Roasted eggplant dip (Kyopoolu)

One of the main characteristics of the cuisine of the Balkans is the wide variety of salads. Countries in the region have hot and sunny climate and vegetables grow full of taste. But this is only one of the reasons for the huge consumption of salads here. The heart of the matter is that we start lunch and dinner with hard alcoholic drinks. Rakia in Bulgaria, raki in Turkey, ouzo and tsipouro in Greece are national drinks served at the beginning of the meal. These strong drinks go well with salad. Kyopoolu - a roasted eggplant dip, is one of the most popular Bulgarian summer salads, although it has a Turkish origin. The typical smoky taste of its roasted skin, the soft inside which absorbs a lot of olive oil and salt, the freshness of grated tomatoes and roasted peppers, the garlic as an ingredient make this dip irresistable.

Cold cucumber soup (Tarator)

Tarator is one of the most typical dishes of Bulgarian cuisine. It is a cold soup based on the combination of yogurt, cucumbers and garlic. Some olive oil, dill and crushed walnuts are the recommended additions to this summer dish which slakes the thirst in the hot summer days. 

Mussels saganaki (μύδια σαγανάκι)

Everytime I want to feel the taste of the sea, I buy blue mussels. I love to scrub and clean their dark blue shells, to check for broken ones, to put the good ones into the pot. I like the smell of my kitchen in the short 10-20 minutes of preparation and long hours after that. And I always enjoy sipping their juices from the shells and feel their salty broth as a juicy message from the sea. I know, female mussels are orange, male mussels are light yellow. Their colors match perfectly the red of tomato sauce and the white of Feta cheese. But this is not the main reason I prepare often mussels saganaki. The taste of this dish is unforgettable. Along with garides saganaki, this is a very popular dish in the fish restaurants of Northern Greece. And also in my home. As with many other dishes, I increase the spicyness by adding lots of hot peppers and chili flakes, but you can adjust it according to your taste. 

Pork and leek stew (Kavarma)

If you sit in a restaurant in Bulgaria and ask for something typical for the country, Kavarma will be most probably one of the dishes offered. It is a rustic stew for meat lovers which pairs soft pork and leek. 

Stuffed vine leaves (Sarma or Dolmades gialantzi)

Stuffed grape leaves are popular dish across the Balkans. Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece - every one of these countries has own variety concerning the stuffing mixture. The two main categories concern the stuffing, which could be meat mixture or rice mixture. The meat varieties are eaten warm and the vegetarian ones - at room temperature. In Bulgaria this dish is called sarma or sarmi, which has Turkish origins - sarmak means 'to wrap' in Turkish. 

In Greece dolmades are part of the Meze platter, in Bulgaria Sarmi is a main dish. The stuffing includes different ingredients - rice, minced meat, pine nuts, raisins, mint and some others. The following recipe is a vegetarian version which includes lemon juice and mint. It could be served cold or warm and is good either ways.  In late spring and summer you can find fresh vine leaves, which should be first boiled for 5 minutes into a salted water.  Choose grape leaves that have very thin veins, which will make the taste less stringy. In February on the Balkans you can only use preserved vine leaves. So did I. This dish reminds me of summer, it is light and tasty. My only regret was I did not prepare twice as much.