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Cucumber and Tomato Salad (Bulgarian Shopska)

bulgarian-shopskaA nice and refreshing summer salad made of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers and topped with white cheese: Shopska is probably the most famous Bulgarian salad. It is so easy to prepare and can be made in different variations, so you can enjoy it in almost any part of the Globe. This is not an old traditional recipe, as many people might think. The Shopska Salad was invented in the 50s by chefs from "Balkantourist" - the Bulgarian state tour-operator of the time. It is not a coincidence that the colours of the salad resemble the national flag: this was made intentionally. The salad soon became popular around the whole country since it was very simple and tasty and used very common regional ingredients.

3 medium tomatoes
1 large cucumber
1 medium onion
1 green sweet pepper
3.5 oz Bulgarian cheese or feta
1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1-2 Tbsp. vinegar
parsley, freshly chopped
sea salt
black olives
hot peppers

Dice the tomatoes, onion and pepper. Peel the cucumber and dice it as well.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Cover the salad with grated Bulgarian or feta cheese. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Alternatively garnish with olives or a hot pepper on top (just a serving possibility, not really necessary).

Sprinkle with oil and vinegar after serving. Mix well. Add salt if needed.

Cook's Notes:

  • The most common Bulgarian green peppers look more like poblano peppers but are sweet. You can use any kind of sweet green peppers such as bell peppers. Red peppers are also acceptable. Another alternative for this salad are the baked red peppers.
  • I recommend using extra virgin olive oil, being one of the healthiest oils in the world. However the most commonly used Bulgarian oil for this salad (and in general) is the sunflower oil.
  • You might not need salt for this recipe if you use Bulgarian white cheese (sirene) as it is quite salty. Taste the salad after mixing it, before adding salt.
  • The salad can stay in the fridge for up to 1 hour before serving it. Just make sure you add the vinegar right before serving.