The richness and diversity of Albanian cuisine surprises all guests of the country. Many of the traditional recipes that locals love have their roots in Italian, Turkish and Arabic cuisine. Of course, the proximity of the sea also has an impact. You can try a wide variety of seafood in any establishment; their combination with sauces and side dishes is quite unusual, but the taste of the dish is excellent. Let's delve into this topic and learn more about Albanian cuisine.

Main dishes of Albanian cuisine

Albanians love the combination of meat and vegetables, so traditional Albanian dishes are prepared from these products. National main courses in this country are:

Traditionally, such dishes of Albanian cuisine are served with a side dish, which can be rice with dried herbs. Usually the main dishes are quite filling and very tasty. Even the youngest children order them, because the dishes are also very healthy. In all restaurants in the country you can always find traditional dishes on the menu.

Chefs often like to improvise and add or replace some ingredients. For example, green peas for broccoli or tomatoes for oranges. The result is a real masterpiece that will surprise you with its taste. The “highlight” of any Albanian dish is the right seasoning: turmeric, a mixture of hot peppers, etc. During cooking, mint leaves are also used, which add an exquisite aroma to any food and will undoubtedly please a hungry tourist.

Soups occupy a place of honor in national Albanian cuisine. Despite their love for meat dishes, locals prefer to make soups from fish. And it’s not surprising, because freshwater live fish are quite easy to get in rivers and lakes. It is also striking that it is forbidden to transport fish throughout the country in order to preserve its original freshness. In Albanian restaurants you can try carp, eel or trout dishes. Of course, you will really like these dishes. Tourists highlight:

There are many restaurants where you can taste delicious Albanian seafood dishes (mussels, octopus, shrimp, etc.). Their prices are very low when compared, for example, with Italy.

Baking in Albanian cuisine

Baking also plays an important role in Albanian cuisine. Locals use dough not only for desserts, but also for main dishes. One of the traditional dishes in Albanian cuisine is petula - pancakes, which they love to serve for breakfast along with jam or jam. Albanians also love burek - a roll with minced beef; for variety, rice and herbs are added to the minced meat. You can often see this amazing dish on restaurant menus. Another equally popular dish in Albanian cuisine - burek - appeared under the influence of Turkey, where it is one of the main national dishes.

The warm climate in Albania allows different varieties of corn to be grown and large yields to be harvested. Dough is made here from corn, which is the basis of any baked goods. Albanians love to bake spinach pies or sweet lemon pie, and improvise with the preparation of muffins and cookies. The main filling in sweet pastries is, of course, fruits and nuts, but seafood is also often used.

Dessert

Fruits are the basis of all desserts in Albanian cuisine, because they grow here all year round. They are used to make compotes, dry them, and make jam according to recipes that are passed down from generation to generation. The extraordinary taste of such dishes fascinates all gourmets. A traditional dessert in Albanian cuisine is “oshaf” - dried fruits served with fruit syrup. Albanians also love a dish called “ashure” - a sweet pudding made from wheat. In local traditional restaurants you can also find “Sutlyash” - rice pudding with cinnamon.

Those with a real sweet tooth should enjoy baklava, fruit covered with chocolate spread, or local acculore ice cream. In addition to fruits, people in the country love to eat nuts: walnuts, cashews, and peanuts. They make many sweets and add them to main dishes.

Wine is considered a traditional drink in Albania. The climatic conditions in the country allow for a high grape harvest. Although local wines are not very popular worldwide, they still receive a lot of good reviews. In Albania, they are not at all expensive (about 7 dollars), but they have an excellent taste and aroma. The main alcoholic drink is rakia, a grape brandy that locals drink during breakfast and dinner. "Scadenberg" is a chic local cognac that has received prizes at international exhibitions. You will find it in any specialized store in Albania.

The state also produces beer, which you will undoubtedly enjoy. The most popular brands in this industry are Tirana, Kaon, Korca and Stella.

Albanians love to drink coffee at any time of the day or night - it is their favorite pastime. It is brewed much stronger than in Italy or Turkey, so in restaurants the drink is served with water. Macchiato and espresso are popular.

