Western Bulgarian
Shopska salad: white-feta tricolor.
Shopska Salad
Bulgaria's national salad
View page →Western Bulgaria's table — Sofia, Vitosha mountains, and the Shopi region — is the canonical Bulgarian kitchen. Shopska Salad with sirene cheese atop diced tomato-cucumber-pepper-onion is the meal-opener. Banitsa filo pastry with sirene + yogurt + eggs is breakfast. Kavarma is the deeply-stewed pork-and-pepper dish. Tarator is the cold yogurt-cucumber summer soup. The cuisine is anchored by Bulgarian yogurt (Lactobacillus bulgaricus — the bacterium is named for the country), sirene cheese, and grilled meats. Bulgarian rakia (fruit brandy) opens every meal.
The Palate
Start Here
Bulgaria's national salad — diced tomato + cucumber + roasted pepper + onion + parsley, topped with grated sirene cheese in a mound (red-white-green flag colors).
Why start here · Shopska Salad is the most-iconic Balkan summer dish — designed in 1955 to match the Bulgarian flag colors.
Bulgarian filo pastry with sirene + yogurt + eggs — baked in a spiral until layers are golden-crispy, soft inside.
Why start here · Banitsa is the canonical Bulgarian breakfast — found in every bakery from Sofia to the smallest village.
The Pantry
See all 19 ingredients›
Proteins
Fruits
Herbs & Spices
Dairy & Fats
Sauces & Condiments
Other
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
Signature Dishes (3)
Other regions
Siblings within Bulgarian — each its own tradition.