Turkish Baklava

Ingredients:

• 20-30 thin layers of dough for the pie
• 300g. butter for sprinkling dough layers and greasing
• 300g. ground walnuts and 300g. ground almonds for filling
• 600g. sugar, 2-3dl. water and 1 vanilla-bean for the syrup

Grease tepsiya with butter, place in two dough layers and sprinkle each with melted butter. Sprinkle every second layer of dough with mixed walnuts and almonds. Repeat until all has been used, then cut into equal squares. Each square can be cut diagonally to get triangles.
Pour some melted butter over each piece obtained by cutting. Preheat the oven to 200°C and bake for about 40-50 minutes. Towards the end reduce heat to 150°C.

In the meantime prepare syrup:
Pour water over sugar and add vanilla. Cook until syrup is so thick that it drips from the mixing spoon like honey.

Cook baked "Baklava" a little, pour warm syrup over and leave to stand until all the syrup is absorbed.

Photos:

Turkish Baklava

Serbian rice with meat

Ingredients:

• 500g. veal meat
• 10g. ham
• 1 big onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 250g. green paprika (peppers)
• 250g. carrots
• 375g. tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons oil
• salt
• 375ml. bouillon
• hot red pepper
• pepper
• 175g. parboiled rice
• 1 bunch of parsley

Cut the meat in cubes. Chop the peeled onions and peeled garlic (very fine). Slice paprika, carrots and tomatoes. Roast meat and chopped ham with oil in a pan and season with salt. Roast onions, garlic and paprika. Cook the carrots in the bouillon for 10 minutes, add tomatoes, meat, ham, rice and the other vegetables, season with salt, red pepper and pepper. Put the food in a heat-resistant form and gratinate in the preheated oven at 200°C for 50 minutes. Before serving decorate with fine chopped parsley.

Source: Chris_fra.tripod.com

Serbian rice with meat

Mosaic Bread

Ingredients:

• 150g. butter
• 150g. canned sardines
• 150g. lean ham
• 100g. Swiss cheese
• 10 olives
• 1/2 pickled pepper
• 1 small French baguette
• 1/2 cup milk

Grind the sardines, 1/3 of the ham and an egg-sized piece of crustless bread, soaked in milk and squeezed dry. Mix everything with the butter until creamy and homogeneous. Cut the rest of the ham, Swiss cheese, olives and pickled pepper in small cubes and mix with the prepared paste. Refrigerate. During this time, cut the heels of the baguette and take the soft bread inside out, leaving about half an inch of bread below the crust. Then fill with the refrigerated paste. Refrigerate. Cut with a very sharp knife in thin slices about half an inch thick. It is better when prepared one day in advance.

Source: Pitt.edu

Mosaic Bread

Moussaka with rice

Ingredients:

• 200g. rice
• 1-1.5dl. oil
• 200g. fresh mushrooms
• 200g. chicken livers
• 1/2 bunch of parsley
• 2 eggs
• 2dl. sour cream

Pick over rice, wash and cook in slightly salted water. When tender, rince well and drain. Peel onion and chop finely. Heat oil, add onion, cook slowly to soften a little, then add trimmed mushrooms cut into thin slices, cook together about 10-15 minutes, then take out mushrooms with onion from oil.

Wash parsley, wipe and chop finely. Wash chicken livers, cut into strips, drain and fry a little in the same oil, add salt and pepper. Put a layer of rice into a greased fireproof dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Repeat until all is used. Cover with chicken livers and poir the rest of oil over. Heat oven to 200°C and bake about 20 minutes.

Towards the end pour eggs beaten with sour cream over the moussaka, put back into oven to brown. With moussaka serve lettuce, cabage salad, mixed salad...

Related recipes:

• Romanian mussaka
• Mussaka with ham from Bachka

Moussaka with rice

Macedonian pacha

Ingredients:

• 1-1.5kg. pork legs, ears and head
• black peppercorns
• parsnip, sliced
• carrots, sliced
• 1 onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 garlic bulb

Put the meat in a large, deep pot with cold water and cook it. When there is no foam add the bay leaf, black peppercorns, parsnip, carrot, onion and lemon juice. Cook for 4-5 hours. Much of the water evaporates. Take it out from the heat and leave it to cook. Remove the fat from the surface, strain the soup with a strainer, remove the bones from the meat and arrange the meat in a separate dish.

Cut the carrots and parsnip in slices and put them in the same dish. You may place slices of hard boiled eggs in the dish. Add also the crushed garlic with salt. Finally pour the soup over the meat and the vegetables and leave in a cool place until it turns to a jelly.

Macedonian pacha

Spinach puree with feta cheese

Ingredients:

• 1kg. spinach
• 5 tbsp. plain flour
• 100g. butter
• 200g. feta cheese
• 2 eggs
• salt
• 1-2 medium onions, finely chopped

Wash the spinach, cut into fine strips, cook for about 15 minutes in salty water, drain, leave to cool, then puree.

In a pan melt the butter, add the flour, then the onions and fry for about 5 minutes. Add 150 ml water (or milk) and the pureed spinach, bring to the boil, stirring frequently. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the eggs (beaten) and the crumbled cheese. Cook for further 5 minutes and take off the hob.

Source: Passionateaboutfood.net

Spinach puree with feta cheese

Thick soup with squash

Ingredients:

• 700g. pared squash
• 60g. butter or margarine
• 15g. flour
• 1-1.5l. milk
• 50g. young kaymak or 1/2dl. sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon red paprika pepper
• salt

Cut pared squash into small cubes, cook in mildly salted water. Heat about 40g. butter or margarine, add flour, fry it a little, slowly pouring in warm milk, cook, add kaymak or sour cream, simmer about 10 minutes, add cooked squash, then cook together for a short while (5 minutes).

Before serving, pour over the soupp heated butter (about 20g.) with some red paprika pepper added to it.

Thick soup with squash

Ajvar

Ingredients:

• 4 aubergines
• 8-12 fresh red paprika
• chili peppers to taste
• 1-2 dl. oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar)
• salt and pepper to taste

Ajvar is a popular appetizer made of roasted paprika, ripe tomatoes, and even string beans can be combined into ajvar. Ajvar is a seasonal dish in Macedonia, Serbia and other former parts of Yugoslavia, always made in late summer and early autumn, just after the paprika harvest, when many households bottle their own ajvar for use throughout the winter season. Here are the directions:

Wash aubergines, drain, put into the heated oven (175-200°C) and bake then peel while still warm. Wash paprika's, wipe and dry fry on top the stove, then put into deeper dish, sprinkle with cold water, cover and leave to cool. Skin cooled paprika's and remove seed. Grind paprika's and aubergines together. Peel onion, chop finely, cook slowly in heated oil until quite soft. Towards the end add cleaned and crushed garlic, cook shortly together, set aside, add ground paprika's and aubergines and mix (very often ajvar is prepared without adding onion and garlic).

Turn all into a deeper dish and drip in oil slowly, stirring all the time. When all the oil is used, add lemon juice or vinegar, salt, pepper and mix well. Put into a bowl, shape nicely, sprinkle with more pepper if desired and pour over with some more oil.

Serve as an appetizer to spread on thick slices of country-style white bread or flat pita bread with chunks of feta cheese, or use as a side dish to accompany grilled or roasted meats.

Ajvar is put into small clean jars pressed tightly so that there are no bubbles in them and the jars covered with cellophane ot parchment.

Worth reading:

• His Majesty - Ajvar by Cherry blossom girl

Ajvar

Chicken liver dumplings

Ingredients:

• 1 small spoon butter or lard
• 1 bigger chicken liver
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp breadcrumbs
• parsley leaves
• salt and pepper

Mix butter or lard well, add finely chopped or scrapped liver 1 egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, chopped parsley and 1 whipped egg white. Mix all well and leave to stand for a while. Bring soup to thr boil, turn the heat down, take up bit by bit of the prepared mixture with teaspoon and dip into the simmering soup. When the dumplings emerge to the surface, let them simmer, for a further 5-7 minutes. Chopped parsley can also be added to the soup.

