The IATE Food term of the week is the Bulgarian dish Mish-Mash. It is one of the best-known traditional dishes which is loved by both locals and foreigners. You can easily make it yourself and it will quickly become your favourite work lunch.
Origin of Mish-Mash
Mish-Mash can serve as any meal of the day, but can definitely also be a warm addition to your weekend brunch. There is not much information on when exactly the dish entered into the traditional Bulgarian cuisine. The word itself has its roots in the 15th century in the meaning of āhodgepodgeā and ājumbleā. In nowadays English, it is used to relate to a āmixture of somethingā, not necessarily in the negative sense. A little known fact about this dish is that Mish-Mash is one of the signature dishes of a famous chain of restaurants in Canada. They even patented the name as more and more restaurants in the country started using it.
Variations
A similar dish exists in Italy under the name of uova strapazzate – scrambled eggs with green leafy vegetables. In Greece, this delicious meal is known under the name of strapatzada – scrambled eggs with added tomatoes and Greek feta cheese. Most similar to the Bulgarian Mish-Mash, however, is the Turkish menemen. The main difference lies in the way of preparation. To cook a menemen you first need to cook the vegetables together – onion, red pepper and tomatoes. Then, make āholesā and crack each egg into it. The Bulgarian Mish-Mash requires to first fry the onion, red and green peppers, and tomatoes, and only then add scrambled eggs rather than whole eggs.
Original Mish-Mash recipe
All you need for a perfect Mish-Mash: 1 onion, 1 large tomato, 2 small red peppers, 2 small green peppers, 5 small eggs, 200 grams of Bulgarian cheese (or feta), 1 pinch of salt and parsley for decoration. You need to fry the onion in sunflower oil for 2-3min and then add the tomato and peppers. Leave the mixture frying for 8-10min. Then carefully add the eggs and scramble altogether. When the eggs are fried, add the Bulgarian cheese and sprinkle with parsley. Enjoy!
If you like this article we recommend you to also read the one about the Italian dish porchetta.
Reference:
Mishmash | Definition of Mishmash by Merriam-Webster. 2021. Mishmash | Definition of Mishmash by Merriam-Webster. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mishmash#h1. [Accessed 16 September 2021].
Canu, Claudia. Mish Mash ā Bulgarian Egg Scramble. 2018. ONLINE] Available at: https://claudiacanu.com/healthy-recipe/mish-mash-healthy-traditional-bulgarian-recipe/. [Accessed 16 September 2021].
Adey, Oliver. Strapatsada: Greek style scrambled eggs with tomatoes and feta. Get to text. 10.02.2021. [ONLINE] Available at https://gettotext.com/strapatsada-greek-style-scrambled-eggs-with-tomatoes-and-feta/. [Accessed 16 September 2021].
Brownstein, Bill. Montreal Gazetta. Brownstein: When lawyers get involved with the breakfast Mish-Mash. Montreal Gazette. 07.11.2019. Available at https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/brownstein-when-lawyers-get-involved-with-the-breakfast-mish-mash. [Accessed 16 September 2021]. Karadsheh, Suzy. Menemen Recipe (Turkish Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes). The mediterranean dish blog. 31.05.2021. Available at: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/menemen-recipe/ [Accessed 16 September 2021].
Written by Daniela Ignatova
She holds degrees in both Public Relations and European Governance. Currently, Daniela is combining her passion for communications and social media with her interest in the work of the European institutions.