There are quite a lot of cafeterias and restaurants in Albania that serve traditional cuisine. You can taste wonderful, tasty dishes at low prices (compared to Europe): for example, for a full meal (soup, meat dish and dessert) you will spend an average of $26. If you order dinner at an expensive restaurant for three people, you will pay about $70. A combo set in fast foods will cost you $5, and drinks (coffee, wine, beer) in cafeterias will cost no more than $2.

A master class on preparing the “Burek with Meat” dish was prepared for us by Svetlana Averina.

Recipe for cooking burek with meat

Ingredients:

• Ready-made puff pastry without yeast - 1 package (500 g)
• Ground beef - 500 g (I used mixed + chicken breast fillet)
• Onions - 1 pc.
• Salt, pepper, spices to taste

For the mixture:

• Kefir - 200 gr.
• Eggs - 1 pc.
• Mineral water – 150 gr.
• Vegetable oil - 100 gr.
• A pinch of salt

Preparation:

The finished puff pastry without yeast should be defrosted at room temperature.

Cut the onion into cubes and fry in vegetable oil until golden brown, let cool.

Add fried onions, salt and spices to the minced meat. I used delicious salt with garlic and dried herbs.

While the dough is defrosting and the minced meat absorbs the flavors of the seasoning, prepare the mixture.

To do this, beat the egg with salt, add kefir, oil and mineral water.

Our dough has become soft, now we can start rolling it out. Roll out thinly in one direction. We divide in half.

Place the first layer on a greased pan and sprinkle it a little with our mixture.

Place minced meat on the dough, then a second layer and again minced meat. And so on until the end. The top should be the dough.

Fill the finished layers with the mixture. Place in an oven preheated to 200*C for 40 minutes.

If the top burns, cover with parchment.

Our “Burek with meat” is ready! Let's sit down at the table and eat while it's hot!

Bon appetit!

For viewing, we offer a video recipe for making meat pie from jellied dough

Serbs, Turks, and Bosnians contributed to the tradition of preparing Turkish burek.

The taste and filling of this thinly rolled dough pie are varied.

Like the method of preparation, they vary in different villages, even families.

Turkish burek is prepared small - for one family.

Or significant - for sale.

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You can buy pie dough or make it yourself. This is a layered yufka, as well as thin stretched filo. Filo can be made with or without egg.

For those who are making dough for the first time, the method may seem complicated. But homemade dough tastes better than store-bought dough.

Having adjusted, the hostesses will cope with the eastern “riddle”. Turkish cuisine has a lot of delicious and easy to prepare dishes, for example:,.

For the test

For the yufka dough:

• flour – 2 tbsp;
• water – 100 ml;
• eggs – 2 pcs;
• butter – 100g;
• Salt - a pinch.

For the classic phyllo dough:

For eggless phyllo dough:

• boiled water – 300 ml;
• refined vegetable oil – 6 tbsp. l.;
• wheat flour – 500 gr;
• soda – 0.5 tsp;
• salt – 1 tsp.

For the minced meat and pumpkin filling:

• pumpkin – 200 gr;
• minced beef – 500 g;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• pepper mixture - to taste;
• vegetable oil – 2 tbsp.

For the chicken and cheese filling:

Ingredients of the filling with cottage cheese:

• cottage cheese – 400 gr;
• parsley or dill - a bunch;
• yolks – 3 pcs;
• garlic – 3 teeth;
• salt - to taste.

Filling with boiled eggs:

• spinach – 1 bunch;
• chicken eggs – 5 pcs;
• salt - to taste.

For the potato filling:

• potatoes – 0.5 kg;
• onions – 2 pcs;
• salt - to taste;
• spices - to taste.

Additional

Additional Ingredients (for frosting and decorating the cake):

• vegetable oil for frying;
• egg (only white is allowed);
• yogurt with egg;
• cumin pinch;
• poppy optional;
• pinch of sesame seeds.

