Bulgarian Shokska Salad

FROM MY FRIEND DEAN. Gonna try this soon. Thanks Dean

Subject: Dinner!
Hey there, Jamie! Love the idea for summer food. My Bulgarian boyfriend and I have this salad a lot. It's a traditional Bulgarian salad called Shopska Salad. It is probably the most common salad in Bulgaria and is served at the beginning of a meal with a small glass of rakia, which is a sort of Bulgarian grappa.

Equal amounts of:
Tomatoes, chopped
Cucumbers, chopped (peel, if desired)
Green peppers, chopped (or red, orange, yellow, cubanelle, or whatever you like)

1 red onion chopped
Fresh parsley, chopped
Sunflower oil, enough to moisten
Red-wine vinegar to taste
Salt and black pepper
1/2 cup Bulgarian feta cheese, crumbled or shredded

Chop vegetables into bite-sized chunks. Slice the onion in as small or large pieces as you like. Same with the parsley. Throw all of these into a bowl and add the oil and vinegar. You don't need too much dressing. Shred the cheese on top, toss, and add salt and pepper to taste.

If you don't have sunflower oil, use any mild-tasting oil. Olive oil is probably too strong-tasting for this salad. Canola, safflower, whatever you have on-hand.

Bulgarian feta is pretty commonly available in the US and is less sharp than the more common Greek. However,feel free to use whatever feta you prefer.

Feta tip: store feta in a tight container in water. Some of the salt will leech out of the cheese into the water, and the flavor of the cheese will be less sharp and the cheese will be softer as well.