Bulgarian shepherd's salad with ham, mushrooms and egg (Ovcharska salata)

1. Hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes, cool in cold water, peel and dice.

2. Slice the mushrooms and fry in 1 tablespoon of the oil over high heat for 5-6 minutes until browned; salt lightly and leave to cool.

3. Dice the tomatoes and cucumber, cut the pepper into strips, the onion into thin rings and the ham into thin strips.

4. In a large bowl, combine the vegetables, mushrooms and ham; season with salt and dress with the remaining oil and the vinegar.

5. Pile the egg, crumbled sirene and coarsely grated kashkaval (a mild yellow cheese) on top.

6. Garnish with olives and chopped parsley and serve at once.

Tip: The 'shepherd's salad' is the heartier sibling of shopska: almost a whole meal on one plate. Kashkaval is Bulgaria's semi-hard yellow cheese – replace it with a mild Gouda; feta can stand in for sirene.