{"id":4185,"date":"2016-01-16T21:31:43","date_gmt":"2016-01-16T19:31:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/?p=4185"},"modified":"2024-12-01T08:44:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-01T06:44:53","slug":"10-foods-you-have-to-try-when-you-are-in-sofia-bulgaria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/10-foods-you-have-to-try-when-you-are-in-sofia-bulgaria\/","title":{"rendered":"10 foods you have to try when you are in Sofia, Bulgaria"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the top reasons I love Bulgaria so much is the delicious Bulgarian food! Rich in flavors, variations, colors and forms, our cuisine\u00a0is strongly influenced by Middle East but has its own unique charisma.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s one word that can truly describe the Bulgarian food: tasty!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t believe me, I dare you to prove me wrong and try these 10 extremely delicious foods when you visit Sofia or other place in Bulgaria. Some of the meals you can try during the free Balkan Bites tour, or another one of the cool cultural experiences in Sofia<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Shopska Salata<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Shopska<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t more beloved salad in Bulgaria than Shopska Salata<\/em><\/strong>. It is simple, fresh and perfect for the summer. You may think that there\u2019s nothing special in just some chopped vegetables, but you will be wrong. <\/span><\/p>\n

Our special ingredient \u2013 Bulgarian white cheese (Sirene<\/em><\/strong>), is what makes this salad so good. Our Sirene<\/em> is made with the help of a unique bacteria which lives only in Bulgaria. That\u2019s why Bulgarian white cheese is the best and Shopska Salata<\/em> is absolutely required on your to-try list! You can find Shopska Salata<\/em> in any traditional restaurant in the capital. (Shopska Salata recipe<\/a><\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Tarator<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tarator\"<\/p>\n

There is no summer without our favorite cold yoghurt soup Tarator<\/em><\/strong>. Fresh cucumbers, delicious Bulgarian yoghurt, some walnuts, dill, water and you are in heaven. If you don\u2019t try\u00a0Tarator<\/em> while you are in Bulgaria, you can\u2019t leave the country with full experience. Head to the nearest restaurant and ask for it. It\u2019s absolutely delicious! (Tarator recipe<\/a><\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Shkembe chorba<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Shkembe-chorba\"Photo credit:\u00a0By Kiril Kapustin [CC BY 2.5<\/a>\u00a0or CC BY 2.5<\/a>], via Wikimedia Commons<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no other way to say it: Bulgarians either passionately love or truly hate Shkembe chorba. <\/em><\/strong>This is a tripe soup<\/a> common for all the Balkan countries. Besides obviously the tripe, the soup is spiced with lots of garlic, red paprika and some milk. For me, the tripe soup sounds really disgusting, but many people love it. It is also believed that this is the best cure for hangover<\/strong>!<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Banitsa or banichka<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Banitsa-recipe-collage\"Photo credit: Eat-train-dressup.com<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said it a million times. Banitsa<\/em><\/strong> is the queen of the Bulgarian cuisine. It is made with pastry sheets with a filling of cheese, eggs and yoghurt (Banitsa recipe<\/a><\/em>). There are some variations \u2013 with pumpkin or with spinach, but the traditional Banitsa<\/em> is with white cheese. Banichka<\/strong> is the mini version of the traditional round Banitsa<\/em>. You can find Banichka<\/em> in every local bakery in Sofia. Try it with boza and you\u2019ll get the favourite breakfast of every Bulgarian<\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Meshana skara<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Meshana<\/a>Photo credit: Historybg.net<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Bulgarians love<\/em> to eat meat. Meshana skara<\/strong> is a combination of grilled meat in different forms and versions. It mostly include kyufte (meatball), kebabche (grilled minced meat, long), pork steak, shishche (skewer) and karnache (Italian sausage). Garnish with Shopska Salata<\/em> and Rakia<\/em> and you may even start speaking Bulgarian…<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Bulgarian version of Moussaka<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bulgarian<\/a>Photo credit: Blogvoditel.com<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Moussaka <\/strong>comes originally from the Middle East which has a strong influence on the Bulgarian cuisine from the time when Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule for almost 500 years. The Bulgarian version of Moussaka<\/em> is based on potatoes, ground meat and yoghurt layer on top. We eat it often because it\u2019s super delicious and easy to cook. (Bulgarian Moussaka recipe<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Sarmi<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"BulgarianPhoto credit: Bulgariatravel.org<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Another Bulgarian specialty is Sarmi<\/strong> \u2013 cabbage or vine leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice. It is one of the dishes on the Christmas Eve table<\/a>\u00a0in a version without meat. Sarmi<\/em> are also popular in other countries on the Balkans.<\/span><\/p>\n

8. Stuffed peppers or Byurek peppers<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"stuffedPhoto credit: HeartofaVagabond.com<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Stuffed peppers<\/strong> with minced meat and rice (again) is also very popular dish in Bulgaria. A version without meat is also served on the table on Christmas Eve. Byurek peppers<\/strong> are almost similar \u2013 they are rather fried than baked. Byurek peppers<\/em> are filled with cheese.<\/span><\/p>\n

9. Simple cheese and yoghurt<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bulgarian<\/p>\n

If you are looking for some simplicity or you are curious about it, you can go to the nearest supermarket and get the Bulgarian white cheese and yoghurt just to try them back in your hotel\/hostel. Some of the good brands are Vereya (\u0412\u0435\u0440\u0435\u044f)<\/em>, Na Baba (\u041d\u0430 \u0411\u0430\u0431\u0430)<\/em>, Bozhenci (\u0411\u043e\u0436\u0435\u043d\u0446\u0438)<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

10. Drinks: Boza, Ayryan, Rakia or just Mineral water<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"DSC_2134\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Boza<\/strong> is a sweet drink with thick consistency and low alcohol content. It is served cold. Most of the foreigners don\u2019t like it but I dare you to just try it. You can find boza in almost any street bakery in Sofia. It goes well with Banichka for breakfast<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ayryan<\/strong> is a fresh yoghurt drink perfect for the summer. It is made with yoghurt, water and some salt \u2013 as simple as that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rakia<\/strong> is a common strong alcoholic drink on the Balkans and very common in Bulgaria. It goes well with Shopska Salata<\/em> or Turshiya<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bulgarian Mineral Water<\/strong> is simply the best! I\u2019ve been in many European countries, there isn\u2019t more delicious\u00a0mineral water than the one in Bulgaria. In fact, Bulgaria has over 700 mineral water springs and is one of the leading destinations when it comes to that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where to eat in Sofia
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Lyubimoto<\/strong>\u00a0is one of the best spots for the visitors of Sofia. With its traditional menu and central location it will easily become your spot for must-eat Bulgarian meals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hadzhidraganovite Izbi<\/strong> is your place if you are looking for more authentic experience. The interior has many traditional folklore details and often live folklore performances. It is located on 18 Hristo Belchev str.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hadzhidraganovite Kushti<\/strong> is the same restaurant in another location with authentic atmosphere and traditional Bulgarian recipes. It is located on 75 Kozlodui str.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yum, Yum!\u00a0Have you ever tried one of these meals? Which is your favourite one?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow me\u00a0on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more travel stories and inspiration!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the top reasons I love Bulgaria so much is the delicious Bulgarian food! Rich in flavors, variations, colors and forms, our cuisine\u00a0is strongly influenced by Middle East but has its own unique charisma. There\u2019s one word that can truly describe the Bulgarian food: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[276,342,1,775,88],"tags":[344,462,555,460,111,459,361,346,463,557,461],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/DSC_3788-Copy.jpg?fit=747%2C356&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4185"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4185"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10766,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4185\/revisions\/10766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingbuzz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}