Kulaç - Albanian Homemade Bread

Byrek me spinaq (spinach pie)

Gjelle me Barbunja dhe Mish (Meat and green beans stew)

Roast Chicken with Plain Rice (Pilaf)

Ingredients: 

- 1 full chicken 

- 1 tea cup of olive oil

- salt, 

- butter

- rice

Clean the chicken and let it bowl with plenty of water!! We add salt and let it bowl with plain water until it becomes tender and then remove it from the oven. We then prepare the casserole where the boiled chicken and rice will bake. We will use the chicken broth for this and pour enough of it in the casserole to cover the rice and chicken. We mix chicken broth with olive oil and put butter on top of the chicken. We let them bake in a temperature of 180 *until the chicken take a reddish color .!

During the baking we can rotate the chicken once so it bakes better and takes a uniform color. Attention!! Place the casserole in the middle of the oven so it won't burn.

Serve hot.

Grilled Codfish

Albania is known for is the variety of seafood including fishes. They are cooked in many different ways but big fishes such as this one (i.e. the Koce fish) tastes delicious if grilled. We usually use any type of salad to go with it. In the winter is usually boiled potatoes and carrots and for the summer any type of green vegetables including tomatoes etc. The ingredients for this particular dish include:

- 1 grilled Koce fish (either cooked at home or order from a fish shop. Most of the shps in Albanian will cook it for you anyway you want it).

- tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, olives, onion, olive oil with a pinch of salt (for the salad)

- toasted bread

and it makes for a perfect light, healthy and quick summer dish.

Cherry Jam

Here's a quick recipe on how to make cherry jam. I usually only use white cherries for that as I think the reds ones are better if eaten raw.

Red cherries + White cherries

Wash the cherries and remove tails. With the tip of a knife remove the core. For 1 kilogram of cherries use two glasses full of sugar. Throw them into a deep pot and constantly mix as the cherries and sugar are heated and start boiling with their own liquid. When you see big bubbles forming it means the cherries should be removed from the oven and let them cool down. Make sure you remove the upper white layer formed during boiling while the mixture is still hot.

White cherries

This is how the final result should look like.

Cherry jam

Antipasto Salad

Used during big dinners, celebrations or family gatherings and usually precedes the main course. This plate here is made of meatballs, Russian salad, boiled red beets,olives, ricotta cheese and mozzarella. The combination is something we commonly use on new years eve dinner but I guess different ingredients can be used on different occasions and seasons. 

Will talk on how to prepare each of the ingredients in my later posts.