Chicken liver dumplings

Risotto with mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 1-2 onions
• 1dl. oil
• 1dl. white wine
• 150-200g. mushrooms
• 300g. rice
• 0,75-1l. bone stock
• 100-150g. cheese
• 1/2 bunch of parsley
• salt and pepper

Peel onion and chop finely. Heat oil a little, add onion, cook until nearly tender, pour in wine, then cook together until it boils. Trim mushrooms, wash and slice finely, add to the onion and cook together for a short while.

Pick over rice, wash and drain well, add to the mushrooms, fry together for a while then pour in soup (or lukewarm water), add salt and pepper and stir slowly. Simmer until rice is tender.

When the risotto is cooked, stirr in grated cheese and chopped parsley. With fresh vegetables (tomatoes, paprikas, cucumbers) this dish can also be served as light supper.

Risotto with mushrooms

Romanian Mussaka

Ingredients:

• 1,5kg. potatoes, sliced
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 medium onions, sliced
• 800g. tinned tomatoes, chopped
• 450g. minced pork
• 250ml. beef stock
• salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Romanian Mussaka is a traditional Romanian recipe for a classic dish of layered potatoes, meat and tomatoes covered in beef stock and oven baked:

Heat the oil in a large pan or wok and use to fry the potatoes for about 10 minutes or until just softened. Add the onions and fry for a further 10 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to an oven-proof casserole dish then top with the meat and tomatoes. Season with salt and black pepper then stir to combine. Pour the beef stock over the top then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for about 60 minutes. Serve hot.

Source: Celtnet.org.uk

Related recipes:

• Mussaka with ham from Bachka

Romanian Mussaka

Bosnian Somun

Ingredients:

• 1kg. flour
• 2 tablespoons dry yeast (2 envelopes or 14g.)
• tablespoon salt
• teaspoon sugar
• 600 – 700 ml. warm water
• black cumin to strew

The word "somun" itself alludes to the smell spreading across the streets of Sarajevo. The vendors offer hot somuns on the streets, taking the deliciously smelling flatbreads – good only while hot – from the boxes under steam-covered paper. These flatbreads made of gently kneaded dough are baked at very high temperatures, which results in their characteristic puffed-up shape and a hollow body. The more hollow the middle, the better the somun. It works best with kajmak or topa (salt clotted cream, and molten butter with cream, respectively). In any case, it is indispensible alongside cevapcici and sliced onion.

In a small bowl, mix two teaspoons of yeast and 200 ml of lukewarm water; add one tablespoon of flour and a teaspoon of sugar. Then, let the yeast activate.
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the leavening to the flour and knead the dough with 500 ml. warm, but not hot, water. The dough should be very soft.

Let the dough rise until double in bulk. Then, knead and let rise again.
When the dough has risen for the second time, cover your hands in flour and split it into 8 balls of same size. Cover the balls with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise some more.
Roll each ball in flour and form into a flatbread; avoid flattening too much, as the somuns may otherwise be too thin. Transfer the somuns on a baking tray covered with waxed paper.

Brush the somuns with water and strew some black cumin on them. Use a knife or a wooden spit to make a rhomboid pattern on the top side.
At first, bake the somuns at 230 degrees; when their colours starts turning golden, reduce temperature to 150 °C and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Source: Gorenje.com

Related recipes:

• Macedonian bread
• Bulgarian bird of paradise bread
• Walnut sweet bread

Bosnian Somun

Lamb roast

Ingredients:

• 1 back leg lamb
• 200g. smoked lard (bacon)
• 200g. garlic
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tbs. basil
• 1 tbs. marjoram
• 2 glasses red wine

Cut the smoked lard in little pieces about 1-2 cm long and 1/3 qcm in section. Do the same with the garlic.

Dry the meal with a towel and place it on a wooden platter. Start to cut little pockets in the meal, not very large but as deep as you can and fill each of them with one piece of smoked lard and one piece of garlic. The more pockets you fill the more tasty your roast will be. Push the pieces deeply in pockets because the lamb decreases a lot by cooking.

Sprinkle half of glass of wine over. Spread over the salt, pepper, basil and marjoram.

Place it on the grill of your hot oven. Under the grill place a tray deep enough to keep 1-2 liters of water. Pour in the water another half glass of wine and let it bake for 70-90 minutes (depending on how large is your lamb). At every half an hour complete the water under the lamb and add a half glass of wine.

Serve it with spinach puree and garlic sauce.

Source: Exploringromania.com

Lamb roast

Fish in olive oil

Ingredients:

• 1 gray mullet of about 1kg.
• 2 bigger onions
• 2 paprikas
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 500g. tomatoes
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1dl. olive oil
• 3 tbsp. tomato puree's
• 10-12 black olives
• 2-3dl. warm water
• salt

Clean fish, wash well and wipe. Peel onion and cut into thin slices of rounds. Core paprika and cut into strips, chop finely or crush garlic, wash tomatoes, peel and cut into rounds and then chop parsley finely.

Heat oil, add fish, fry a little on all sides, then take out. Cook onion slowly in the same oil until soft and slightly brown, add paprika, cook on until tender. Then add garlic. Arrange tomato over cooked onion and paprika. Mix tomato puree's with 2dl. water pour in it, add salt and pepper. Simmer together for more 10 minutes.

Put fried fish into the sauce. Barely cover with warm water. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Halve olives, remove stones. Put fish on a deeper, long plate, pour the sauce over, sprinkle with olives. Serve cold.

Fish in olive oil

Panagurishte poached eggs

Ingredients:

• 8 eggs
• 4 soup spoons of butter
• 600g. of natural yoghurt
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• 5 soup spoons of vinegar
• 2 teaspoons of paprika
• 1/3 of a teaspoon of chilli powder
• freshly chopped dill
• salt

Crush the garlic and mix this together with the yoghurt and half a coffee cup of salt. Bring a full pan of water to the boil (with salt and the vinegar). Break the eggs one by one into a bowl, then poach them in the simmering water.

After three minutes of cooking, remove the eggs. In a serving bowl, place the yoghurt and then the eggs on top. Heat the butter, add paprika and the chilli powder. Mix together for a few seconds and remove from the heat. Drizzle over the poached eggs.

Sprinkle with freshly chopped dill and serve with a dry white wine and fresh crusty bread for a delicious and quick meal.

Panagurishte poached eggs

Kjebapchinja, Macedonian style

Ingredients:

• 800g. ground young beef
• 200g. ground mutton
• 100g. onion
• 20g. oil
• 5 cloves of garlic
• salt and pepper
• oil for brushing

Mix meat, kneed thoroughly and leave in a cool place to sit for several hours. Chop onion finely, heat oil, add onion and cook slowly until it is soft and beginning to color. Peel garlic and chop finely. Add onion and garlic to meat, season with salt and pepper. Work all into a meat mixture, leave for a short while in a cool place, then shape into smaller kjebapcinja.

Grill at first on very hot grill. Brush with oil while grilling.Serve with spring onions, tomatoes and small hot peppers.




Related recipes:

• Bosnian Cevapcici
• Osmanli Kebabs

Kjebapchinja, Macedonian style

Gypsy chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 ½ medium onions chopped
• 1 green pepper (thinly sliced)
• 1 sweet red bell pepper (thinly sliced)
• 1 yellow bell pepper (thinly sliced)
• a handful of mushrooms sliced
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 tbsp lemon juice, fresh or bottled

Gypsy chicken is a traditional Serbian recipe for a classic dish of pan-fried breaded chicken breasts served with a mushrooms and sauce. Here is the full recipe:

Pound meat until very thin. Salt and pepper. Dip chicken breasts into egg, then in bread crumbs. Heat oil and butter together over medium heat. Sauté until golden (about 15 minutes). Remove to another pan and keep warm.

