North Macedonia is located in the continent of Europe. It has Kosovo and Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the northeast and east, Greece to the south, Albania to the southwest and west.
The capital is Skopje.
The official languages are Macedonian and Albanian.
The climate has two main climatic zones, the Mediterranean and the continental. Overall, there is a moderate continental climate: temperatures average in the low 30s F in January and rise to the high 60s and 70s F in July.
The staple foods are rice, roast beef, pork, lamb, trout, eggplant, pita, cheeses, and so much more ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonian_cuisine)
https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Macedonia
VISOKOPROTEINSKI GRAH/VISOKOPROTEINSKI PASULJ (High Protein Balkan Bean Soup) (https://balkanlunchbox.com/high-protein-balkan-bean-soup/)
- 12-14 ounces dry beans (kidney, navy, white northern or canary, etc) soaked overnight
- 2-3 tablespoons oil vegetable or other
- 1-2 onions minced
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- 4-5 ounces dried beef or ham, ham hock, sausage, etc.
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 bouillon cube or 1 tablespoon Vegeta or stock powder
- In a large bowl (or pot) cover beans with water, and leave to soak for 7-8 hours (or overnight). The following day strain the beans and discard the water. Wash again, strain, and set aside.
- In a deep pot, heat oil over high, and add onion and garlic. Lower to medium and simmer until translucent (2-3 minutes). Add carrots and meat. Simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes while stirring. Add a pinch of water if necessary.
- Add the seasonings and beans in, and cover with 6-7 cups of water (1.5 liters). Mix ingredients well, cover with a lid, and raise the temperature to high until the liquid boils (about 15 minutes).
- Bring the temperature down to low, and continue cooking until the beans are super soft. (Think about 2.5-3.5 hours.) If you lose a lot of liquid, add another cup of water (200 milliliters) during cooking.
- Take 2-3 ladles of the soup and blend. Return to the pot and stir. Cook 5 more minutes and remove from heat.
- Serve warm or hot with a salad of choice.
- Storein the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezeby cooling down to room temperature and portion it out into freezer ware. Freeze for up to 3 months. Bring up to room temperature and reheat when ready to eat.
- Reheatusing your preferred method. If the soup is too thick, add a little bit of water, or broth.
This was sssooo good. I used navy beans. Next time I would use more ham!!
TARATOR (Macedonian Cucumber, Yogurt and Garlic Salad) (https://balkanlunchbox.com/tarator-taratur-salad-soup/)
- 2 cucumbers larger, peeled and diced very finely; all types of cucumber work
- 2 cups plain yogurt substitute with Greek yogurt (thin it out a little bit), kefir (fermented/ sour milk), sour cream, or a combination; thin out more with water if making tarator soup
- salt to taste
- 2 garlic cloves minced; adjust the number of garlic cloves to taste
- (Optional) a pinch of dill, rosemary, parsley, or mint, 1-2 crushed walnuts, a teaspoon of paprika, 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, or a combination add optional toppings to taste
- Combine cucumber, yogurt, salt and garlic. Stir well until integrated. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Stir again before serving.
- (Optional) Add toppings per taste
- Handling
- Serving: Serve taratur chilled as it tastes best this way. Taratur (tarator) goes great with rissoles, grilled meats, Balkan fried bread uštipci, or cornbread called kukuruza. Serve it in small bowls as an appetizer or side salad. Stir before serving.
- Storing: Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. As tarator (taratur) is incredibly easy to make, there is no need to make it days ahead of eating it, or keeping it for too long. Also, cucumbers tend to release extra liquid when left for a long time, and the taste of the salad changes.
I also put in crushed walnuts. It gave it some great flavor as well!!
OBLATNE, OBLANDE (Balkan No Bake Wafer Cake) (https://balkanlunchbox.com/balkan-no-bake-wafer-cake-oblatne/)
- 10.5 ounces milk
- 10.5 ounces white sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or one 10g bag vanilla sugar
- 10.5 ounces Petit Beurre ground biscuits or Graham Crackers, ground
- 10.5 ounces walnuts ground
- 9 ounces of butter room temperature
- 7 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
- 1 package tort wafers 5-6 sheets in total, sized approximately 16×13 inches*
- In a large pot combine milk, sugar and vanilla sugar. Bring to boil over medium, stirring frequently to help the sugar dissolve. Remove from heat.
- Add butter and chocolate into the pot. Stir well until the mass integrates.
- Add ground biscuit and stir until integrated. Add walnuts and stir until well integrated. Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Assembly: Carefully unwrap your tort wafer sheets. Set the best looking sheet on the side (this will be your top sheet). Take another sheet and place it on a hard surface.* Pour roughly ¼ or ⅕ of the filling in the middle of this sheet. Evenly distribute it to all sides with a knife or a spoon. Place the following wafer sheet on top of the filling and align the sides. Repeat with the filling and sheets until you are out of material. Top everything with the sheet you set aside to be the top sheet.
- Wrap dessert in saran wrap. Then place a heavy object on top of it, covering the dessert as much as possible.* (a book, pan, cutting board, etc.). Leave to congeal in a cool place (or fridge) at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- Cutting: Cut the wafer cake just before serving. Use a very sharp knife (or an exacto knife). (If you want it in shape of diamonds) Cut the cake in half (lengthwise). Then cut each half in half to get quarters. Finally, cut each quarter in half to get eights. Take an eight strip and cut diagonal lines every 4-5 blocks. Repeat with all strips.* Keep leftover cake in saran wrap in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
They did not turn out pretty, but they DID turn out really good!!
Travel Global Food 