Bulgaria

 Welcome to Bulgaria!  According to Google, Bulgaria has a population of 7 million people and the capital is Sofia.  What a pretty name for a capital!  The photos I've seen of Bulgaria look beautiful - the architecture, the water, the sunsets.  And their national dish is...

 

Shopska Salata!

They say that it is the national dish because it has the colors of the flag - I thought that was interesting.  I also thought it interesting that the national dish was a salad.  So to make our dinner more of a meal (rather than just a salad), we also made Gyuvech, and Medenki which is a honey cookie.  Here's what I did:

SHOPSKA SALATA

2 red bell peppers

3 large tomatoes

1 cucumber

3 green onions

1/4 C parsley

4 oz Feta cheese

Salt, to taste

Olive oil, to taste

Red wine vinegar, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet.  Place the peppers on the wire rack.
3. Roast the peppers for about 20 minutes, turn the peppers, and roast for another 20 minutes.
4. After the peppers have cooled, remove the stems and seeds.
5. Chop the peppers into bite sized pieces and place into a bowl.
6. Chop the tomatoes and cucumbers, and add them to the peppers.
7. Finely chop the green onions and parsley, and add to the bowl.
8. Top with feta cheese, and drizzle the salt, olive oil, and red wine vinegar.  
9. Serve immediately.

(Source: Shopska Salata)

 

GYUVECH (Pork Stew)

2 lbs pork shoulder, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 onions, diced

2 heads garlic (yes, this is a lot of garlic!)

1 eggplant, diced

4 tomatoes, diced

2 bell peppers, diced

2/3 C avocado oil

4 Yukon potatoes, diced

2 zucchini, diced 

10 oz frozen okra

1 1/2 C chopped green beans

2 Serrano peppers, diced

1 tsp paprika

1/2 C red wine

6 C water

Parsley, for garnish

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a Dutch oven, braise the meat in 3 tbsp avocado oil until browned on all sides.  Remove from pot.
2. In the same oil, saute the onions, tomatoes, and paprika.
3. Put the meat back into the pot, add salt, hot water, and wine, and bring to a boil.
4. Once it is boiling, add all the remaining vegetables, except for the Serrano peppers.
5. After 10 minutes, add the Serrano peppers.
6. Cook for about 45 minutes, or until the pork is soft.
   
7. Once the pork is soft, add the remaining oil and the potatoes.
8. Cook until the potatoes are cooked through.
9. To serve, top with parsley and pepper.

(Source: Gyuvech)

MEDENKI

1 egg

1/2 C powdered sugar, sifted

1/8 C honey

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 C oil

2 C gluten free flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tbsp avocado oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.
3. In a stand mixer with a paddle, beat egg and powdered sugar for three minutes.
4. Add  the honey and vanilla to egg mixture.  Mix to combine, and then add oil.
5. Add the flour mixture in two different increments, and beat to incorporate.
6. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
7. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls, place on the baking sheet, and press flat.
8. Bake 12-15 minutes until they are golden.
9. Let the cookies cool completely.
10. Melt the chocolate chips  and oil in a separate pan.
11. Dip the cookies halfway into the chocolate.
12. Let them sit to firm up, and then enjoy!

(Source: Medenki)

 

    

The verdict?  For the salad, it was a perfect salad for a summer day.  I am not a fan of cucumbers, but this salad was so fresh and yummy!  The original recipe called for a specific cheese, but we could not find it ANYWHERE.  So, in doing some research, feta cheese was the next best thing.  The stew was delicious.  This will become a rotation during the cold winter months.  Seriously.  So much flavor and the meat was incredibly tender.  We both really liked the okra in the stew as well.  I think next time I may take out the eggplant and add zucchini instead.  We'll see.  The dessert was OK.  Not great.  It was one of those cookies that you need to drink with milk or tea because it is incredibly dry.  The flavor was OK.  Not a favorite, but not bad.

ME

Taste of Shopska Salata (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 5

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Shopska Salata (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

ME

Taste of Gyuvech (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 9

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 3

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 8

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Gyuvech (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 8

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 3

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 9

ME

Taste of Medenki (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 5

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 4

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Medenki (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 5

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 3

 

Another country down!  Join us next time as we travel to Myanmar!