site.btaTraditional and Tasty: Southeastern Bulgaria

Southeastern Bulgaria enjoys a Black Sea shoreline so it is only natural that fish is central to quite a number of traditional dishes along the coast.

Fish soup is a case in point, a must in the region of the port city of Burgas, the preparation of which requires patience and skill. Recipes vary and are traditionally closely guarded by the best known master ‘chefs’, most usually the fishermen, the curator of the Ethnography Department at the Regional Museum of History in the city, Plamena Kirova, says.

Fish soup is the traditional dish served in Burgas on its patron saint’s day, December 6. Legend has it that Saint Nicholas was sailing with some friends when an unexpected storm hit and their boat would have sunk if he had not by miracle produced a carp and plugged a hole in its bottom with the fish.

The dish is made of a variety of fish – mackerel, black bream, barbel, pompano… the more the better – and a selection of vegetables, but what the old salts say is the secret to its unique flavor is the addition of lovage.

Inland, the milinki are the culinary emblem of the regional centre of Sliven, according to a poll in BTA’s FB page there. This salty muffin-like favourite is made of dough formed into balls in a tin, covered with melted butter, flour and salt then baked when it rises until golden and dusted with a lot of icing sugar.  
Another dish unique to Sliven is the local variant of the hotchpotch, BTA learnt at the Regional Museum of History in the city. Unlike elsewhere in the Balkans, in Sliven the vegetables for the popular dish are not used cut fresh, but are stir-fried individually before being mixed, seasoned and then again mixed with the meat.
The luscious local peaches have long been the reason for the vicinity to be called the “valley of peaches” and the region is also known for the samardala condiment, or Bulgarian honey garlic, as well as the particularly fine Slivenska Perla grape brandy.

Further inland to the southeast in Stara Zagora, a dish which elsewhere in Bulgaria is made with rice or minced meat is stuffed peppers, but with a mixture of chopped vegetables, says Evgenia Ivanova, head of the Ethnography Department at the Regional Museum of History. 

Another unusual thing found there are the jujube preserves made from the fruit of a small deciduous tree or shrub also known as red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube. Its precise natural distribution is uncertain due to extensive cultivation, but its origin is thought to be in Southern Asia, between Lebanon, Northern India, and Southern and Central China, and possibly also southeastern Europe though more likely introduced there. The plant in Arabic and Persian is known as "Enab", and is known as the "hinap" or "finab" in the eastern part of Bulgaria. It grows wild but is also a garden shrub, kept for its fruit. The fruit is picked in the autumn.

The preserves are made of deboned fruit, sugar and a little water, stirred slowly in one direction to keep the fruit whole. The jujube is also a medicinal plant beneficial to arterial pressure and cholesterol levels.

South of Sliven, Yambol was also known for its own milinki version in the 20th century, as well as for its halva confectionery and its sweet syrups diluted with soda water, called "iced" in Yambol. 

Over ten kinds of halva were made in Yambol, the locals having learnt the trade from the Turks. The confectionery was distinguished with a silver medal at the First Plovdiv Fair at the end of the 19th century.

The refreshing “iced” drink continued to be a local favourite in a variety of flavours until quite recently, sold at any number of stalls across the city.