Turkish dish recipe with photo

Cooking technique:

Cooking time: 25 min.

Preparation time: 15 minutes.

Level: easy.

Watch how to cook berek in Turkish on video:

From lavash

Read on to find out how to make Turkish burek from lavash.

Step-by-step instruction:

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Preparation time: 15 minutes.

How to prepare Turkish burek from lavash, you will learn from the video:

How to prepare the dough?

Making yucca puff pastry:

1. Leave the butter at room temperature to soften.
2. Sift the flour and collect it in a mound. Beat the eggs into the well, pour in water, and sprinkle with salt. Put 0.5 tbsp there. butter or spread. In Uzbekistan, a similar dough is made with vegetable oil.
3. Knead the dough. Form a ball, sprinkle it with flour, set aside for 15 minutes.
4. Roll out the ball to 2 cm thick. Grease the layer with 3 tbsp. oils Roll the layer into an envelope or roll and crumple it into a ball again. Knead the dough. Divide it into balls the size of tennis balls.
5. Roll out each ball thinly. As soon as the layers dry out a little, you can fill them.

Cooking time: 1 hour.

Difficulty level: average.

For proper preparation of puff pastry, watch the video:

Classic phyllo dough technique:

1. Separate the yolks from the whites. Place the yolks in warm boiled water. The whites can be used in other dishes, such as meringues or sponge cakes.
2. Add salt and table vinegar here. Mix everything thoroughly.
3. Sift the flour. Collect it in a pile, but not all at once. Leave no bedding. You never know exactly how much flour a liquid will take. It depends on the dryness of the flour and the size of the eggs. Make a depression at the top of the slide. Pour in the resulting liquid little by little, alternating it with vegetable oil. Add flour, stir lightly and add again.
4. Knead the dough, adding flour if it is too runny.
   The dough needs to be beaten. Lift the lump above the work surface and throw it down. And so 40-50 times.

   It is interesting that in Japan they often do not beat the dough, but knead it with their feet. The dough is placed in a bag, covered with a towel and stomped.

5. Wrap the dough in film. Place it in a warm place - on a radiator or near an open heated oven. After an hour, start rolling out.
6. Roll out the entire dough into a sausage shape and cut into 12 pieces. Roll out on a clean, floured kitchen towel. Waffle is not good. Roll out each piece until transparent, until the fabric is visible through it.
7. Now the dough needs to be stretched in all directions. It is convenient to throw it on bent hands. We move our hands under the dough, as if juggling it. Turn the dough over and stretch it further. Trim the edges with a knife.
8. Separate each sheet of phyllo from the next by lining it with parchment paper.
9. Roll a stack of sheets into a tube and wrap them in a damp towel.
10. This dough can be frozen and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

    Attention! The dough needs to be defrosted for a long time and handled carefully. It becomes fragile.

Filo cooking time: 40 min.

Preparation time: 1 hour 20 min.

Difficulty level: average.

This video will help you make phyllo dough at home:

Eggless phyllo dough is prepared as follows:

1. Pour oil into warm water.
2. Sift the flour and make a mound.
3. Dissolve baking soda in water and oil and stir into flour. If you are used to not adding liquid to flour, but, on the contrary, mixing flour into liquid, do this. This does not affect the result.
4. Next we beat the dough. Divide into 6-12 balls. Cover the bowl with the balls with cling film and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
5. Roll out the dough as directed in the classic phyllo dough recipe.

Filo cooking time: 40-60 min.

Preparation time: 1 hour 30 min

Techniques for preparing fillings

With minced meat and pumpkin

Difficulty level: simple.

Cooking time: 30 min.

With chicken and cheese

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Preparation time: depends on the chicken - homemade takes longer to cook.

Difficulty level: simple.

With cottage cheese

Cooking time: 15 minutes.

Difficulty level: very simple.

With chicken eggs

1. Wash, boil, peel and chop the eggs.
2. Wash the spinach, chop, mix with eggs and add salt.

Cooking time: 10 min.

Difficulty level: very simple.

