Edna Shopska Moyla!

Stara Zagora, Bulgaria June 2011

Read this article in Spanish

Shopska

Shopska Salad

Summer anywhere in the world, except of course south of the Equator, is a time of joy, play, beer and of course eating! It is no different here in Bulgaria. Perhaps the only limitation that one might find in discovering the incredible food this country has to offer is reading the menu itself!

Bulgarians communicate themselves by written word through the Cyrillic alphabet, the clearest evidence of their Slavic heritage. Just as a quick introduction to this predicament. The letter ш makes up for the “sh” as in shot , o stays the same, п makes the up for the “p”, c is like the “s” in sound, k is “c” as in cat and finally a is the “a” as in adorable. Keep in mind that these are just a few pointers from this alphabet.

To be an expert one must definitely master the 30 letters along with their respective sound in the Bulgarian language. So, to sum up your brand new knowledge of this language you will now be able to read this very important word when you visit a restaurant in Bulgaria: шопска салата.

That’s right! It reads Shopska!

In my opinion this is a very important word, if you want to taste a Bulgarian summer to its max. This traditional Bulgarian dish is made out of the newly harvested vegetables of the season to guarantee its freshness. Tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, black olives, roasted peppers, parsley, topped with abundant Sirena cheese (the Bulgarian contribution to cheese lovers) and a little bit of sunflower oil come together to create this bombastic entry to any meal. So if you ever visit Bulgaria or you want to taste a little bit of the Balkans in your home, please don’t hesitate to try this summer dish wherever you might be. So if you excuse me I will now go to my favorite restaurant in Stara Zagora and order Edna Shopska Moyla! (one shopska salad please)

Enjoy!

Note: A shot of Rakia (typical Bulgarian liquor) goes along perfectly well with this salad. Oh by the way! I found attach this recipe I found on the internet:

http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/salads/r/shopska.htm