Add onions to the skillet. Sauté until limp but not brown. Add peppers and cook till limp. Add mushrooms cook just till warmed.

Add flour and stir it around. Add the broth and stir till the sauce thickens and is smooth. Add the cream and lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the chicken breasts that have been placed on the individual plates.

Source: Gourmed.gr

Gypsy chicken

Bosnian red pilaf

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. lamb or beef, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 8 cups water
• 1 cup carrots, cut into chunks
• 1 cup parsnips, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup celery root, cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. peppercorns
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 4 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 5 cups rice
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper

In a large pot, cover the meat with 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam that rises to the top, then add the carrots, parsnips, celery root, salt and peppercorns. Return to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1-1/2-2 hours, until the meat is tender. Strain the stock, set aside the meat and discard the vegetables.

Clean out the pot and melt the butter. Saute� the tomatoes for 10-15 minutes, until they begin to disintegrate. Pour in the rice and continue to saut� for another ten minutes, until the rice becomes translucent. Add 2 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon pepper and stir well; then add the meat and stock. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and cook for 20-30 minutes, until the rice is tender and ready to serve.

Source: Superluminal.com

Bosnian red pilaf

Romanian carp with white wine

Ingredients:

• 1-1.5kg. carp
• 500-600g. onion
• 2dl. oil
• 2 bayleaves
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 3-4dl. white wine
• 1 lemon
• parsley
• salt and pepper

To prepare this recipe, Romanian carp with white wine, follow our directions:
Remove scales form fish, draw, wash well, wipe, salt and cut gashes on both sides. Heat oil add peeled onion cut into tin slices, add pepper, bayleaf, cook slowly until soft and light brown. Roll carp in flour, fry on both sides in heated oil. Put it into an enamelled djuvetch, cover with cooked onion, pour wine over and bake in the oven preset at 175°C about 30-40 minutes.

When done, take it out carefully, place on a long plate and put in a a warm place. Pass sauce through a sieve, add some water as needed, cook shortly and pour over the fish. Garnish with lemon rounds and parsley leaves. Serve with cooked rice sprinkled with chopped parsley. Bon appetit.

Related recipes:

• Carp with red wine
• Carp with olives
• Carp-Bulgarian way
• Carp on onion from Vranje

Romanian carp with white wine

Bean Jahni soup

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of dry white beans
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint
• salt, chili powder

Boil beans in hot water in an uncovered pot for 5 minutes. Rinse and boil for another 15 minutes in a covered stock pot in 3 cups hot water. Saute onion in olive oil until it turns yellow. Add 2 tablespoons bean stock from the pot along with tomato sauce, parsley, salt and chili powder for taste.

Cook for 10 minutes or until a thick sauce is formed, then pour everything into the pot. Add chopped mint, cover tightly and cool for 2 hours over low heat, or for 30 minutes in a pressure cooker. This should produce a thick juice. Serve the soup hot.

Source: Frosina.org

Bean Jahni soup

Thick soup with young nettles

Ingredients:

• 500g. young nettles (top parts)
• 40g. oil
• 30g. flour
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2l. milk
• 1/2l. warm water
• 1 egg
• 1dl. sour cream
• salt and pepper

Clean young nettles, wash and cook in slightly salted water. Drain, rise, drain again and then chop or pass through a sieve. Heat oil, add flour, fry it a little until slightly brown, add snipped garlic, pour in cold and then warm water, add nettles, milk, salt and pepper, then simmer for another 10 minutes. Beat egg yolk with sour cream, add to the soup stirring it all the time just before serving.

Thick soups with spinach, Swiss chard or sorrel can be prepared in the same way.

Related recipes:

• Bulgarian thick soup with herbs
• Serbian thick chicken soup with kaymak
• Montenegrin nettle soup
  

Thick soup with young nettles

Macedonian pogacha (Rich bread)

Ingredients:

• 750g.-1kg. flour
• salt
• 2 tablespoons lukewarm milk or water
• 20 g. fresh yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 dl. oil
• lukewarm water as needed
• 2-3 eggs
• salt
• lard or oil for greasing
• flour for dusting

Pogacha (Rich bread) is something like white bread and there are as many recipes for it as there are shapes. The next recipe is from Macedonia:

Sift flour. Crumble yeast, add some sugar, some flour and lukewarm water or milk. Mix well until smooth and leave to stand in a warm place to rise.

Make a well in the center of flour, add oil, egg yolks and one whole egg, salt and creamed yeast. Pour in some lukewarm water and mix all. Knead into smooth dough until bubbles appear in it. Dust the dough with some flour and leave it to stand in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

Grease a baking pan (tepsiya) with oil or lard. Toss the risen dough onto a board dredged with flour, knead it shortly, put into the tepsiya, cover and leave to stand like that for about 10-15 minutes. Before baking, prick with a fork in several places. Bake in the oven preheated to 200 Celsius degrees for about 30-35 minutes. When the crust is brown, it can be covered with tin paper or thin foil. When done, sprinkle the pogatcha with some water and wrap it up with clean cloth.

Serve warm, preferably with kaymak, some cheese spread or the like, as an appetizer.

The recipe is adapted from "The Balkan Cookbook" by Radojko Mrljesh

Macedonian pogacha (Rich bread)

Turkish bean salad

Ingredients:

• 250g. beans
• 1,5dl. water
• 1 smaller onion
• 60g. olive
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 4 tomatoes
• 50g. olives
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• salt and pepper

Pick over beans, wash, pour over cold water and leave to swell overnight, then cook in the same water and add peeled onion. When tender, drain and put into a deeper bowl. Remove onion.

For the marinade: mix well oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pour over still warm beans, leave to cool about 30-40 minutes. Wash tomatoes peel remove stalk ends, cut into slices, remove slides. Halve olives. Shell eggs and also slice. Add tomatoes, olives and egg slices to the beans, mix carefully and leave to stand for at least 40-60 minutes. Turkish bean salad is ready for serving. Serve as an accompaniment to baked meat dishes or grills.

Caned beans can also be used for this salad, which should only be rinsed and drained. In that case the bean salad can be prepared quickly.

Related recipes:

• Turkish salad
• Bulgarian potato salad
• Albanian salad
  

Turkish bean salad

Stuffed peppers

Ingredients:

• 10-15 bigger paprikas/peppers
• 1-1.5dl. oil
• 2 onions
• 150g. rice
• 700g. mixed ground meat
• salt and pepper
• ground hot paprika
• tomato
  
• lukewarm water

Stuffed peppers, Punjena paprika (Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro), Polneti piperki (Macedonia), Pulnena paprika/Pulneni chushki (Bulgaria) or Ardei umpluti (Romania) is a famous Balkan dish consisting of paprikas/peppers filled with mixture of meat and rice. There are many variations of stuffed peppers across Balkan countries but here we present you the basic recipe that can you modify by taste:

Slice the tops off the peppers. Pull out the seeds and the cores. Dip them in warm water and leave to get soft.

Heat oil, add finely chopped onion, cook it slowly until sloghtly brown. Pick over rice, wash and cook in salted water, rise, drain and add to soft onion, then stirr in meat. Cook slowly together, add salt, pepper and ground paprika. Cool a little.

Place the pepper shells in a baking dish that will hold them snugly together. Spoon the filling into the peppers. Replace the tops with peace of tomato. Pour 3 tablespoons of water around the peppers and bake for about 30 minutes in the oven preheated to 175°C until filling is puffed and the peppers are soft. Serve warm or cold.

