Shopska Salad

"“Shopska” salad - an iconic salad of the Balkans which is made with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, white/yellow onions, fresh and sometimes roasted sweet long green peppers (similar to Anaheim or Banana peppers) typical of the Balkan region, with a red wine vinegar based vinaigrette, topped with grated white cow or sheep's milk cheese (similar to feta). The thing I’ve always loved about this salad is dipping gorgeous bread in the remnants of the vinaigrette speckled with salty white cheese, so my version is a bit of departure from tradition (and obviously made with vegetables I can get here), but combines my favourite elements, the cheese and vinaigrette, into a topping (or dip?) of sorts which is simply olive oil, red wine vinegar, crumbled feta, parsley, and black pepper whipped together. ❤️ As an aside, “Shopska” salad is possibly named after a mountainous region called “Shopluk” which crosses the modern day borders of Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania, but the region's boundaries are (in typically Balkan fashion) very vaguely defined. You will quite likely find this on every menu in the region in some form or another, and it is perfect for hot days, eaten either as a “mezze” with a little Balkan brandy - rakija (or raki) (apple and pear based) or sljivovica (plum based), or as an accompaniment to a main meal, or in our case, a perfect little summer lunch to end the week. 💚 Happy Friday all!"