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Popara
Bread in hot milk with cheese
Popara (попара): stale bread soaked in hot milk with butter and white cheese
Ask Bulgarians about popara and most will smile about childhood: a bowl of yesterday's bread torn into chunks, scalded with hot milk or sweet tea, then stirred with a knob of butter and a handful of crumbled white cheese. It is what grandmothers in villages from the Balkan Mountains to Sofia made on cold mornings, and what students still cook when the cupboard is empty. Soft, warm, salty and comforting, it should be spoonable but not a soup. Some families make it sweet with sugar instead of cheese. Bulgarian sirene is usually made with animal rennet, so pick a white cheese labelled vegetarian if that matters to you. Where most people go wrong is using soft fresh bread, which dissolves into paste; it must be properly stale and dry. Chef's tip: cover the bowl with a plate for two minutes after pouring the milk, so the bread swells evenly before you stir in the butter.
- Total time
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
- 7 oz stale white breadtorn into 3 cm pieces
- 1 ¾ cups milk
- 1 oz butter
- 3 ½ oz vegetarian Bulgarian white cheese (sirene)crumbled
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp sugar (optional)for a sweet version instead of cheese
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Divide 7 oz stale white bread between two warm bowls.
1 minStep 3: Pour the hot milk over the bread, cover each bowl with a plate and leave for 2 minutes, until the bread is swollen and soft.
2 minStep 4: Add 1 oz butter, stir gently so it melts, then crumble over 3 ½ oz vegetarian Bulgarian white cheese (sirene), or stir in 1 tsp sugar for the sweet version. Eat at once.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does popara take?
- About 10 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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