Shopska Salad is a cold appetizer popular throughout Southeastern Europe, but it is Bulgaria’s most famous salad and national dish. The colors of the salad are the same as the Bulgarian flag. Although the recipe can vary from region to region, the general ingredients are tomatoes, cucumbers, onion/scallions, raw or roasted peppers, parsley, and sirene (white brine cheese). Because this is a raw vegan rendition of this classic salad, all of the ingredients are cleanse-approved. Sorry, but no cheese in this recipe!

If you enjoy salads with a more acidic flavor profile, this is the salad for you. The vinegar accentuates the tart, slightly sour flavor of the tomatoes, but it tames the allium flavor of the onion. If red onion is too strong for your palate, feel free to use scallion instead. With the addition of a red onion, it’s more akin to a Greek salad or shirazi salad. Ingredients are relatively the same and the dressing is simple, but Greek salads use feta cheese and shirazi salads exclude cheese. Additionally, shirazi salads tend to include more herbs.

The main takeaway is that this salad is very easy to make, especially if you are pressed for time. Chop up a few ingredients and drizzle some olive oil and raw apple cider vinegar over the ingredients. Season with some sea salt and pepper and you have yourself a tasty, refreshing salad perfect for warmer weather. It makes for a great side dish or entree salad for people who are cleansing. Need it to be more filling? Throw some diced avocado into the mix and see where life takes you!

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