It is a traditional salad, consumed as an appetizer before lunch or dinner along with Bulgarian fruit brandy, called Rakia.

Ingredients:
2-3 Medium size ripened tomatoes
2 Roasted and peeled red or green bell peppers
1 Small onion
1/2 cup Shredded Bulgarian feta cheese
1/8 cup Parsley, finely chopped

Add salt, vinegar and olive oil according to your taste.

Dice tomatoes, onions and bell peppers and mix them together. Add salt, vinegar and olive oil. Form a pyramid or small “hill” of the salad. Top with cheese and finely chopped parsley.

Bon Appetite!

Daphne Karcheva-Orris, “Bulgarian Horizon”

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Even though Banitsa is a popular type of pastry in our neighboring countries (Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey), in Bulgaria it is recognized as a symbol of Bulgarian cuisine and traditions. It is interesting to note that Bulgarians have a mixed attitude toward this dish-from an honoring gesture to a teasing expression. A dirty, oily, crumpled schoolbook and a badly-maintained passport most likely would be described as "banitsa". The same can be said of a badly crushed car after an accident. A very stupid person would be called a "tikvenik" (banitsa with pumpkin filling), while "the smart one eats the zelnik (banitsa with green herb) and the fool gives it away."

Banitsa is present on every special occasion.
Nowadays, there is a holiday banitsa at Christmas or New Year that contains lucky charms ("kasmeti") such as coins and small symbolic objects (a piece of dogwood branch is a symbol of good health), or pieces of paper with written wishes on them wrapped in foil and baked inside the pastry.
Banitsa has many variations, while the basic, traditional dish is made of phyllo dough, crumbled feta cheese, yoghurt, and eggs. We offer you the easy and fast way to make "American-style" banitsa.

Ingredients:
1 package of phyllo dough ("finikori") - This can be found in the frozen-food section in supermarket.
1 or 2 pounds of crumbled feta cheese ("sirene") - Add upon your taste.
6 to 8 eggs
1 cup of plain yoghurt
1 stick of butter, grated
1/4 to 1/2 cup of olive oil (Bulgarians believe that oily banitsa is good banitsa)
A flavoring ingredient for the filling*

First, place down a layer of one or two sheets of phyllo dough, each sprinkled with the olive oil. Whisk the eggs, add the crumbled feta cheese, grated butter, the yoghurt, and your ingredient choice for the filling. Spread the mixture onto the phyllo sheet(s). Continue layering up with the phyllo sheets and the filling mixture. After adding the last of the mixture, top with one more phyllo sheet. Brush the sheet with olive oil. Bake at 350 F until golden.

*Fillings may consist of spinach, green onions, nettles, leeks, sauerkraut, or sweets such as pumpkin and apples.

Bon Appetite!

Daphne Karcheva-Orris, “Bulgarian Horizon”

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Ingredients:
a hen
3 coffee-cupfuls of grouts
10 corns of pepper
2 teaspoonfuls of red pepper
1 teaspoonful of ground dry savory
1 coffee-cupful of vegetable oil
half a head of pickled cabbage /sauerkraut/ or fresh cabbage

First prepare the filling - pour boiling water over the grouts and add half of the sauerkraut, thinly cut. Then add the oil and 2 coffee-cupfuls of warm water and stew the sauerkraut in a covered pot on a slow fire. Season it with the savory, the pepper and the red pepper.

Stuff the poultry with this filling and sow it up with a scalded white thread. Lay the rest of the sauerkraut, also thinly cut, on the bottom of the pot you are going to cook in, and put the poultry on top.

Pour water and sauerkraut juice in equal proportions, to cover 2/3 of the poultry's height with the liquid. (If you have no sauerkraut juice available, pour only water.) Before putting the lid of the pot, cover it with white paper.

Stew on slow fire until the meat gets tender. Serve this dish with a salad of roasted or pickled peppers. You can also garnish it with pickled cucumbers or stewed carrots.

Bon Appetite!

Daphne Karcheva-Orris, “Bulgarian Horizon”

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