TRADITIONAL MACEDONIAN DISHES

The land of the sun is the land of the tastes. Macedonia is the land of the gourmands and true fans of a good meal. From appetizers, main dishes, salads to desserts, Macedonian cuisine can offer numerous traditional dishes for every taste.
The traditional Macedonian cuisine combines Balkan and Mediterranean characteristics, inherite­­d largely from Turkish tastes that prevailed during long centuries of Ottoman rule, then our neighboring Greece, and to some extent Italian and Austrian cuisines, which makes it a heterogeneous.

Zelnik­­­­­

Ingredients needed:

- 1 kg of flour
- 1 egg
- salt, cooking oil, water
- For filling choose: spinach, leek, potato, cheese, eggs, cabbage…

How to prepare:

Prepare the paste: Divide it into two pieces and then divide each piece into 10 equal pieces. Make a "kora" of each piece. "Kora" is a thin peace of paste made by rolling pin. Spread some oil on each "kora" and put one "kora" on another until you use 10 for one big "kora" and the other ten for another big kora. One "kora" should be bigger than another. Take the smaller one and put it at the bottom of a saucepan. Spread the filling. Put the other "kora" (the bigger one) on the filling and place it nicely. Pour some oil on top.

Put the saucepan in the oven. Bake it on temperature of 250°C for half an hour.

Filling: chop the vegetable and fry it on oil for a while.

Sarma

Ingredients needed:

- pickled cabbage leaves
- rice in a cup of coffee
- 2-3 onion pieces
- 0,5 kg. mixed ground meat
- oil, red pepper, pepper, salt, spices
- 250 gr. steamed meat

How to prepare:

Cut the onion into small pieces and fry it on oil. Add the ground meat, red pepper, pepper, salt, spices the rice also . Then use the mixture to stuff the pickled cabbage leaves. Line them up in a pot, but first line up pickled cabbage leaves at the bottom of the pot. Put the steamed mead in between the stuffed cabbage leaves. Then, spill over some hot water and boil it on a silent fire, and them put them in the oven to bake.

By the end of the baking, you can add come oil and red pepper (which have been fried before). Cover the pieces with pickled cabbage leaves. The whole has to be dry, not very moist.

AJVAR – THE MACEDONIAN CAVIAR

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants, about 3 pounds
6 large red bell peppers
Salt and black pepper
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup good-quality olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley (optional)

How to prepare:Heat oven to 475 degrees. Place washed eggplants and peppers on a baking sheet with a lip to catch any juices, and roast until their skins blister and turn black, about 30 minutes. Place roasted vegetables in a heatproof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let them steam for 10 minutes. Peel off and discard blackened skins, stems and seeds. In a large bowl, mash or chop vegetables, depending on how smooth or chunky you like your ajvar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add garlic and lemon juice, and drizzle in oil, stirring constantly. Transfer to a glass dish and sprinkle with chopped parsley for garnish, if desired. Store covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.

RAVANIJA

Ingredients needed:

- 5 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- 1 cup milk
- 1 sachet or 2 tsp. baking powder
- a few drops of vanilla essence
For the syrup:
- 2 1/2 cups of water
- 2 1/2 cups of sugar
- cinnamon

How to prepare:

With the mixer we beat up the eggs with the sugar for about 5-6 mins until they become a thick substance. Then we add one by one the rest of the ingredients and we continue to beat up until we have a smooth - not very thick dough.We spread some butter in a baking tray, we put the dough in the baking tray and we put it in the oven for 45 mins approx. (150-175°C, Gas mark 6) until it becomes brown on the top.Then, we let it cool down while we prepare the syrup. We put the water, the sugar and the cinnamon in a pan and we let them come to the boil. We let them boil for about 5 mins or until the syrup starts thickening. We take the pan of the hob and we soak the "Ravanija" with the syrup, making sure that it covers the whole sponge. We sprinkle some more desiccated coconut on the top and we let it cool down before we serve it.



Useful Tips:

1) NEVER EVER open the oven during the baking period.
2) when the baking period is over and you want to check if your "Ravanija" is properly baked, penetrate it with a toothstick or a knife and if it is clear when you take it out, then it is OK. If you see raw dough on it, then it means that it needs more baking.
3) In order to put the syrup on there must be different temperatures. This means that the sponge must be cold and the syrup hot or vice versa. NEVER put hot syrup on a hot sponge or cold syrup on a cold sponge.

Prepared by:

Teodora Spirova

Natalija Lazarova

Sources of information:
http://www.struga.org/eng/macedonian_recipes.htm
http://www.macedonia-timeless.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=1082