🥦 Vegetarian Recipes — Meat-Free Cooking
Vegetarian recipes without meat — delicious and satisfying dishes with eggs, dairy, and vegetables. Healthy and easy cooking.
Sodena Pitka
The Bulgarian loaf that needs no yeast — yogurt and bicarbonate of soda do the lifting, so the dough goes from bowl to oven in fifteen minutes and comes out soft, tangy and faintly crumbly.
Apple Sauce
Bramley apples cooked to a fluff with butter and a strip of lemon — the classic partner to roast pork.
Courgette Ribbon Salad
Raw courgette shaved into ribbons with lemon, mint and Parmesan — no cooking and no wilting.
Tomato and Burrata Salad
Ripe tomatoes at room temperature under a torn burrata, with basil and good oil and nothing else.
Saag Paneer
Spinach cooked down and blended with spices, with cubes of fried paneer folded through at the end.
Dal Tadka
Yellow lentils simmered soft and finished with a tempering of spices bloomed in hot ghee.
Khachapuri Adjaruli
The Georgian cheese bread shaped like a boat, finished at the table with a raw egg and butter stirred into the molten centre.
Pierogi
Polish dumplings filled with potato and curd cheese, boiled then fried in butter with onions.
Tortilla Espanola
Spanish potato omelette — potatoes poached soft in olive oil, then set in egg and served at room temperature.
Arancini
Sicilian fried rice balls with a molten centre — made from risotto chilled overnight so it holds its shape.
Zelnik
A filo pie filled with cabbage or greens softened in oil — the savoury banitsa of the Bulgarian winter table.
Kashkaval Pane
Breaded fried kashkaval — the yellow-cheese version, stringier and milder than sirene pane.
Sirene Pane
Slabs of brined white cheese, breaded and fried until the crust holds a molten centre.
Kifli
Soft crescent rolls of enriched yeast dough, rolled around jam or cheese — the pastry of every Bulgarian childhood.
Kachamak
Bulgarian maize porridge beaten with butter and cheese — mountain food, served in a heap with more cheese on top.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
The everyday dressing — balsamic, mustard and oil emulsified in the right order and the right ratio.
Massaged Kale Salad
Raw kale worked by hand with lemon and oil until it softens and darkens, with Parmesan and toasted almonds.
Chickpea Salad
Chickpeas with cucumber, tomato, red onion and herbs in a lemon dressing — a fifteen-minute lunch that keeps.
Beetroot and Goat Cheese Salad
Roasted beetroot against soft goat cheese and toasted walnuts, with a honey and balsamic dressing.
Watermelon and Feta Salad
Cold watermelon against salty feta, mint and lime — the simplest hot-weather salad there is.
Gado-Gado
Indonesian blanched vegetable salad under a thick peanut sauce, with egg, tofu and prawn crackers.
Farro Salad
Nutty farro with roasted vegetables, herbs and lemon — a grain salad sturdy enough to travel.
Shopska Salad
Bulgaria's national salad — tomato, cucumber, pepper and onion under a snowdrift of grated white cheese.
Snezhanka
Bulgarian strained yogurt salad — thick yogurt, cucumber, garlic, dill and walnuts, somewhere between a salad and a dip.
Minestrone
The Italian vegetable soup that changes with the season — built on soffritto, beans and whatever is in the garden.
Potato Gnocchi
Light potato dumplings — the secret is dry, floury potatoes, minimal flour, and hands that barely work the dough.
Cacio e Pepe
Three ingredients, no margin for error — pasta, Pecorino Romano and black pepper emulsified with starchy water into a glossy sauce.
Pizza Margherita
Naples in three colours — a slow-fermented dough, San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte and basil, baked as hot as your oven will go.
Shakshuka
Eggs poached in a smoky pepper and tomato sauce — a North African skillet eaten straight from the pan with bread.
Risotto alla Milanese
Saffron risotto from Milan — rice cooked to a loose wave and beaten at the end with cold butter and Parmesan.
Pecheni Yabalki
Baked apples filled with walnuts, honey and cinnamon — the plainest Bulgarian dessert and one of the best.
Palachinki
Bulgarian thin pancakes — a loose batter swirled to the edge of the pan, rolled around jam, honey and walnuts, or sirene.
Tutmanik
A soft yeasted bread torn into pieces, each rolled in butter and sirene, baked so it pulls apart in cheesy layers.
Chushki Burek
Roasted red peppers stuffed with an egg-and-sirene filling, floured, battered and fried until blistered and golden.
Patatnik
A Rhodope mountain specialty — grated potato bound with onion and spearmint, pressed into a pan and baked until a crust forms on both faces.
Mekitsi
Bulgarian fried dough — a yogurt-enriched batter dropped into hot oil, puffed and golden, eaten hot with jam, honey or crumbled sirene.
Tikvenik
Sweet pumpkin banitsa — grated squash, walnuts, sugar and cinnamon rolled in filo and dusted with icing sugar.
Tarator
The cold yogurt soup that gets Bulgaria through August — cucumber, garlic, dill and walnuts in thinned yogurt, served ice-cold.
Mish-Mash
The Bulgarian summer skillet — roasted peppers and tomatoes cooked down, then set with eggs and crumbled sirene.
Vegetarian Lasagna
A hearty meat-free lasagna packed with roasted vegetables, ricotta, and marinara. All the comfort of classic lasagna with a vegetarian twist.
Spring Vegetable Rolls
Rice paper rolls packed with spring vegetables, avocado and fresh herbs – a light and healthy Easter starter for everyone.
Easter Nettle Soup
A vibrant green spring soup made from fresh nettles – a medicinal, seasonal Easter tradition from the Bulgarian countryside.
Easter Spring Salad
A bright and crunchy spring salad with rocket, radishes, cucumber and hard-boiled eggs – light, fresh and perfect alongside the Easter feast.
Spinach with Eggs
A classic quick-cook spring dish of wilted spinach with scrambled eggs, garlic and butter – a staple for Easter breakfast or light supper.
Egg Salad
Creamy classic egg salad with a hint of mustard and paprika — great for sandwiches or lettuce wraps.
Caprese Salad
A classic Italian salad of fresh mozzarella, ripe tomatoes, and basil drizzled with olive oil.
Classic Coleslaw
Crispy shredded cabbage and carrots in a creamy, tangy dressing — the ultimate BBQ side.
Cucumber Salad
Light and refreshing cucumber salad with red onion and a tangy dill vinaigrette.
Spinach Strawberry Salad
Fresh baby spinach with sweet strawberries, candied pecans, feta, and a poppy seed dressing.
Tomato Soup
Velvety smooth tomato soup with a hint of basil. Simple, warming, and perfect with a grilled cheese sandwich.
Greek Salad
A bright, refreshing salad of crisp vegetables, tangy feta, and kalamata olives in a lemon-oregano dressing.