Stuffed peppers

Risotto with kidneys

Ingredients:

• 1 beef or 2 veal or pork kidneys
• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups meat broth or water
• 3 tbsp lard
• 3 onions
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• ½ tspn paprika
• salt and pepper, to taste
• a little sugar
• grated parmesan, to taste
• chopped parsley, for garnish

To prepare this recipe, first remove the outer membranes from the kidneys, split in half lengthwise, remove the interior fatty tissues and slice thinly. Set to boil starting with cold water. After it comes to a boil, drain and wash the kidneys with tepid water.
Finely chop the onion, fry in 2 tablespoons of lard until softened, add tomato sauce, paprika, one cup meat broth or water, salt, pepper, sugar and the kidneys. Simmer until the kidneys are done.

In the meantime, fry the rice in one tablespoon of lard, add a cup meat broth. Place the rice in a greased Bundt pan, cover and set into the oven to bake.
When the rice is done, turn onto a plate, spread some grated parmesan on top and place the kidneys and sauce in the middle hole.

Garnish with chopped parsley on top and serve hot.
This recipe (with modifications) is popular not only in Romania but also in many other Balkan countries.

Source: Freerecipes.8m.com

Risotto with kidneys

Serbian trout in kaymak

Ingredients:

• 1 trout of 1,5kg.
• 1 lemon
• 200g. kaymak
• 50g. white flour
• 1 small garlic
• 1dl. of wine vinegar
• salt

Clean fish, wash well, wipe, cut into bigger pieces, sprinkle with lemon juice and salt. Leave to stand like that about 30-40 minutes. Roll fish in flour, put into the frying pan in which kaymak has been melted (about 150g.). Fry at low heat. In the meantime peel the garlic, crush well with salt and chop, add wine vinegar and mix. When fish is fried nicely on both sides, take it out and place in a warmed dish. Each layer should be poured over with mixture of vinegar and garlic, and then pour the rest of kaymak over the whole dish.

Related recipes:

• Trout in Ohrid manner

Serbian trout in kaymak

Bulgarian bird of paradise bread

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon instant active dry yeast (not rapid rise)
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 4 large eggs plus 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup feta or brinza cheese, finely crumbled
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 thin slice kashkaval or Cheddar cheese, cut into 4 triangles
• 4 (1/2-inch-by-1 1/2-inch) rectangles of ham
• 4 pitted cured black olives
• 1 star-shaped piece of red bell pepper

"Bulgarian Bird of Paradise Bread" is a yeast bread that gets its name from the decorative placement of cheese, ham, olives and red pepper on the top.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, water and flour. Add yogurt, 4 eggs, salt and feta or brinza cheese. Switch to the dough hook and knead unil a soft, sticky, slightly lumpy (because of the cheese) dough forms, about 7 minutes.
Transfer dough to a greased bowl, cover with greased plastic, set in a warm place and let rise until doubled.
Punch down dough and place in a greased 8-inch springform pan that is 3 inches high. Brush liberally with remaining beaten egg mixed with milk.

To decorate, arrange kashkaval or Cheddar cheese triangles on top to form a square. Place ham and olives in between cheese and place the star of red pepper in the center. Let rise another 45 minutes.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake bread 15 minutes then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 190 degrees. Cool a few minutes in pan, then turn out of pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
Source: Easteuropeanfood.about.com
Adapted from "The Balkan Cookbook" by Trish Davies (Anness Publishing, 2000)

Related recipes:

• Macedonian bread

Bulgarian bird of paradise bread

Stewed green beans and potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of Seitan, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 cups of Green Beans, trimmed and cut in half
• 1 small red potato, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• pinch of chili flakes (optional)
• 2 cups vegetable broth or water
• 3 tablespoons + 1 tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons – 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke

Today recipe is named "Albanian style stewed green beans and potatoes with smokey seitan" and is presented and published by 16-years old boy Jay at his blog about vegan foodie. Here is the recipe:

Heat a medium pot over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When hot enough, add the seitan and saute until golden on all sides about 4-5 minutes. Towards the end at the liquid smoke and Smoked Salt. Remove from pot and set aside.

Now add about 2-3 tablespoons of Olive Oil to the pot. Add the onions and saute for a good 8 minutes until they are translucent and tender. If your pot has burned pieces from the seitan, deglaze it with a bit of vegetable broth. Add the garlic and saute for a minute until fragrant. Now it’s time to add the green beans and potatoes. Saute the green beans and potatoes for about 5 minutes.

Now add the tomato, paprika, oregano, chili flakes and season with salt and pepper. Saute for another two minutes. Add the vegetable broth or water and bring to a boil and then to a simmer. After a couple of minutes add the seitan that you have set aside. Simmer the stew for about 45-50 minutes until the green beans and potatoes are tender. If the stew starts to get dry simply add some more broth. Re-season with salt and pepper to taste if necessary. Remember to not go heavy on the salt because the Smokey Seitan is salt already from the smoked salt. Let the stew sit for 15 minutes or you can eat it has soon has it finished cooking.
Serve these stewed green beans with some rice, bread, and a side salad or vegetable.

Source: Theveganfoodie.wordpress.com

Stewed green beans and potatoes

Overview of Macedonian Cuisine

Macedonia has a long and praised tradition of culinary delights. Macedonian Cuisine has been affected by the nations from the Mediterranean space and also by the countries from the Balkans. The strongest influence come from Turkey because of the long centuries of Ottoman rule and some of the dishes that have Turkish origin are: beef kebabs, kadaif, burek... and there is also well known Turkish coffee.

The meat has a very important role in the Macedonian food. People use for the recipes many types of meats that range from pork, beef, lamb and chicken. The freshwater fish, the Lake Ohrid Trout, particularly, is enjoyed by the Macedonian and the game does not make an exception. The Macedonians also produce white and red wines produced by high quality grapes (Vranec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon...) that are recognized world wide for their specific taste. Other beverages that are worth to be mentioned are rakija and mastika. The beer is also popular and it is appreciated both by the locals and the tourists.

The Macedonian cuisine does not imply knowing any special cooking techniques. People use the same preparation methods as the rest of Europians. Of course, each dish requires being preparated in a certain way. Macedonian food is characterized by using fresh ingredients of good quality, proper use of herbs and spices, the famous olive oil, and its basic simplicity. The taste of vegetables and fruits is recognizible because of the good climate conditions.

One of the unique and specifical preparation method of Macedonian cuisine is slow homemade cooking in covered ceramics and pottery, over fire resulting with meals combined with stuffed vegetables and wraps. A rich variety of meat dishes, grills, fried meats, kebaps, stews, meat cooked in a crock or pan, and Olive oil dishes what includes fry eggplants, peppers and zucchini or cook in an onion and tomato sauce and letting them simmer, will welcome you to taste Macedonian food.

Some of the traditional Macedonian foods:

• Gravche-Tavche
• Kjoftinja
• Ajvar
• Sarma
• Moussaka
• Pastrmajlija
• Pleskavica
• Turli Tava
• Ruska Salata
• ...
  

Overview of Macedonian Cuisine

Turkish Gozleme

Ingredients:

• 480g. plain flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil/milk
• 360ml. lukewarm water
• extra olive oil for cooking

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped finely
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• pinch cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
• 2 bunches English spinach, shredded
• 200g. feta cheese, crumbled
• 50g. tasty cheese, grated

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well. Pour oil and water and mix until combined. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Divide dough into four balls. Cover and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in frying pan; cook onions and garlic until softened but not browned. Allow to cool. Combine onion mixture and remaining filling ingredients in a bowl; season and mix to combine. Preheat flat grill plate on high. Roll dough to a 3mm thickness; place one quarter of the filling over one half of the dough. Fold over dough and press lightly to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Brush oil over grill plate well. Place one gozleme onto flat plate. Cook for 3-4 minutes, drizzle top with more oil then turn over. Tip: If dough is browning too quickly reduce heat to medium. Cook until golden brown and crisp. Repeat with remaining gozleme. Cut into pieces and serve with wedges of lemons.

