    Plural of the feminine noun мекица; definite мекиците. One of them is a мекица

21. Тиквеник

    Tik-ve-nik

    Pumpkin banitsa

    Usage

    A sweet баница of grated pumpkin with sugar and walnut rolled in thin pastry; a Christmas Eve dish. Caution: тиквеник also has an abusive figurative sense, "a crude, dull person", so never apply it to someone

    Grammar Note

    Masculine; definite тиквеникът / тиквеника, plural тиквеници

22. Качамак

    Ka-cha-mak

    Kachamak (cornmeal porridge)

    Usage

    Coarse cornmeal stirred into salted water and cooked for about 40 minutes, served with butter, сирене or пръжки (pork cracklings). Close to Italian polenta; common in mountain inns

    Grammar Note

    Masculine; definite качамакът / качамака

23. Яйца по панагюрски

    Yay-tsa po pa-na-gyur-ski

    Poached eggs, Panagyurishte style

    Usage

    Eggs poached for five to seven minutes in water held at 60–80°C, served under a кисело мляко and garlic sauce with paprika butter poured over. The yolk is left runny, so say so at the order if you need it cooked through

24. Пататник

    Pa-tat-nik

    Patatnik (Rhodope grated-potato cake)

    Usage

    Coarsely grated potato mixed with onion, salt and джоджен (mint), cooked slowly on both sides in a heavy pan. A Rhodope mountain dish; сирене or пръжки are sometimes added

    Grammar Note

    Masculine; definite пататникът / пататника. In some areas it is called патетник

25. Козунак

    Ko-zu-nak

    Kozunak (sweet Easter bread)

    Usage

    A sweet yeast bread of egg, milk and sugar, baked for Easter and served alongside red-dyed eggs. Piled up in shops in season and hard to find outside it

    Grammar Note

    Masculine; definite козунакът / козунака, plural козунаци

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