I·ATE: Taste Bulgaria

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Here we come with a new series of I-ATE articles based on books published by different EU institutios that highlight recipes from each European Union Member State. For this week’s I-ATE Food Term, we will focus on Bulgaria.

Stuffed peppers with meat (Пълнени чушки)

Ingredients (serving 1 child – primary school):
For the stuffed peppers ↓
Freshly ground lean meat (40% veal and 60% pork): 60 g
Rice. 12 g
Carrots: 5 g
Onion: 8 g
Peppers for stuffing, deseeded, 2 pieces: 80 g
Celery root and leaves: 2 g
Tomatoes: 16 g
Vegetable oil (sunflower, olive, corn, etc.): 5 g
Paprika: 1/2 tsp
Parsley: To garnish
For the sauce ↓
Egg: 4 g
Flour: 4 g
Yogurt: 15 g
Salt (Consider herbs and spices as an alternative to salt): To taste

 

 

 

For the stuffed peppers:
1. Chop the vegetables.
2. Cook the freshly ground meat with a little water at low heat.
3. Cook chopped onion, grated carrots and grated celery in a large pot, in a 50-50% mix of water and oil, until tender.
4. Add the meat to the onion mixture.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, paprika and salt.
6. Measure the rice (to know how much water to add) and add to pot, with some chopped parsley and celery.
7. Add the remaining oil and some water (1 to 3 to the rice).
8. Cover the pot and simmer on medium until the rice is done.
9. Stuff the peppers with the meat, vegetable and rice mixture. Bake in a moderate oven for 20-30 minutes.

For the sauce:
1. Meanwhile, make the sauce using the yogurt, eggs and flour.
2. When the peppers are done, remove from oven, pour the sauce over them, and return them to the oven for another 10 minutes.
Serve sprinkled with freshly chopped parsley.

 

 

Aubergine and pepper pâté (Kiopoolu)

Ingredients (serves 4):
• 1 aubergine (750 g)
• 2 medium-sized green peppers, skinned and grilled
• 3 medium-sized, ripe and firm tomatoes, peeled,
seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes peeled and chopped into quarters, for decoration
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped garlic
• Salt and black pepper

Preparation:
Grill the aubergine as follows: pierce it 3 or 4 times with a fork and then place it on a baking sheet
and grill it at a distance of 10 cm from the heat source, for around 20 minutes, turning it from
time to time.
Wrap it in a damp tea towel for 5 minutes and then peel off the skin. Cut the aubergine in two,
chop it finely and make it into a fine purée. Purée the grilled and skinned peppers in the same way.
Mix the two purées together to create a pâté. Add the olive oil and vinegar, a spoonful at a time.
Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth. Add the chopped tomato, parsley,
garlic, salt and pepper. Continue to stir until the mixture is well blended.
Check the seasoning and refrigerate until the pâté is chilled through. Serve on a plate as a starter
or on a slice of bread as an apéritif.

 

Sources:

  • European Commission, Directorate-General Agriculture and Rural Development, 2013. Tastes of Europe: A culinary voyage through Europe in 27 recipes. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, pp 6
  • European Commission, 2016. Lunch at school: Recipe book. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, pp 4

 


Written by Marta Guillén Martínez – Communication Trainee at the Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament (Luxembourg). She holds a Degree in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Alicante, Spain and she did her European Voluntary Service on communication and european youth mobility in Milan, Italy. She speaks Spanish, Catalan, English and Italian.