Tarator (Bulgarian Cucumber Soup)
Photo: Rainer Zenz, CC BY-SA 3.0
Tarator is a cold Bulgarian soup of yogurt, cucumber, and dill that comes together in a bowl with no cooking at all. Thinned with water to the texture of milk, it tastes sharp from the vinegar and cool from the cucumber, with walnuts adding a little crunch if you want them. Dice the cucumber rather than grating it, so the pieces stay crisp. Strain the yogurt and skip the water, and the same ingredients become a thick salad.
Instructions
Dice the cucumbers into small pieces. Dicing keeps a better bite than grating, though many restaurants grate them.
Put the yogurt in a large bowl and stir in the water, starting with the full cup. Add more water if needed until the soup is about as thin as milk.
Add the cucumber, chopped dill, and the walnuts if you are using them. Season with salt, vinegar, and oil, tasting as you go until the balance suits you.
Serve the soup cold in shallow soup dishes. If it is not cold enough, drop a couple of ice cubes into each dish.
For a salad instead, leave out the water and strain the yogurt until it has reduced to half its volume, then mix in the other ingredients. Made with fresh cucumbers it is called mlechna salata, and made with pickles or gherkins it is called snezhanka.
Make it personal.
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