If you happen to visit Bulgaria and want to dive into the experience, you simply must try some of the country’s most iconic dishes.

Most Bulgarian dishes are oven baked, steamed, or in the form of stew. Deep-frying is not very typical, but grilling - especially different kinds of meat- is very common.

Pork meat is the most common meat in the Bulgarian cuisine. Then comes chicken and lamb as well.

A very popular ingredient in Bulgarian cuisine is the Bulgarian white brine cheese called "sirene“. It is the main ingredient in many salads, as well as in a variety of pastries.

Another popular ingredient is the unique Bulgarian yoghurt!

o Banitsa is a very tasty meal, served hot or cold, for breakfast or dinner with yoghurt, ayran, or boza.

o Traditionally, some kismets (lucky charms) are put into the pastry on some of the national holidays or other occasions – Christmas, New Year's Eve. They are usually small pieces of a dogwood branch with a bud - the symbol of health and longevity. Other wishes are for happiness, health, and success throughout the new year.

o Banitsa can be made with spinach, apple, pumpkin, and various other fillings, but the traditional filling is a mixture of crumbled white cheese, whisked eggs, and butter!

Spinach banitsa

Pumpkin banitsa

o Tarator is made of yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic and finely chopped dill. You can put some walnuts as well.

o It is best enjoyed in the summertime when the sun is hot and blazing. But you can eat it any other time too. It’s tasty and delicious!

Tarator with lettuce

Jellied tarator

o It is the salad that defines Bulgaria. Not only is it the most popular one but it’s also named after a big group of very frugal people called shopi who live in and near Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

o It can be served as a single meal, as a starter, together with the main course, after meal, or just as a snack.

o The symphony of the ingredients and the simple oil and vinegar dressing makes this salad outstanding.

o It’s made of strained yoghurt, finely cucumbers, vegetable oil, a touch of garlic, all sprinkled with finely chopped dill and grated walnuts.

o It’s a great appetizer!

o The dictionary definition for mish-mash is “a collection or mixture of unrelated things; a hodgepodge”. And this is exactly what it is - a mixture of vegetables, eggs, cheese and spices that go so well together.

o In Bulgaria, mish-mash is a traditional meal which we usually prepare for lunch or dinner.

o It is most common during the summer when there is an abundance of vegetables.

o This dish is named after Panagyurishte, a small town full of history, one of them - this great recipe.

o In essence it is poached eggs with yoghurt with a little twist of red pepper and butter.

“tied” panagyurski eggs

o Stuffed peppers are a good alternative for lunch or dinner. They can be both vegetarian, stuffed with rice and sometimes walnuts, or stuffed with minced meat and rice.

o There is a variant, in which peppers are stuffed with a mixture of white cheese and herbs, coated with egg and flour and fried. They’re called “pepper biurek”.

Paprika byurek

... with minced meat

...with cheese

... with beans and walnuts

o Moussaka is a classic dish with many local and regional variations. It is a potato-based dish topped with a white sauce of yoghurt and eggs.

o Its basic ingredients are fairly plain, but the yogurt gives it a unique, tangy taste. It's surprisingly delicious!

o The same name and recipe is found throughout the lands that were formerly part of the Ottoman Empire.

oBean soup is a Bulgarian staple. It is an excellent vegetarian dish, but it can also be spiced up with some sausages.

oBean soup in Bulgaria is a "national" dish. Most popular is the Monastery Version which is totally vegetarian.

o The literal English translation is tripe soup (tripe is the thick lining of the stomach of cattle... )

o Seasoned with garlic, vinegar, and hot red pepper, it will surprise you with its unique aroma and taste - good surprise that is!!!

o The white brined cheese, which is prepared in Bulgaria, has a specific taste - it is salty, astringent and crumbly.

o The Shopski Style White Cheese is a dish, which is typical for the region around the capital.

o For preparing that dish there is one important condition - it must be baked in a small clay vessel (an earthenware pot), which holds one portion.

o It’s a meatball made of minced meat and spices and shaped like a sausage. Same as the kyufte (a flat meatball), but does not contain onions. It has to be grilled.

Lukanka - traditional Bulgarian cold cut

Cheverme - a special dish used for celebrations such as weddings, graduations and birthdays. It’s a whole animal, traditionally a pig or lamb, spit-roasted.

Lyutenitsa – a national relish (to dip or spread)

Roasted lamb with the traditional riceand spices stuffing

Typical Bulgarian breakfast