Bulgaria!

INTRODUCTION BULGARIAN CUISINE

Many centuries of tradition have gone into what is now considered 'Bulgarian' cuisine - there are many influences from throughout this time, in particular the neighbouring countries of Greece and Turkey. Many of the  ingredients produced  in Bulgaria are world famous - the herbs grown here are exported all around the world, Bulgarian yoghurt (kiselo mljako) is considered by many to be the best in the world (indeed some 200,000 tons of Bulgarian yoghurt are sold in Japan every year!) and  the  organic  fruit  and  vegetables  are  legendary  ... many  of  our subscribers write to us with tales of how ‘the fruit tastes like it did when I was a child’, and this is perfectly true ... no pestisides here ... everything grown naturally and one can certainly taste the difference. Whilst there are some delicous meat dishes in Bulgaria, many of the dishes are ‘meatless’ - in fact the Bulgarians eat only half the amount of meat as people  in  other  EU  countries, which  is  partly  down  to  their Orthodox beliefs where many  celebrations  require a  fasting  from meat  -  in  this respect, the country is a perfect place for vegetarians to visit ... the salads and fruits are wonderful and everyone should try to experience the open air fruit and vegetable markets on a visit here. Every month in Quest Bulgaria Magazine we feature a Bulgarian recipe, always trying to make the most of the organic vegetables. Most recipes are ‘traditional’ however, as it’s me personally who cooks these dishes every month whilst photographing them for the magazine, they have all been slightly ‘personalised’ to suit my own and Jain’s tastes! Here we have selected a few recipes from recent  issues which  include, soups,  salads,  main  dishes  (both  vegetarian  and  with  meat)  and desserts. We do hope you try some of them out ... and enjoy the results!
DID YOU KNOW ... BULGARIAN HERBS
Are known  worldwide. Bulgaria is the fourth largest producer of medicinal herbs in the world, exporting a total of 12,000 tons per year, most of it to the European Union and the United States. Around 350,000 people are employed in the herb industry in Bulgaria. 3,000 different types of plants grow on the mountainsof Bulgaria. Over 300 of these plants are used in the pharmaceuticals industry, while 750 types are used in alternative medicine. Some of the most popular herbs are lavender, mint, thyme, chamomile, wild marjoram and St. John’s wort.