With potato

Cooking time: 30 min.

Difficulty level: simple.

Serve the burek warm, cut into portions.

Turkish burek is delicious with yoghurt lassi. To make this drink, lightly dilute low-fat yogurt with water, add a pinch of sea salt, a couple of basil and mint leaves and a peeled lime wedge. Beat everything with a blender.

Tips and tricks for housewives that will help make the dish tastier and more varied:

• You can add dill or parsley to any minced meat;
• add crushed walnut kernels, fried in vegetable oil and mixed with herbs, to minced meat or chicken;
• place a few pieces of butter on the finished hot pie;
• Brush each sheet of dough with salted and peppered yogurt and egg before adding the filling;
• form cigar-shaped rolls from the dough with filling and fry them in hot vegetable oil in a frying pan.

Change the filling, use different types of dough, add your favorite herbs and spices, make pies of different shapes. You can make your own excellent versions of this delicious pie.

Take a few more recipes from Turkish cuisine:,. You can also prepare oriental sweets: , . Try it and you will succeed!

Bon appetit!

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Chapter:
Classic dishes of national cuisines
3rd page

ALBANIAN DISHES

About Albanian cuisine

Historical and geographical features, convenient coastline, favorable climate, multiple interactions with neighboring peoples had a significant impact on the richness and diversity of Albanian cuisine. Thus, Albanians hold fish and seafood dishes in high esteem, many of which owe their appearance to ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

Many dishes were introduced by the Byzantines, Venetians, and Arabs. As in neighboring Italy, here you can taste crab risotto or brodetto. From Yugoslav cuisine, Albanians borrowed dishes such as čevapčići, raznici, pilaf, and many types of moussaka.

Thanks to the warm climate, corn is grown in large quantities in Albania, which is used both boiled and canned to prepare a wide variety of dishes. In addition, flour for the national dish “Celje” is obtained from corn.

Sheep have been raised in the highlands of Albania for a long time. Not only meat is consumed, but also sheep's milk, which has healing properties. It is fermented, added to various dishes, and famous varieties of cheese are made from it.

Unfortunately, after the 2nd World War, the people of Albania were unlucky with the totalitarian communist regime established there, which had common features with the communist regime in North Korea, which led to the economic lag of the country and the impoverishment of the population. But when the consequences of these difficulties are finally overcome, Albania united with Kosovo will become one of the best resorts in the world.

ALBANIAN SALAD

Ingredients :
- potatoes 200 g,
- sweet pepper 250 g,
- tomatoes 500 g,
- onion 50 g,
- parsley, dill 50 g each,
- raisins 50 g,
- sour cream 300 g,
- olive oil 50 g,

Preparation

Peel the peppers, remove the skins from the tomatoes. Boil potatoes in their skins and peel.
Cut the prepared vegetables into small cubes, add finely chopped onion, parsley, dill, raisins, salt and pepper and mix.
Season with oil mixed with sour cream and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Serve as a side dish for meat, fish or offal dishes.

BAKED PEPPERS SALAD

Ingredients :
- sweet pepper 800 g,
- tomato 100 g,
- onion 100 g,
- olive oil 150 g,
- parsley, celery,
- ground black pepper, salt to taste.

Preparation

Peel the sweet pepper, cut into strips and bake, basting with water from time to time.
Scald the tomato with boiling water, cool with cold water, peel and cut into circles.
Cut the onion into thin rings, finely chop the parsley and celery.
Mix the prepared vegetables, salt, pepper and season with oil.

SEA BASH WITH TOMATOES

Ingredients :
- sea bass 800 g,
- tomatoes 500 g,
- wheat flour 50 g,
- vegetable oil 100 g,
- parsley 50 g,
- sheep cheese 50 g,
- breadcrumbs 20 g,
- garlic, ground black pepper, salt to taste.

Preparation

Clean the fish, rinse, salt, bread in flour and fry in half the amount of oil. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes, cut them into slices, sauté with some butter, salt and pepper, sprinkle with grated garlic and some herbs.
Place the prepared fish in a form greased with the remaining oil, place sautéed tomatoes on top, sprinkle with grated cheese, breadcrumbs and bake at 200°C for 40 minutes.
When serving, sprinkle with herbs.

