Eggplant is great when grilled, paired with garlic yogurt sauce and you won’t be able to put your fork down! You can use grilled eggplant, roasted or pan fried….all work and taste great! You can have this as a side dish, or as lunch on its own with bread….
Appetizers
Ajvar
The word ajvar comes from the word hayvar Turkish for cavier. Very popular all over the Balkans ajvar is prepared in the fall when red peppers and eggplant are in season. Ajvar is time consuming and takes effort to make, but it is all well worth it….
Beet & Yogurt Dip -Pancar Salatasi
Pancar salatasi means beet salad or dip in Turkish, it’s like tzatziki ot tarator made with beets instead of cucumbers. I found these lovely candy & golden beets at the grocery store, so I made three different dips. They’re all naturally gorgeous in colour, you can make it with different colour beets for a pretty presentation or just make it with one, all are perfectly wonderful! …
Potato Clouds
Thank you for helping me choose a name for this lovely side! Potato clouds! Aren’t they pretty? They are so easy to make too, and taste great! Make your simple mash into something wonderfully delicious! …
Stuffed Figs in Syrup
I got these figs but they weren’t sweet so I thought if I made a syrup for them it would help sweeten them up a bit, not only did it do that but it made it look even better, the skin of the figs turn the syrup a lovely plum colour.
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Albanian Cornbread with Feta and Leek – Pispili
This feta and leek cornbread is a family favourite and an old recipe, my grandma grew up on it, so I love making it for her and and for my kids, who love this with yogurt, it actually goes really well with yogurt on the side.
I’ve made this using one cup corn meal, but find it to be dry, so in the recipe I say to use half a cup. If you like you can try making it yourself to see which you prefer.
This is the perfect thing to make for picnics, or something to serve at a party or when guests come over, it’s a nice snack to serve anytime.
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Petulla (Fried Dough)
Nothing brings back childhood memories like the taste of petulla, excitingly waiting for my mom to finish making them so we can gobble them up!
These are traditional Albanian treats, passed down by generation….every family has their own recipes and how to make them….I may be biased here but I think my moms are the best.
My Grandfather liked them sweet, with sugar or honey, my grandmother likes them with feta. I like them both ways, but I add cinnamon to my sugar….
Polenta with Bocconcini
I grew up eating polenta in a bowl with sugar…now a days I eat my polenta a little differently, mind you if you give me a bowl of sweet polenta today, I would still wolf it down with a couple spoons of sugar just like I did when I was a kid;) This dish has become a family favourite! Its a perfect summer side dish or even on its own for lunch….
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Roasted red pepper hummus is so yummy, enjoy it as a dip or with pita chips…
Za’atar Wheels
Super fast and easy appetizer and tasty too! Za’atar is made out of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds. I first tried za’atar as kid, our Palestinian neighbours brought some over in a jar, straight from Palestine. She added some in a bowl, drizzled some olive oil in and dipped some bread and told me to eat it, I never tasted anything like it before and I have loved it ever since!
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