Taste of Albania

Albanian Cuisine

Three great empires, throughout the centuries, have subjugated Albania. The Greeks, the Romans and eventually the Turks have obtained control over the Albanian territory. Each of them has exercised powerful influences over the Albanian culture and therefore, over Albanian cuisine.

Albanian cuisine is a mixture of the national cuisines of the surrounding countries. In time, it has accumulated concepts from both the Balkan and the Mediterranean nations. Together with the Greek and the Turkish cuisines, the cuisine of Albania is one of the most famous in the Mediterranean area. This is due to the richness of the vegetation, the multitude of spices and the great number of meat varieties. The fish, mullet and Lamb, along with oregano, olives and grapes are evidence of this fact.

A dispute appeared between the Greeks and the Albanians, as each of these nations claimed to be the creator of certain dishes. It is known that most of the foods that are in the Adriatic and Ionian areas are believed to be Albanian as Adriatic and Ionian seas where the areas where the Illyrians settled before this was occupied by the Greeks. The most difficult fact is that both countries use the same cooking techniques and therefore it is virtually impossible to distinguish a Greek dish from an Albanian dish, if they are based on the same recipe.

In Albania, the lunch represents the most important meal of the day. It consists of soups, main dishes that are based on meat, salads that are served along with the meat dishes and desserts. The beverage that made Albania popular at least all over Europe is the traditional brandy. Besides that, other famous Albanian beverages are raki, beer and several varieties of red and white wine.

Red Bean Salad

Red bean salad with vegetables and grated goat cheese

Ingredients and Directions to Follow....

Patlixhana ne Furre

Grilled baked aubergine eggplant with tomatoes and garlic

Albanian: (patlixhana te mbushur me domate, veze the hudra)

Ingredients
- 1 aubergines
- 2 fresh tomatoes chopped
- 3/4 garlic cloves
- 1 egg

Instructions:

Cut the aubergine in two halves and fry the aubergine, then stir the tomatoes with garlic and egg in a large bawl until creamy, then place it on top of the aubergine and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes.

Tave Krapi

Tave Krapi: This is one of the basic recipes for krap and has an enormous number of variations. Shiroka omits the wine, Kopliku add a half a minced onion to the garlic, and still others fry the fish separately and drain it thoroughly, adding it to the sauce at the last minute. No matter how you make it, it's good.

INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds (1 k) soaked Krap (link to instructions below) cut into two-inch slices across the grain and floured
1/2 cup of olive oil
2-3 crushed pealed cloves of garlic
Freshly ground pepper
White wine
1 pound pealed, seeded fresh tomatoes or 3/4 pound canned tomatoes.
A bunch of parsley, minced

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic. When it's lightly browned, add the fish, shifting it about gently lest it stick. When one side's browned, turn it gently and brown the other. Add a pinch of freshly ground pepper (salt shouldn't be necessary) and sprinkle with a little bit of wine.
When the wine has evaporated, add the tomatoes and continue cooking for a few minutes, till the sauce is cooked; sprinkle with the minced parsley and serve hot

Byrek me Spinaq - Spinach Pie

Byrek me Spinaq (Spinach Pie)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup oil, preferably olive oil
1 1/2 packets (or about 30) pastry leaves (Filo dough)
1 1/2 pounds spinach, chopped
1 cup diced feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 eggs
1 teas pun salt

Preparation
Brush the baking pan with some of the oil, and start laying the pastry leaves inside. First, lay two leaves, sprinkle or brush with oil, then lay two other leaves, and repeat the procedure until half of the leaves are laid. Make sure that they cover the pan by hanging them about one inch over the edges of the pan.

Sprinkle spinach with salt, then mix well by hand. Add the feta cheese, oil, onions, eggs and salt, and spread this mixture over the already laid pastry leaves. Finish by covering the spinach with the rest of the pastry leaves repeating the first-half procedure and then roll the hanging edges of the bottom leaves over the pie (think of a pizza crust), sprinkle top with oil and bake moderately at 3501_F for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve hot, accompanied with buttermilk, or beaten yogurt, thinned down in cold water or with chilled stewed prunes. Sometimes a green salad adds to the meal!

Gjize

1 cup of yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh, frozen, or canned
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Instructions:
1. Push the cloves out of the head and put it into your food processor.
2. Add the yogurt.
3. Pulse a few times until very smooth.
4. Add the salt, pepper, and chives.
5. Pulse again and taste for seasoning.
Once is all mixed well, you will now need to put it into a cloth to hang it so it get’s dry, it will need to be left hanged for few hours and then it’s ready to be eaten. This is best served with meatballs or as a starter spread on top of bread. I use this as a starter in bread and also meatballs. It can also be used without being dried and that would be lovely as a salad dressing or in pasta.

Home Made Turshi Mix

Ingredients
Small chopped pieces of green tomatoes, red peppers, green cabbage, celery
Salt*
Will need bottles (soda 2 liter bottles to fine, but its better to find some with a large opening for it will be easier to fill)

Directions
Mix the cut pieces into a big bowl. Add the salt and place the mix, with your hands, in the jar. Shut the jar very tightly, and place in an undisturbed spot for 3-4 weeks.

*For one liter jars, add 50-60 gr. salt