Source: Sunbeam.com.au

Turkish Gozleme

Bamijas-Ulcinj style

Ingredients:

• 1kg. veal thigh or shoulder
• 1 large onion, chopped
• salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp. chilli powder
• 150g. tomatoes, chopped
• 4 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

For the Bamijas (okra):

• 300g. baby okra, trimmed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Ulcinj style Bamijas is a traditional Montenegro recipe for a classic dish of veal stewedwith chilli powder and tomatoes that's mixed with a combination of banijas (okra) and onion before being oven baked.
Bone and cube the meat then add to a pan along with the onion. Season to taste with salt, add the chilli and cover with water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer and cook for about 50 minutes, or until the meat is tender. Add the chopped tomatoes and parsley and cook for a further 30 minutes.
Whilst the meat is cooking, prepare your bamijas. Add the okra to a pan of lightly-salted water and boil until tender (about 15 minutes). In the meantime, fry the onion in a little until tender (about 8 minutes). Season to taste with salt, black pepper, the herbs and spices. Drain the okra and add to the onion mix.
Transfer the meat mixture to a roasting pan, stir-in the okra mixture then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 200°C and bake for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Source: Celtnet.org.uk

Bamijas-Ulcinj style

Mussaka with ham from Bachka

Ingredients:

• 1kg. potatoes
• 200-250g. minced or ground ham
• 1dl. oil or 50g. lard
• 150g. kachkaval cut into thin slices
• salt and pepper

B'echame sauce:

• 40g. butter or margarine
• 20g. flour
• 2-2.5dl. milk
• 1/2dl. sour cream
• 1 egg yolk

Peel potatoes and cook in mildly salted water. When tender, drain and cut into rounds. Grease a fireproof dish with some oil or lard. Put in layers of potatoes, ham and cheese in turn. Sprinkle each layer of potatoes with salt and pepper and with some oil or melted lard. Repeat until all is used, finish with potatoes.
Pour b'echamel sauce over mussaka: heat butter, add flour, fry a little but do not let it brown, slowly pour in cold, than warm milk. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Beat well sour cream and egg, add to cooled b'echamel, stirring all the time. Bake in oven preheated to 200°C about 30 minutes, until brown.

Serve with lettuce, betroth salad or the like.

Mussaka with ham from Bachka

Dry walnut pie

Ingredients:

• 500g. ready-made layers of dough for the pie
• 400-500g. ground walnuts
• 100-150g. raisins
• 250g. sugar
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar
• oil for sprinkling dough layers and for greasing

Syrup:

• 400-450g. sugar
• 1dl. water
• 1 vanilla-bean or 1 sachet vanilla sugar
• 1 lemon

Grease a cake tin and place 2-3 dough layers in and sprinkle with oil. Mix walnuts, raisins and vanilla sugar. Spread some of the mixture over the dough layers, then again place a couple of dough layers sprinkled with oil, then walnuts. Repeat until all the dough layers and walnuts have been used and finish with 2-3 sprinkled dough layers.
Before baking, cut the pie in the tin into small squares. Bake in the oven preheated to 200°C until nicely brown. In the meantime prepare syrup: pour water over sugar, add vanilla and lemon cut into rounds. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the syrup is nearly tick.
Pour hot syrup over baked pie, put bake into lukewarm oven and leave for a further 15-20 minutes to absorb the syrup. When cooled turn the pie on to a plate and leave to stand for 1-2 days until completely dry. If it is kept in a dry and cool place, Bulgarian dry walnut cake can be used up to 10 days.

Related recipes:

• Romanian walnut sweet bread
• Albanian walnut cake with lemon glaze

Dry walnut pie

Borsch with beans

Ingredients:

• 100g. dried haricot beans
• 1/2 carrot, grated
• 1/2 stick celery, chopped
• 1/2 parsnip, grated
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1.8l. water
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• Pepper and salt
• Fresh parsley, celery, and lovage leaves, chopped finely
• 1 spoon borsch powder (or lemon juice)

First, the dried beans must be soaked overnight in plenty of water before you even think of starting to deal with them. Although so tiny-looking, these beans can be incredibly tough and they need cooking for at least 1.5 hours.

The beans having been soaked, you boil them in plenty of water for about ¾ hour, and then you drain them thoroughly, cover them with 1.8 litres water and boil them again for another ½-hour or more until they soften. When they are ready, add the chopped vegetable (apart from the onion) and the fresh herbs.

While these are cooking, fry the onion: in a separate pan, heat up 1 spoonful of oil, add the chopped onion and cook until softened (5-7 minutes). Then add the tomato paste and 1 spoon of soup liquid and mix them with the onion.

When the vegetables are cooked, add 1 levelled spoon borsch powder, salt, pepper, and the onion mixture. Stir well, cook for another 3 minutes and serve. Garnish with the fresh parsley.

Borsch and bean soup is suitable for vegetarians.

Source: Theotherdelia.co.uk

Borsch with beans

Chicken with walnuts

Ingredients:

• 4 large chicken breasts
• 1 cup roasted walnuts
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 2 tbsp. vinegar
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt and pepper

Chicken with walnuts (original name: Pule me arra) is a traditional Albanian dish that seems to have close relatives in Eastern Europe. Here are the instructions how to prepare this recipe:

Roast chicken breasts in 350-degree oven until done.
Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and cook, stiring constantly, until lightly browned. Add stock and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add vinegar, garlic, walnuts and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook until warm. Serve over chicken.
Source: Marga.org

Adapted from the book: The Best of Albanian Cooking

Chicken with walnuts

Macedonian bread

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

When we write about Macedonian food, the bread is infallibe part of daily meals. Today we'll present you a one of many recipes of traditional Macedonian bread:
In a mixing bowl, combine yeast with 1 1/2 cups of flour. Combine water, oil, salt and sugar and add to yeast mixture. Beat fro 1/2 minute with an electric mixer at low speed and then beat for 3 minutes at high speed.
Work in remaining flour by hand to form smooth and elastic dough. Put in a greased bowl in a warm spot, cover and let rise for 45 minutes. Punch dough down, divide into 12 pieces and roll each into a ball. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Flatten each ball into a 5-inch circle. Place on greased baking sheet, cover and let rest for 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 200°C. Bake for 9-10 minutes until puffed and lightly browned on bottom. Immediately wrap in a foil and cool.

Macedonian bread

Yaniya with okras

Ingredients:

• 750g. lamb from leg
• 1,5dl. oil
• 2 onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• ground red paprika or some crushed small hot pepper
• 250g. fresh tomatoes or 2tbsp. tomato puree
• 500g. fresh okras
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• salt
• 1 lemon
• 20g. flour
• 1-2dl. warm water
• 1/2 bunch of parsley
• 3/4l. thick yoghurt

Wash meat, wipe and cut into bigger cubs. Heat oil, and meat, fry it on all sides until nicely brown, then add chopped onion. Cook slowly until slightly soft, add chopped or crushed garlic, fry shortly, add ground or crushed paprika, washed tomatoes peeled and cut into smaller pieces. Simmer all for a while. Trim okras (make a gash in the upper part of pod) wash and cook to which some salt and vinegar have been added, than drain. Add okras prepared this way to meat, which is already half cooked. Add more warm water as needed. While simmering only shake the pan well. Brown flour without fat, pour in cold water, then some warm water, boil shortly and add to "yaniya". Shake pan and add more water as needed. Simmer about 10-15 minutes. With yaniya serve thick yoghurt.

Yaniya with okras

Prebranac

Ingredients:

• 700g. of large white beans
• 700g. onion
• 1 large carrot
• 3 bay leaves
• paprika powder
• salt and pepper
• oil

Put beans in a cold water and let it boil for about 10 minutes. Discard water and replace it with new, hot water. Add salt and sliced carrot. Cook until beans get cooked but each bean must remain solid. Take beans from water and dry it but keep the water.