FISH AND POTATOES

Ingredients :
- fresh fish 1 kg,
- potatoes 500 g,
- tomatoes 200 g,
- white wine 300 g,
- water 200 g,
- olive oil 150 g,
- garlic, ground black pepper, salt to taste.

Preparation

Clean the fish from scales, remove the entrails, rinse, and cut into portions. Peel the potatoes, rinse, cut into slices, place in an oil-greased fireproof dish, add salt and pepper.
Place the prepared fish and peeled tomatoes cut into four pieces on top.
Sprinkle with finely chopped garlic, add oil, water, wine and bake at 175°C for 40 minutes.

SHEPHERD'S LUNCH

Ingredients :
- lamb pulp 500 g,
- potatoes 500 g,
- onion 100 g,
- tomatoes 150 g,
- sweet pepper 100 g,
- garlic 50 g,
- parsley 30 g,
- water 50 g,
- vegetable oil 30 g,
- wheat flour 50 g,
- sour milk 500 g,
- hot chilli pepper,
- black peppercorns,
- cumin, salt to taste.

Preparation

Cut the lamb into large pieces, the onion into cubes, the potatoes into cubes or mugs, chop the garlic. Core the sweet pepper and cut it into strips; peel the tomatoes and cut into cubes.
Place the prepared meat and vegetables in layers in an oiled clay pot, season with spices, add hot water, cover with a lid and simmer, adding water if necessary.
15-20 minutes before readiness, add sour milk mixed with flour.
When serving, sprinkle with herbs.

BEEF CEVAPCICI

Ingredients :
- beef pulp 500 g,
- ground black pepper,
- rosemary,
- vegetable oil (olive, corn),
- salt to taste.

Preparation

Cut the meat into small pieces, pass through a meat grinder, add salt, pepper, rosemary. Mix the minced meat thoroughly for 15-20 minutes, then put it in a cold place for several hours, then form it into sausages 5-7 cm long and 2 cm thick.
Grease a frying rack with oil and fry the sausages on it for 5-7 minutes.
Serve hot with finely chopped onions and tomatoes.

MEAT DUCKINGS WITH POTATOES

Ingredients :
- potatoes 400 g,
- beef pulp 300 g,
- egg 1 pc.,
- walnut kernels 40 g,
- raisins 60 g,
- olive oil 200 g,
- ground black pepper, salt to taste.

Preparation

Boil the potatoes in their skins, peel and rub through a sieve. Pass the beef through a meat grinder and combine with chopped nuts, eggs, raisins and potatoes.
Salt and pepper the resulting minced meat, mix and put in a cold place for two hours. Then form into balls and fry in oil.
Serve boiled cauliflower, poached carrots or beets as a side dish.

LAMB MEATBALLS

Ingredients :
- lamb pulp 400 g,
- wheat bread 100 g,
- water 100 g,
- eggs 2 pcs.,
- lamb fat or vegetable oil 100 g,
- garlic,
- cumin,
- salt to taste.

Preparation

Soak the bread in warm water. Cut the meat into pieces and pass through a meat grinder. Mix the minced meat with bread, chopped garlic, eggs, salt, cumin and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Form balls from the resulting mass and fry in oil or fat.
Serve green salad leaves and vegetables as a side dish.

MEATBALLS WITH ONIONS

Ingredients :
- onion 300 g,
- beef pulp 300 g,
- olive oil 100 g,
- wheat bread 300 g,
- water 100 g,
- eggs 3 pcs.,
- tomatoes 600 g,
- meat broth 600 g,
- wheat flour 60 g,
- parsley,
- ground black and red pepper,
- salt to taste.

