Dear friends,

In this video, I will show you some of the delicious winter specials that are consumed during the cold months in Bulgaria.

These dishes are hearty, warming and full of flavour.

Pickles (15 kg of vegetables)
Ingredients:
• 5 kg peppers
• 5 kg cabbage
• 5 kg cauliflower
• 0.5 kg carrots
• Celery
• 1 L oil
• 1 L vinegar
• 500 g sugar
• 300 g salt
• 15 tablets of aspirin (without vitamin C, just pure aspirin)
Instructions:
1. Cut the peppers and put them in a large bowl with the sugar. Let them sit until the sugar melts.
2. Cut the rest of the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and set them aside.
3. In a large pot, bring the oil, vinegar and salt to a boil. This is the marinade.
4. Put the vegetables in a basin or a bucket and pour the hot marinade over them. Stir well to coat them evenly.
5. Dissolve the aspirins in some water and add them to the basin or bucket. Mix well again.
6. Leave the pickles for 12 hours at room temperature.
7. Enjoy your pickles with bread, cheese, meat or as a side dish.

A Soup from Beef Shanks
Ingredients:
• 1-2 beef shanks
• 2-3 potatoes
• 1 big carrot
• 1 big onion
• Celery
• Parsley and lemon
Instructions:
1. Boil the beef shanks in a pressure cooker for about 50 minutes or until the meat is tender and falls off the bone.
2. Slice the onion and burn it from both sides on a skillet over high heat. This will give the soup a nice smoky flavor.
3. Cut the rest of the vegetables into big pieces and add them to the same pot with the beef shanks, the onion and the broth. Simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 15-20 minutes.
4. Chop the parsley and squeeze the lemon. Add them to your plate.
5. Enjoy your soup from beef shanks with bread, cheese or salad.

Sarma: The Bulgarian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients:
• 1 fermented cabbage
• 600 g of beef minced meat
• 1 leek onion or normal onion
• Red pepper
• Black pepper
• Savory
• A little bit more than a half glass of rice
• Bay leaf
• Oil
• Red dry pepper

Instructions:
Prepare the cabbage leaves by cutting out the hard parts and rinsing them well. If the leaves have too many holes, you will have to use two layers of leaves for each roll.

Prepare the filling by frying the minced meat and onion or leeks in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the red pepper, black pepper, savory and salt to taste. At the end, add the rice and stir well to combine. Do not overcook the rice, just let it absorb some of the juices from the meat.

Roll the cabbage rolls like babies: place a spoonful of filling on a leaf, fold the left and right sides over the filling, and then roll forward from the bottom to the top. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.

Arrange the cabbage rolls in a large pot or a baking dish, making sure they are tightly packed and do not move around. Pour a bit of oil over them, add a bay leaf and a bit of water to barely cover them. Place a heavy plate or a lid on top to keep them in place.

Cook the cabbage rolls in a pressure cooker for about 50 minutes or in a normal pot for a little bit more than one hour, until the cabbage is soft and the filling is cooked through.

Enjoy your sarma with some bread.

I hope you enjoy this video and try these winter specials in Bulgaria. Don’t forget to like, share and subscribe for more videos.

Thank you for watching!

#bulgaria #traditionaldishes #winterdish

00:00 Introduction;
00:22 Pickles;
02:27 Beef Shank Soup;
04:17 Sarma: Cabbage Rolls;