Chop onion in large ribs and put in hot oil until it becomes golden brown. Add 1 tablespoon of paprika powder, mix it well for 30 sec and remove from the heat. Take onion from oil and mix with beans and bay leaves. Put it in a large and deep bowl pour with some water that left after cooking. Put beans in owen and bake it until the top becomes dark brown.

Prebranac can be served both hot or cold and depending on amount of water you put, it can be almost completely dry or it can be like very thick sauce. Try it. It is really great.

Source: Hangrybrowser.com

Related recipes:

• Macedonian gravche-tavche

Prebranac

Bulgarian potato salad

Ingredients:

• 4-5 large potatos
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2-3 spring onions
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• olive oil
• fresh parsley or dill

Peel and boil the potatos for about 20-25 minutes, drain and leave to cool.
In a salad bowl - add the finely chopped spring onions, salt, pepper to taste, the lemon juice and olive oil, and mix gently. Cut the potatos into cubes and add the the salad bowl. Gently mix, sprinkle with parsley or dill if you serve the salad with fish.

Source: Grouprecipes.com

Bulgarian potato salad

Carp with olives

Ingredients:

• 1 carp of about 1.5kg.
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 bunch of parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• a few rosemary leaves
• 2 carrots
• 2 tomatoes
• 2dl. olive oil
• 100g. olives

Fish is infallibre part of Romanian food and therefore we are present you many fish recipes here. Today on the menu is the following recipe:

Clean carp, wash, wipe, drip with lemon juice, then salt and cut gashes in several pieces. Chop finely garlic and parsley, crush thyme and rosemary, add pepper and salt, mix, add 2-3 tablespoon of oil. Put part of this mixture into gashes and the rest inside the fish. Put the prepared carp into a fireproof dish or caserole greased with oil.

Clean carrots, grate finely, wash tomatoes, peel and cut, remove stones frome olives and halve them. Heat about 1/2 dl. oil, add carrot, cook a little, add tomatoes and olive, add some salt, cook slowly intil all slightly tender. Place cooked vegetables and olives over the fish and bake in the ovenpreset at 175°C until quitetender. While baking baste with juice and add water if needed. With carp serve boiled potatoes poured over with some oil and sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Carp with olives

Baked lamb and yogurt

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 lbs. lamb
• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
• 2 tablespoons rice
• salt and pepper

For yogurt sauce:

• 1 tablespoon flour
• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
• 2 lbs. yogurt
• 5 eggs
• salt and pepper

Cut meat in 4 serving pieces, sprinkle each piece with salt and pepper, and bake in a moderately-heated oven with half the butter, sprinkling the meat with its gravy now and then. When meat is half-baked, add rice; remove the baking pan from the oven and leave it aside while you prepare the yogurt sauce:
Sauté flour in butter until mixed thoroughly. Mix yogurt with salt, pepper and eggs until a uniform mixture is obtained, and finally stir in the flour. Put the sauce mixture in the baking pan; sauté it with the meat pieces and bake at 375 degrees F for about 45 minutes. Serve hot.

Source: Albanian.com

Baked lamb and yogurt

Sour cherry pie from Vojvodina

Ingredients:

• 500g. ready-made layers of dough for the pie
• 100g. ground walnuts or breadcrumbs
• 1dl. oil or melted butter for sprinkling
• 1kg. sour cherries
• 300g. sugar
• 2 sachets vanilla sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1dl. double cream
• powdered sugar for dusting
• oil or butter for greasing

Wash sour cherries, drain and remove stones. If frozen, thraw out. Leave them in a sieve or strainer so as not to be too juicy. Take 3 dough layers at time, sprinkle each with oil or butter. Sprinkle the third with some ground walnuts or breadcrumbs. Mix sour cherries and sugar, put some over the dough layers, sprinkle with vanilla sugar, roll up and place in a greased cake tin. Repeat until all the dough layers and cherries have been used. Bake for 30-40 minutes i the oven preheated to 170°C until slightly brown. If wanted, the pies can be brushed with well beaten egg yolks and cream, when the pies are half-baked. In that case turn the heat up towards the end, to brown nicely.

Sour cherry pie from Vojvodina

Pasticada

Ingredients:

• 1kg. baby beef neck or shoulder joint
• 150g. onions
• 100g. well smoked bacon
• 150g. carrots
• 1 celery root
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1dcl.red wine
• 2 bay leaves
• parsley, beef soup, 1 fresh tomato, tomato purée, salt, pepper and flour

Fry in oil meat stuffed with bacon and carrots. Add onion, the remaining bacon and carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, beef soup and braise till the meat becomes tender. When the meat is almost cooked, add wine, tomato, tomato purée and braise for 15 more minutes. When the meat is tender, take it out, cut in pieces, put in a pan, pour the sauce over it and braise for a couple of minutes. It is served with makaruli.

Source: Montenegro.travel

Pasticada

Gravche Tavche

Ingredients:

• 500g. white beans
• 1 onion
• 1 red paprika
• 100ml. cooking oil
• 2-3 pieces of red dry capsicum
• pepper, salt, plain flour, parsley and mint

Gravche-Tavche (Gravce Tavce) is a traditional Macedonian food that is prepared almost every week in every family. Here is preparation method:

Wash the beans and leave them to stay in water over night. After that, cook them until it starts boiling, drain the beans and put them in another pot of hot water. Then add 1/2 chopped onion and capsicum. Continue to cook it until the beans are soft but integral. If there is too much water left, drain the beans.

Fry the chopped onion (the other 1/2) and paprika with one spoon of plain flour in cooking oil and then add this to the beans. Put everything in a pottery saucepan and then pour some parsley, mint, pepper and salt on it. Put the saucepan in the oven and bake for a while. The beans should not be too dry. Serve warm.

Gravche Tavche

Monastery gyuvetch

Ingredients:

• 1kg. braising beef
• 4 medium tomatoes
• 120g. mushrooms
• 1 cup rice
• 1 onion
• 150g. olives
• a bunch of parsley
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 25g. butter
• 1tbsp. sugar
• 2 1/2 cups beef stock
• black pepper, paprika and salt

Cut the beef into cubes or small pieces and fry in a pan with a little oil for about 5 minutes.
Add the chopped onions, beef stock and paprika, 5 minutes later add the mushrooms and rice and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, add salt to taste, the butter, 1 tablespoon sugar and whole olives, and cook for further 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 190°C. Transfer the content of the pan into a baking dish and cook for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and pepper before serving.
This Bulgarian recipe is used to be prepared at the Rila Monastery kitchen. Rila Monastery is one of the famous Bulgarian visitors attractions.

Source: Buy-sell-bulgaria.com

Monastery gyuvetch

Fish Pilaki

Ingredients:

• 1kg. fish of desired variety
• 2 potatoes
• 1 carrot
• 2 onion
• 1 leek
• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 s tomato paste
• bay leave
• 2 lemon
• salt and pepper

Clean fish and slice. Rub with salt and pepper and arrange in an oiled pan. Cut the onions in half lengthwise and then into half moon shaped slices. Cube potatoes, carrots and celeriac and sauté in oil with bayleaf for several minutes, add minced garlic and chopped parsley. Add tomato paste, salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the fish, add the juice of 1-2 lemons and bake at low heat until fish is tender. Alternatively, the lemons may be sliced and arranged over the top; in another variation, sour green grapes may be added to the sauce.

Source: Turkish-cuisine.org

Fish Pilaki

Bosnian easy cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

This is a traditional and simple Bosnian cake using basic kitchen ingredients:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and then combine all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients, stir until well combined. Pour into 2 greased cake pans. Bake in oven until set, when wooden rod or toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

Source: Recipezaar.com

Bosnian easy cake

Romanian cabbage soup with bacon

Ingredients:

• 8 sliced bacon
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 green peppers, hulled and chopped
• 1 cabbage, cut into slices
• salt and pepper
• several sprigs of dill and savory, chopped
• 1-1/2l. water
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 heavy cream (sweet or sour)
• 1tbsp. vinegar

You will need a large soup pot for this Romanian recipe. Chop up one slice of bacon, and fry it in a heavy stewpan until the fat runs. Fry the onions in the fat until they are golden. Add the peppers and fry them, too. Remove the stewpan from the heat. Layer the cabbage and the rest of the bacon into the soup pot. Season between the layers with salt, pepper, and the herbs.

Pour the water over it all and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer the soup for 40 to 50 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Remove the soup from the heat.

Beat the egg yolks with the cream and the vinegar in a little bowl. Stir in a ladleful of the hot soup. Whisk well and pour the mixture back into the soup to thicken and enrich it.

Serve in deep bowls accompanied with fresh bread. This soup is a meal in itself, and wants only a piece of cheese and fresh fruit to make it complete.

This recipe is published in cookbook: The old world kitchen: The rich tradition of European peasant cooking

Romanian cabbage soup with bacon

Tirana furghes with veal

Ingredients:

• veal cutlets, one pound
• salted cottage cheese, half-pound
• 1 tablespoon flour
• butter, one quarter-pound stick
• 3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
• 1 onion
• salt, black pepper and chili pepper to taste

First, cut the veal cutlets into small pieces and then dice the onion. In a saucepan, preheat the olive oil and Sauté the meat and onion for 15 minutes. In another saucepan, melt the butter and then add flour, cottage or Feta cheese, and black pepper, salt and chili pepper to taste. Mix all the ingredients together (adding the Sauted meat and onions) in the saucepan and place in a preheated 350 oven for 15 minutes. Take out and serve immediately.
Note: Instead of veal cutlets, beef liver can be used in the same quantity of meat and preparation/cooking instructions as above.

Source: Albaniantranslators.com

Tirana furghes with veal

Vanilici

Ingredients:

• 500g. pork fat
• 8tbsp. sugar
• lemon
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yokes
• 1kg. flour
• powdered sugar

Beat well the pork fat and the sugar. Add the lemon juice, 2 eggs and 2 egg yokes, mix with the flour and make a dough. Spread the dough in one 1,5cm thick layer and make molds with a small glass. Stick two by two with marmalade between and bake at 200°C. When baked toss each cookie in powdered sugar. These cookies are very often prepared in Macedonia for Christmas and Easter.

Vanilici

Carp - Bulgarian way

Ingredients:

• 1 carp of about 2kg.
• 150-200g. olives without stones
• 1dl. olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 2 onions
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 carrots
• 1-2dl. warm water

Clean carp, wash well and drain. Chop olives rather finely, add a tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, chopped parsley and garlic. Salt fish in and out, drip with lemon juice and sprinkle with pepper. Fill the inside with the prepared olives. Grease a fireproof dish or casserole with oil. Peel onion and carrots and cut into thin slices. Wash tomatoes, peel and cut in thin rounds. Also cut washed lemon into rounds. Add salt and pepper to vegetables and lemon, mix and turn into the bottom of the fireproof dish. Place carp over, pour heated oil over and put into the oven preheated to 200°C, so that the fish get nicely brown in the first 10-15 minutes. Then turn heat down to 175°C and bake slowly until all is tender. Baste while baking and add more warm water if needed. Serve in the same dish.

Related recipes:

• Carp on onion from Vranje
• Romanian carp with red wine

Carp - Bulgarian way

Fritters with yeast

Ingredients:

• 25g. yeast
• 300g. flour
• 1dl. milk
• 30g. sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 40g. butter or margarine
• 1 tbsp. rum
• a pinch of salt
• 2dl. oil for frying
• powdered sugar for dusting
• apricot jam or fruit syrup

Crumble yeast, mix with a teaspoon of sugar and a tablespoon of milk and leave in a warm place to rise. Sift flour, heat a little, pour in luke-warm milk, add sugar, egg yolks, melted butter or margarine and the creamed yeast. Mix well and work into a smooth dough with mixing spoon until it does not stick any more to the walls of the dish. Dust with flour and leave in a warm place to rise (it is ready for frying when it has doubled in bulk). Heat oil well, mix the dough lightly. Dip a tablespoon into heated oil, take up spoonfuls of dough and drop into hot oil. Do not put to many at the time so that they can rise and fry evenly. When brown, dry on absorbent paper, arrange on serving plate and dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm. Apricot jam or some fruit syrup can be served with fritters.

Fritters with yeast

Mixed kebabs

Ingredients:

• 250g. chicken without bones
• 250g. chicken, goose or turkey livers
• 250g. turkey without bones
• 100g. smoked bacon
• 50g. butter
• oil for the grill

Wash meat, wipe and cut into nice ares. Thread on to smaller skewers meat liver and bacon in turn. Grill on medium heated gridiron and turn while grilling. When done, take kebabs off skewers, arrange over cooked rice and pour heated butter over. With kebabs serve lettuce, mixed paprikas and tomato salad, beetroot salad and others.

Related recipes:

• Osmanli kebabs

Mixed kebabs

Sardines in vine leaves - Asma yapraginda sardalya

Ingredients:

• 50 sardines
• 50 fresh vine leaves

Marinade:

• salt
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 tsp white pepper crushed
• 1 cup Jingilli Frantoio Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This recipe is for 10 portions. Here is the method how to prepare it:
First remove the backbones of the fish leaving the heads and tails then scrape off scales and wash fish gently. Mix marinade ingredients in a bowl.
Pat dry the fish then place in a large bowl and pour over marinade and mix through.
Cut the stems off the fresh vine leaves and soak in hot water for 20 minutes then plunge into cold water. Next put shiny sides of vine leaves on a clean surface.
Place one sardine on the stem of each leaf and roll up, ending with stem side up (the heads and tails of the sardines should not be rolled in the leaves).
Brush the leaves with olive oil, then grill stuffed leaves on both sides over medium heat…the barbecue is perfect for this. Open vine leaves and sprinkle fish with lemon juice when eating.

Serve with crisp lettuce salad leaves tossed with diced tomato, cucumber, red onion, parsley and a light olive oil, salt and lemon juice dressing.

Source: Fish.wa.gov.au

Sardines in vine leaves - Asma yapraginda sardalya

Paštrovski makaruli

Ingredients:

• 500g black (buckwheat) flour
• 1 tbsp oil
• pinch of salt
• water, to bind

Sift the flour into a bowl, form a well in the centre then add the salt, oil and a little water to the middle. Mix together, adding more water so that you have a slightly tacky dough.

Turn this dough onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead well until the mixture becomes smooth and no longer sticks to your hands. You should have a medium soft dough. Turn into a greased bowl then cover and set aside for half an hour to rest.

A the end of this time roll the dough out to about 2mm thick then shape into makaruli (macaroni) shapes by wrapping the dough around the handle of a wooden spoon and slicing. Set aside to dry and store.
When ready, add to a pan of lightly-salted boiling water and cook until tender. Transfer to a warmed bowl and serve sprinkled with olive oil and grated cheese.

Source: Celtnet.org.uk

Paštrovski makaruli

Meatballs with egg & lemon sauce

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 pounds ground lamb or beef
• 1/2 cup long-grain rice
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt, freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups beef bouillon
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

In a large bowl combine the lamb or beef, rice, onion, egg, tomato sauce, parsley, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Shape into 2-inch meatballs. In a large saucepan bring the bouillon to a boil over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and butter. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, covered, until meatballs are tender, about 30 minutes. Test one to see if rice is tender. Meanwhile, in a small bowl beat the egg yolks. Stir in lemon juice. Add 1/2 cup hot liquid; mix well. Add to meatballs, stirring constantly while adding. Leave over low heat about 5 minutes, long enough to thicken a little. Serve at once. Do not reheat.

