Shopska salad (bg. Шопска салата) is a typical Bulgarian dish, named after the Shopski region where the capital, Sofia, is situated (people from the Shopski region are called Shopi) It was created in the middle of the last century by the Bulgarian tourist association. If you order it in a restaurant you can expect a rather large glass bowl filled with cubes of cucumber, tomatoes, onion and white cheese on top. It is not mixed, so it's up to you to add oil (preferably olive oil) and/or vinegar.

Now, this is what you get in restaurants. At home it's different.

In summer, shopska salad would be prepared in my home on an average of 2.5 times per day. It's the manifesto of summer and fresh vegetables, of quiet dinners in the garden and peace. One of the best parts, I believe is that shopska salad cannot be prepared by one person. Well, it could be, but one more function of the dish is the team-building it provides. Find below the optimized process for preparation.

It starts with the ingredients, with the main focus on the tomatoes. In late August my aunt's garden should already have large pinky-red tomatoes that taste like Heaven. I would recommend preparing the salad with the oxen heart tomatoes – unusually large and tasty.

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So, as mentioned you need at least two people and tasks are assigned to each. One rinses the veggies starting with two long and thin cucumbers. When they're ready the other person starts peeling them while cook 1 finishes rinsing the tomatoes (3 or 4 of them). Cucumbers are cut into half- or quarter- circles. Tomatoes are ideally peeled too, but that's not necessary. You can cut the tomatoes in cubes if you feel like playing it safe, but safety is not what we, Shopi, respect. So you cut the tomato in half and while holding it you slaughter it with the sharpest knife available. Pieces will taste better if they're of different sizes and the chaos will contribute to the overall taste of the dish.
In the meantime cook 3 will grill 2-3 peppers (red or green or both, depending on your taste) and keep them on the grill whole before they turn black. For best results, I recommend keeping the peppers in a covered pot for 10 minutes before peeling the skins off. After that, the seeds are removed and the peppers cut into small pieces.
 

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Next is the onion (1 is enough, red or white, both work fine). Depending on your preferences you might be okay with just cutting it finely and throwing it in the bowl. If you like to go into details, like I do, you have to cut the onion and hold it in your hands. Here's the time for teamwork – you have to ask another cook to sprinkle generous amount of salt over the cut onion and smash it with your palms over the bowl. Ideally the onion juice will leak through your fingers and add to the sauce later.You can now add the olive oil and salt to taste. Black olives, too, if you feel like it.

Last but not least – cheese. Preferably white, salty cheese that you'll mash with a fork and sprinkle on top of the small vegetable mountain.

Now, this would probably be enough for 3 people. As experience shows, it's a good idea to have a few tomatoes and a cucumber around in case you run out of salad and want to make some more.

As you finish your portion you'll notice a considerable amount of sauce (tomato and onion juice + some of the oil + cheese) on the bottom of your plate. If you're on diet, this is where diets come to an end. Find the softest white bread, with the crispiest crust and toast it lightly on one side.

Dip the bread in the sauce and enjoy the brief moment of Holy culinary epiphany.