According to Orthodox Christian beliefs, one should eat only vegetable food for seven weeks during the Easter Fast. All types of animal origin foods such as cheese, milk, eggs, butter, cream and other dairy and meat products are strictly forbidden. Fish is only allowed at the big Christian Feasts such as the Annunciation, St. Lazar’s Day (the Saturday before Palm Sunday), and the Palm Sunday. Christians can try during the Easter Fast some of the little known recipes which indulge your senses with the flavor of the typical Bulgarian meals. People say that one is a good cook when he makes delicious meatless dishes, as they require big culinary skills.

One of these meatless dishes is the prune casserole. To make this casserole, you need four or five average-sized carrots, a celery stick, five or six onions, few garlic cloves, five or six prunes, three tomatoes (fresh or canned), a glass of red wine, a bay leaf, several pimento seeds, olive oil and thyme. First you have to sweat the carrots, the celery, the garlic and the onions and then add the pitted prunes and the red wine. When the prunes become soft add the tomatoes, the spices and a cup of water, transfer the contents into a clay pot, cover the pot with the lid and stick it straight in the oven for about one hour. You can also cook the casserole on the embers of your fireplace, provided you have such. Thus, you can enjoy the beautiful flames of you fireplace and make your meal even more delicious.

Another type of prune casserole is the Monastery prune casserole. You can use the same products as in the above-mentioned dish, yet the cooking method is slightly different. First you need to sweat the carrots and the onions with some olive oil and water. Then you can add a spoonful of sifted flour (to avoid crumbing) and a soup spoon of paprika. Later, you add the tomatoes, the prunes, the water and the spices. The contents should boil on the stove until you have a soft and homogeneous fragrant mixture, where the prune flavor and smell prevail. If you are not the biggest fan of onions, you can use leeks instead. The taste is incredible!

If you do not have any tomatoes and carrots, you can still make a village casserole. If you do not have any prunes, however, try to make a monastic stew with snails. If you want to enhance the flavor of your dish, add a bunch of parsley together with the roots. The consumption of mollusca is allowed during fasts. You can vary the above-mentioned meals and use rice or potatoes instead of flour. Just make sure you keep the proportions and the right combination of the products. If you like to experiment, let your culinary intuition guide you! You can not mess it up, if the feeling of harmony is running in your blood.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov