Those people who had to visit friends or relatives in Bulgaria, as well as travel around this wonderful country, spoke with enthusiasm about the Bulgarian village weddings, the festival in Zheravny and soups. Yes, yes, about Bulgarian soups, that's what they will be discussed in this article. Several recipes for the first courses presented to the reader will provide an opportunity to get acquainted with the unique cuisine of this sunny country, because they are the face of traditional cuisine.
Bulgarian traditional tomato soup: what is this dish?
Speaking about the most common soup in this country, they usually mean several types of first course:
- Raw tomato and olive oil soup. Its peculiarity is that there is no prolonged heat treatment in the cooking process, therefore it is often used by people leading a healthy lifestyle. Also, the recipe has several versions with additional ingredients in the form of pepper, cheese or yogurt.
- Chicken soup with vegetables. A simple but amazingly delicious first course.
- Fragrant baked pepper soup puree. It also has several modifications, but mainly because of the different set of spices.
Also, some people rank Chorbu as a specific soup of calf and pork stomachs, although this dish is more likely Turkish, although popular on Bulgarian land.
Tomato Soup: Essential Ingredients
This recipe for Bulgarian tomato soup has several analogues in various cuisines of the world, one of the most common is the Spanish cold gazpacho soup. The Bulgarian version is very similar not only to the set of products, but also to the cooking method.
A simple step-by-step recipe will help to cope with the preparation of even the "teapot":
- Cut 600 grams of tomatoes with fleshy pulp crosswise (shallow cuts, not more than two or three millimeters deep). Place them in boiling water for a couple of minutes (no more) and then remove the skin from them with a knife.
- Grind one onion with a blender until mashed, add 1-2 tbsp. tablespoons of olive oil, a couple of small cloves of garlic and 1/2 tbsp. tablespoons chopped green basil. You should also add a pinch of black pepper and 0.5 tsp of granulated sugar. Stir the mass again with a blender, gradually adding peeled, sliced tomatoes to it. Beat the mixture thoroughly until a uniform condition.
This is a ready-made soup, but in order to maximize its taste, you should place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Also, do not forget that such a Bulgarian soup is a summer and cold dish. When serving, usually soup is lightly sprinkled with finely chopped dill or grated soft cheese.
Soup with Potatoes and Cheese
A similar version of Bulgarian puree soup can be prepared differently than those who do not like to eat “raw” soup. For such a recipe you will need:
- three large tomatoes;
- two soft potatoes;
- 400 grams of cheese (it is better to use soft or processed, but if you grate hard cheese on a fine grater, then it will also work);
- one pod of bell pepper;
- salt and black pepper to taste, as well as a little parsley.
Step cooking
This Bulgarian soup is just as simple to prepare: first you need to peel the potatoes, boil and turn into mashed potatoes. Also, in the process of cooking potatoes, peppers must be added to it, peeled from seeds - it should also be boiled and turned into mashed potatoes along with potatoes. Next, remove the peel from the tomatoes in the manner described earlier, then chop them with a blender into a puree pulp, transfer it to a saucepan and put on fire.
When the liquid begins to separate during heating, pour half of it into a cup and send mashed potatoes to the pan and mix well. Further, if the Bulgarian soup seems too thick, then add the liquid from the cup to it and mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper, let it boil and then send small pieces of cheese there, waiting for them to melt. It is important to constantly stir the soup with a spatula so that the mass is evenly mixed and enriched with a cheese flavor. Turn off the fire after all the pieces have melted, let stand for ten minutes. Serve to the table, lightly sprinkled with parsley or small crackers, which are often served with this dish.
Sweet Pepper Puree Soup
This recipe for Bulgarian soup is recommended to everyone who adheres to a vegetable diet, as it has a fairly low calorie content. Moreover, the taste of this dish is extraordinary due to the presence in it of a special set of spices.
List of required ingredients:
- eight pods of bell pepper;
- one onion;
- about two glasses of vegetable or meat broth.
- one large carrot;
- two cloves of garlic and as many bay leaves;
- 1/3 Art. tablespoons of Indian curry seasoning;
- 1 tbsp. a spoon of tomato paste;
- one onion;
- three tablespoons of vegetable oil (any);
- salt to taste preferences.
How to cook?
This Bulgarian vegetable soup can be prepared on the basis of meat broth - then it will have a more intense taste; but if the person is vegan, then you can use ordinary vegetable broth or purified water. The first step is to bake the whole pepper in the oven or on the grill.
This takes no more than half an hour, and a dark spotting and exfoliated thin skin on the fruits will serve as a guideline for readiness. Cool the pods a little to make it easier to remove this peel along with the seeds, and then cut into medium-sized pieces. Finely chop the onion together with the garlic, cut the carrots into small cubes. In a saucepan, heat the oil and fry the onion (with garlic) in it until transparent, then add carrots, pasta and continue stirring for a few more minutes. Then send there the finished pepper, a glass of broth or water, all spices and spices. Let it boil for a few minutes and then mashed using a blender. If it turns out that the density of the soup is too high, add the remaining broth and let it boil again. Typically, this soup is served with sour cream or cream, as well as croutons.
Pile of soup
Another type of first course, popular in Bulgaria, is chicken soup, or a pill of soup, as it is called at home. At first glance it seems commonplace, if not for a kind of dressing based on yogurt and lemon juice. It is they who give the Bulgarian chicken soup a special unique flavor.
The necessary ingredients and the cooking process are not particularly unique:
- one and a half liters of water + 400 grams of chicken - a broth is prepared, in which one onion is also placed, cut into four parts, and carrots;
- after half an hour of boiling over medium heat, the broth is filtered, 3-4 large potatoes are added there, cut into small cubes;
- after the potatoes are almost ready, add the previously cooked carrots, cut into cubes, and chicken in small pieces in the soup. There, send one tomato, cut into small cubes.
Cooking Soup Dressings
For this you need one egg, two or three tbsp. beat yogurt or homemade kefir with a blender to a uniform consistency, in the process adding a little salt, a pinch of allspice and the same amount of ground coriander. Take one glass of liquid from the soup with a spoon and cool it slightly (it should be hot, but not scorching), pour it with continuous stirring into the egg mixture, and then pour the resulting liquid into the soup, always stirring constantly. The soup is ready! If you wish, you can add a little fresh herbs, but do not boil, otherwise the egg white will curl up and the pleasant color of the soup will be spoiled.