Preparation

Finely chop half the specified amount of onion, fry in half the amount of oil and combine with the beef minced through a meat grinder. Add soaked and squeezed bread, finely chopped herbs, eggs, salt, black pepper. Mix everything and put in a cold place for 1 hour.
Cut the remaining onion into rings, fry in oil, sprinkle with red pepper and place in a clay dish.
Form balls from the minced meat, bread them in flour and place them on sautéed onions interspersed with sliced ​​tomatoes.
Pour over the broth and bake at 175°C until done.
When serving, decorate with greens.
You can serve mashed potatoes or boiled rice as a side dish.

BUREK WITH MEAT

Ingredients :
- beef pulp 500 g,
- onion 50 g,
- vegetable oil 50 g,
- puff pastry 500 g,
- ground black pepper,
- salt to taste.
For the egg-milk mixture:
- vegetable oil 100 g,
- eggs 3 pcs.,
- kefir 200 g,
- mineral water 150 g.

Preparation

Cut the onion into small cubes and sauté in butter until softened, cool, combine with minced meat, salt, pepper and mix.
Place 2-3 layers of dough on the bottom of a greased round baking dish. Sprinkle the dough with oil and place a layer of meat filling on it. Lay out the remaining dough and filling in layers, cover with dough, grease with oil, cut into portions and pour in a mixture made from kefir, eggs, mineral water and oil.
Bake the burek at 200°C for 40 minutes.
Serve hot.

CHICKEN WITH NUT SAUCE

Ingredients :
- chicken 800 g,
- vegetable oil 50 g,
- ground black pepper,
- salt to taste.
For the nut sauce:
- walnut kernels 500 g,
- butter 50 g,
- wheat flour 20 g,
- chicken broth 300 g,
- garlic,
- ground black pepper,
- salt to taste.

Preparation

Cut the chicken carcass, rinse, salt and pepper. Place the prepared chicken in a greased dish, sprinkle with vegetable oil and bake at 175°C, pouring it with the resulting juice or water from time to time.
Preparing the sauce. Dry the flour, dilute with hot broth, mix thoroughly, add chopped nuts, butter, garlic, salt and pepper.
Cut the fried chicken into pieces, pour over the sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.
Serve with boiled potatoes or rice.

RISOTTO WITH MUSHROOMS

Ingredients :
- rice 300 g,
- onion 100 g,
- vegetable oil 100 g,
- white wine 100 g,
- fresh champignons 200 g,
- broth 1 l,
- cheese 150 g,
- parsley,
- ground black pepper,
- salt to taste.

Peel the eggplants, cut into cubes and leave for 1 hour. Cut the onion into cubes, sauté in oil, add eggplants, sliced ​​bell peppers, diced tomatoes and zucchini, salt, ground pepper and simmer, adding water from time to time.
Boil the rice separately and sprinkle with herbs.
Place prepared vegetables and rice in layers, pour over oil and bake at 175°C until cooked.

CRAB BRODETTO

Ingredients :
- fresh or canned crabs 300 g,
- potatoes 500 g,
- vegetable oil 150 g,
- wine vinegar 100 g,
- parsley,
- ground black pepper,
- salt to taste.

Preparation

Boil fresh crabs, peel and cut into small pieces. Cut the potatoes into slices, place in a fireproof bowl, add salt and pepper.
Place a layer of crabs on top, sprinkle with oil, sprinkle with herbs, pour over wine vinegar and simmer for 30 minutes.

PITA

Ingredients :
- wheat flour 1 kg,
- milk 40 g,
- pressed yeast 50 g,
- vegetable oil 200 g,
- cheese 300 g,
- eggs 6 pcs.,
- salt to taste.

Preparation

Grind the yeast, dilute with warm milk, add 20 g of flour and place in a warm place. Combine the finished dough with half the norm of butter, salt, water, flour, knead the dough and leave to proof.
Place the prepared dough on a greased sheet so that the edges are much thicker than the middle and rise above the edge of the sheet, and bake at 170°C until golden brown.
Then remove the crust and grease the dough with butter.
Mix egg yolks with grated cheese, add beaten whites, place on dough and bake at 200°C.
After cooling, cut the pita into portions and serve.

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