site.btaTraditional and Tasty: Northwestern Bulgaria

The culinary surprises of Vidin Region: salamura, bel muzh and wines

The region which is best known for being the EU's poorest and with the most ageing population, has plenty of culinary surprises for a stranger. You will find here the last stronghold of King Ivam Stratsimir and the barracks of the rebellious Osman Pazvantoglou, or enjoy the magnificent Danube - and you can wash it down with a glass of the outstanding red and white wines of the Danube plain. 

Some wines that are made here include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Muscat Bianco, or local varieties such as Dimyat, Pamid, Gamza and Otel.

You can pair those with delicious local fish: grass carp, zander or catfish, in the many riverbank restaurants, or the salamura fish soup that, locals say, is only served in this part of Bulgaria. 

Among the traditional dishes in Vidin Region are kachamak (the local name for polenta or mamaliga) with cheese, the Piyano Grozde pickles and a desert called Petle s orehi [rooster with walnuts]. 

Dr Sashka Bizeranova, an expert at the local history museum, shared with BTA some traditional recipes:

Lyutenitsa with dry peppers and galic (goes well with rakia)

This recipe calls for 5-6 dry peppers which are soaked in water and then mixed with 3-4 cloves of galic and salt, and made into a paste. Some cooking oil is heated on the stove and poured over the peppers-and-garlic mixture and is covered to rest before it is served.

Leaks kasha

4-5 leaks, white part only, are copped up and fried in pork lard or better, until golden. 4-5 spoons of flour is added and is stirred (until golden but not brown). Half a liter of boiling water is added and is stirred until smooth.

Bel muzh

It is easy to make. You need soft unsalted cheese that is put in a casserole and is stirred on medium heat until it is creamed. Some salt is added along with 4-5 spoons of flour. It is stirred until it looks ready to be served. While it is cooling, butter will separate from the cheese mixture.

Vidin-style hot salamura

This recipe calls for 700-800 gr of any local fresh-water fish, cooking oil, dill, parsley, garlic, chilli peppers, lemon, red and black pepper to taste, allspice, lovage, tomatoes and vinegar. The fish is roasted with the peppers, tomatoes and lemon. When it is ready, the vegetables are chopped up and the bones are removed from fish and it is cut to pieces. They are put in a pot along with the herbs and some 1.5 l of boiling water is poured over it. 

In Vratsa Region, lyutika is served everywhere you go

If you ask people in the towns and villages of Vratsa Region which local dish immediately comes to mind, they mention lyutika. It can be served as an appetizer or as a main dish. The key ingredient is locally grown peppers, says Kalina Todorova, an expert of the Regional Library in Vratsa. 

Lyutika is made by boiling dried peppers and making them into a chutney, or roasted green and red peppers can be used. In the mountain villages near Vratsa, they use crushed onion, boiled potatoes and dried peppers that are then boiled, and the mixture is spiced up with oil, vinegar and parsley. Crumbled cheese can be added before serving.

If cooked beans are added to the recipe, then it is called bean lyutika.

Have you heard of banitsa pie with grapes or tarator cold soup with cherry plums? Well, they still make those in the Vratsa region. 

Turlu guvec and prune stew are staples in Lovech Region

Turlu guvec and prune stew are two very typical meat dishes in Lovech region, says Elena Georgieva, an expert at the Lovech Regional History Museum. 

For the turlu, the meat is fried or boiled before it is put in an earthenware pot together with potatoes, zucchini, green beans, eggplants, peppers, ocra, black pepper, parsley and mint, to cook for several hours on medium. When ready, sour grape juice is added to the pot and, finally, 3-4 beaten eggs. It is put back in the oven briefly until the eggs are firm. 

The prune stew also calls for veal, pork or mutton, carrots, onion and tomato paste, which are all cooked in one pot together with the prunes.

Many traditional recipes that are handed down from generation to generation, are only prepared on festive occasions nowadays. On Christmas Eve and on Epiphany, which is locally known as Jordan's Day, peppers stuffed with beans is a staple dish. Another traditional meatless dish is a casserole with onion, peppers, rice, potatoes and flour. During the winter months, many people make sour cabbage (chopped fresh cabbage that is fermented). The brine from the cabbage is used to make soup the locals call karkuda.

Traditional deserts here are apple mlin [pie] and a sweet cheese bake (byal muzh).

The apple mlin is made of phyllo dough with a filling of apples, sugar, raisins, cinnamon, bread crumbs and butter. It is served sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

The byal muzh sweet cheese bake is made of 10 eggs, 2 kg of soft cheese and 2 spoons of flour. The whites are separates from the yolks, and beaten until firm. The yolks are also beaten before they are mixed with the whites. The cheese is crumbled and mixed with the eggs and the flour. Flat loaves are made with the hands and baked in the oven. Once ready,  sugar syrup is added until the bake is well soaked.

Scientific research on the traditional cuisine in the regions of Lovech, Troyan and Teteven has found that the oldest dishes are the flour and cornmeal kasha with various toppings. Variations of this are still offered in most eateries in and around Troyan, invariably served with salo on the side.

Another preferred dish is cooked and pureed greens: nettles, sorrel, dock or another.

Montana Region: More stuffed peppers with beans, fish soup and banitsa 

Stuffed peppers with beans, salamur fish soup and banitsa with pastry sheets baked on an open fire are characteristic of Montana Region. The stuffed peppers are cooked on traditional  feast days. The beans for those are cooked in advanced and spiced up with local herbs. The suffered peppers are then roasted in the oven.

Banitsa with cheese and hand-made phyllo can be served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, on work days and on holidays.

The salamur fish soup is made in Lom and the nearby villages. For that, the fish is barbequed with vegetables, then everything is cut into small chunks, covered with hot water and simmered to allow the tastes to blend. In other parts of the region the also make chicken salamur.

Stuffed peppers: the pride of Pleven Region

One can find all kinds of stuffed peppers in Pleven Region. They even have a festival dedicated to that dish.