Shopska Salad
Bulgaria's iconic salad is genuinely not ancient peasant food — it was invented in the 1950s by Balkantourist, Bulgaria's state tourism agency, at the Chernomoretz restaurant in the Druzhba resort, one of several manufactured 'folk' salads created to give hotel guests a traditional-feeling dish from cheap local ingredients. It was the only one to survive and become a genuine national symbol. Grated sirene cheese belongs on top as a final layer, not mixed through the vegetables — that's the dish's real defining trait.
Vegetarian
⚠ Contains: Dairy. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes, diced
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1 roasted red or green pepper, diced
- 1 small red onion, finely sliced
- A handful of parsley
- 150g sirene cheese (or feta), grated or crumbled
- Olive oil
Steps
- Dice the tomato, cucumber, and pepper into small, even cubes.
- Toss with the thinly sliced onion and parsley.
- Dress with olive oil.
- Plate and generously grate or crumble the sirene over the entire top just before serving, without stirring it in.