Source: Joycesfinecooking.com

Meatballs with egg & lemon sauce

Kjoftinja (Meatballs)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup grated onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon dired mint
• 1 or 2 slices white bread
• 1/2 cup white wine or water
• 1 egg
• flour for rolling
• vegetable oil for frying

Kjoftinja is a frequently consumed recipes of Macedonia. It basically a dish of meatballs, which is considered to be one of the most popular Macedonian cuisines. A series of ingredients are required to prepare this mouth-watering dish. However, as all these ingredients are easily available, anyone can try it out at home.

First mix onion, garlic, mint, pepper, oregano and meat. Add salt according to the taste. Thereafter the slices of the bread are moistened into water or wine. The meat is then added to the softened bread and egg. Knead the mixture thoroughly and shape it into balls. Thereafter fry these balls in vegetable oil. Fry the balls until they get brown. It is now ready to serve. It is always advisable to serve the preparation hot. Kjoftinja is very tasty and as it takes less time for preparation, most of the Macedonians prefer to have it.

Source: Mapsofworld.com (Directions)

Kjoftinja (Meatballs)

Vinaigrette salad

Ingredients:

• 1 small beet
• 3-4 big potatoes
• 1 carrot
• a handful of green peas or dry beans
• 1 pickle
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 1 onion
• 3 tablespoons oil
• vinegar to taste
• salt

Boil separately the beet, potatoes, carrot and peas or beans. Let cool. Thinly slice the potatoes, carrot and beet and then mix with the peas or beans, chopped onion, and rounds of hard boiled eggs and pickle. Add salt, oil and vinegar. Mix well and let stand at least an hour to mix the flavors. Arrange in salad bowl.

Source: Hnvn.com

Vinaigrette salad

Sarajevo okra soup

Ingredients:

• 300g. veal, cubed
• 50g. fresh okra, sliced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp sour cream
• 2 tbsp flour
• 40g. carrots, diced
• 40g. onions, diced
• 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 egg yolks
• 100g. lemon slices

Sarajevo Okra Soup is a traditional Bosnian recipe for a classic soup made with veal meat, okra and vegetables which is thickened with egg yolks and decorated with lemon slices before serving. Preparation:
Melt the butter in a frying pan and use to fry the veal until browned all over then stir-in the carrots and onions. Cook over medium meat for about 8 minutes then scatter the flour over the top and stir to combine.
Transfer the mixture to a saucepan then stir-in 750ml water along with the okra. Season to taste then bring the mixture to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks and sour cream in a bowl. Add this slowly to the soup, whilst whisking constantly. Immediately take the soup off the heat and stir-in the parsley. Ladle into warmed soup bowls then float the lemon slices on top and serve.
Source: Celtnet.org.uk

Related articles:

• Bulgarian okra salad

Sarajevo okra soup

Courgette pie

Ingredients:

• 1kg. courgettes
• 30g. flour
• 1dl. oil
• 4 eggs
• 200g. cheese
• 1/2 bunch of dill or parsley
• salt and pepper
• 2dl. sour cream

Peel courgettes, wash, cut into rounds and salt. Leave them to stand for a while. then roll in flour and fry in heated oil to get brown. Mix two egg yolks and cheese, add salt, pepper, chopped dill and two stiffy whisked egg whites. Mix all slowly. Grease a fireproof dish, or tepsya, with oil, then put layers of courgettes. Pour over with some oil and bake in the oven preheated to 200°C about 20 minutes. Beat well the other two eggs flour and sour cream or milk, pour over and return into the oven to brown. Serve warm.

Courgette pie

Turkish salad

Ingredients:

• 200g. fresh white cabbage
• 200g. carrots
• 200g. white turnips
• 1l. water
• salt
• 12 stuffed green olives
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 bunch of dill
• 1 bigger orange
• 1 lemon
• 1 smaller onion

For marinade:

• 1 clove of garlic
• 60g. olive oil
• 2tbsp. lemo juice
• 1tbsp. sugar
• white pepper
• 100g. riper goat cheese

Remove any discoloured leaves from cabbage, wash and grate crudely. Heat water, add salt. When it boils, plunge prepared veggie's leave to boil 1-2 minutes, then drain well. Cut olives into rounds. Wash parsley and dill and wipe (with absorbent paper). Cho parsley finely and snip dill (with kitchen scissors). Mix drained veggie's with olives, parsley and dill.

Prepare the marinade in the following way: crush garlic well, add salt, some sugar, oil, lemon juice and pepper. Pour the marinade over the veggie's, mix well and put on a bigger plate or into a bowl. Peel orange and lemon (remove white underskin), cut into thinner rounds of onion over them. Leave to stand in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes. Before serving Turkish salad sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese. Serve with grilled dishes or with rusks as light supper.

Turkish salad

Tarator

Ingredients:

• 1/2kg. cucumbers, finely chopped
• 2,5dl. sour milk
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 hot pepper
• salt
• parsley

Tarator or Taratur is one of the most popular macedonian salads, but also well known in the whole Balkan. You can prepare it in the following way:

Peel the cucumbers, cut into small cubes, salt and leave for ten minutes. Drain the cucumbers, add the sour milk or sour cream, garlic and hot pepper, season with salt and mix well. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, cool and serve.

Tarator

Tirit - Chicken Pie

Ingredients:

• chicken
• water
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1 parsnip, shredded
• 1/2 cup oil or butter
• 2 bunches green onions, chopped
• 1 bunch of parsley, chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 package phyllo dough
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk.

Tirit is a traditional Bosnian dish that can be served as an appetizer, but also as a lunch or dinner entree. Here are the instructions how to prepare the recipe:
Wash the chicken inside and out. Put in a large cooking pot, fill with water and add shredded carrots and parsnip, season with salt and pepper. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through and tender, about an hour. Remove the chicken from the broth, filter the broth and keep for other uses. Discard vegetables.
Let the chicken cool down and then remove meat from the bones, making sure the meat remains in large pices. Put chicken in a bowl and discard bones and skin.

Meanwhile, heat some oil and fry the green onions until soft. Add the onions and chopped parsley to the chicken and season with more salt and pepper.
Heat the oven to 350F.
Oil a large, deep baking pan and place 10 layers of phyllo dough, brushing each one with oil or melted butter. Put the chicken on the phyllo, level and cover with 10 layers of dough, brushing each one with oil or butter.
Mix the sour cream with the milk and pour it over the pie.

Bake the pie for about 45 to 50 minutes. When done sprinkle with water, cover and let stand for a while. Serve warm.

Source: Margarita's Recipes

Related articles:

• Turkish Tirit pie

Tirit - Chicken Pie

Cheese Cakes

Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen puff pastry
• 200-300g. soft unsalted cheese
• 2 egg yolks
• 50g. sugar
• salt
• 1 egg for brushing over

Thaw out puff pastry, roll out with a pin and cut into bigger squares. Beat egg yolks and sugar untillfoamy, add cheese passed through sieve or crushed well, salt. Mix all well. Place some filling over each square of puff pastry, joining the ends of the pastry together. Beat the egg well and brush the cakes in and bake in the oven preheated to 250°C until nicely brown. Do not open the oven for the first 15 minutes of baking. When done, the cakes can be sprinkled with powder sugar.

Cheese Cakes

Baked paprikas and tomato salad

Ingredients:

• 8 green or yellow paprikas
• 1kg. bigger and harder tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1-1.5dl. oil
• 1/2 bunch of parsley
• 1/2 bunch of celery leaves
• salt and pepper

Wash paprikas, wipe and dry fry on top the stove, sprinkle with some cold water, cover and leave to stand for a while, then skin, remove seeds and cut into thin rounds. Wash parsley and celery leaves, wipe and chop finely. Mix all vegie's, add salt and pepper, mix carefully but well. During the season of tomatoes and paprikas this salad is often prepared in Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro. It is usually served with grilled meat, egg dishes, beans...

Baked paprikas and tomato salad