So there may be no more important question about the
Republic of Macedonia besides this one- what is Macedonian cuisine? As our interns from AIESEC prepare to arrive
in Macedonia, and as some MAK 19s ask if there are particular food items that
the current volunteers miss, I figure I may as well share my knowledge and
opinion on the Macedonian cuisine.
Before arriving in country, I had no idea what I could
expect to eat for the next 27 months. I
had never eaten at a Balkan or Macedonian restaurant before, so I was curious
to what the traditional dishes were.
Growing up in Chicago, my experience of Greek food involved hummus,
pita, gyros, and saganaki, and my experience of Slavic food mostly involved
Polish dishes, which consisted of pierogis, sauerkraut, and sausages. I figured since Macedonia is a Slavic country
located close the Mediterranean, the cuisine would be some fusion between these
two cultures.
Throughout my time in Macedonia, I have never eaten hummus,
pita, gyros, pierogis, or sauerkraut in a traditional setting. I was way off when it came to my idea of
Macedonian cuisine. So what is
Macedonian cuisine like? It is very similar
to the cuisine in the other Balkan countries (Serbia, Albania, Romania,
Bulgaria), and it is heavily influenced by the Turkish occupation. Macedonian cuisine is very seasonal, but the
staples usually include bread, beans, cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, onions,
potatoes, and often sirenje (a brined cheese).
As I mentioned during PST, meat is consumed sparingly, since it is so
expensive. Finally, since Macedonia is a
landlocked country, fish is rarely consumed, except during the fasting times of
the Orthodox calendar (advent, lent) when fresh-water fish is fried and
accompanied with beans.
A few months ago, Buzz Feed came out with a great article
with the most popular/ emblematic dishes served throughout Macedonia. I am providing the link below:
As you can see from
the article, Macedonia’s traditional foods offer a rich, decadent dive into
Balkan cuisine. However, one is unlikely
to be able to enjoy all of these dishes whenever he pleases- their availability
and popularity often vary on the season.
At first I was going to write an article on the different types of
cuisine available within Macedonia, but I realized that such a post would be
dull and long. Instead, I am listing my
favorite dishes under certain categories, all of which summarize the dining
experience in Macedonia. Enjoy!
(*Note- some of the pictures below are taken from the internet. If they belong to you, please feel free to inform me and I can take them down. It seems that I am not as much as a foodie as most people on Social Media, so I needed to borrow some photographs from the inter-web).
Category #1- Homestay Food
When fully integrating with a homestay (meaning that one
eats all of his meals with his homestay family), one will typically adhere to
the Macedonian meal schedule. This means that breakfast is light and often
prepared by the volunteer, lunch is the largest meal, and dinner is much
lighter than lunch, often consisting of salads, lunch meats and cheeses, and
sometimes just popcorn. The most
commonly served food is manja, basically
soup consisting of vegetables and sometimes meat. Manjas vary by base among cabbage, potato,
or beans (my favorite was always beans).
As one lives with homestay families, eventually he will become tired of
manja, but it is the cheapest way to prepare a hearty meal with just
vegetables.
 |
| А large dish of musaka from PST |
 |
| Stock photo of polneti piperki |
There are many dishes that are only available through a
homestay. Most often served in the
summer is polneti piperki (stuffed
peppers). Musaka is probably my favorite staple dish. However, the best homestay meal I have ever
eaten was…
Roasted Rabbit! Before my site visit to Prilep, my host
mother cooked a hearty casserole of rabbit, rice, and chicken. It was the most delicious thing I had ever
eaten in Macedonia, but I had never heard of other volunteers eating such a
dish before. This may prove that my host
mother during PST was a culinary genius.
 |
| My host mother's roasted rabbit from PST |
Category #2- Kafanas
Kafanas are restaurants that serve traditional Macedonian
dishes. They are often the cheapest
option when dining in Macedonia.
Ordering from a Macedonian menu early during the volunteer service is
daunting because there seem to be so many options to choose among the skara, or grilled meat. However, as a
volunteer goes through his service, he will realize that most of the skara
options on a menu are just variations of chicken or pork filets or ground beef.
 |
| Uvijac |
Every volunteer recommends that one orders uvijach when dining at a kafana for the
first time. Uvijach is a gooey chunk of
cheese wrapped in a pork or chicken steak, further wrapped by a few slices of
bacon. It is indeed delicious. However, my favorite skara at a kafana is…
Kebabs! Kebabs are so simple, yet so delicious! And even though they are just ground meat
rolled into deliciously bite-sized portions, they are usually some of the
cheapest options for skara on any kafana menu.
 |
| Kebabs |
Category #3- Salads
Salads are also a major item when ordering food at a kafana. As I mentioned in a previous post, salads are
often consumed while drinking rakija, so salads play a central role in
Macedonian cuisine.
Shopska salata is
the quintessential salad in Macedonia.
It is simple- cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions, mixed in oil and topped
with sirenje. I often make this salad
for a quick meal at home (bez kromid!).
However, my favorite salad to accompany my rakija is…
 |
| Shopska Salata |
Makedonska Salata! Slightly varying from the shopska salata,
Makedonska salata consists of tomatoes, onions, and roasted peppers. I usually put my own twist on a Makedonska
salata by substituting the onions for sirenje.
Category #4- Snacks
Nothing says snacks like a bunch of carbs or fat, and Macedonia
has its fair share of delectable goodies that would break any diet. Most snacks can be bought at bakery-like
shops, with a variety of fried breads exhibited under glass cases. The most dangerous of these snacks is the burek, which is a flaky, pie-like snack
that is usually filled with sirenje, meat, or “pizza” (ketchup, ham, and cheese). It is often consumed with yogurt (essentially
plain yogurt in a more milky, drinkable form).
Back in the States, I would say that a hard day’s work must be rewarded
with a nice, cold beer. In Macedonia,
similar solace is found in burek. But my
favorite snack is…
 |
| Burek and yogurt (bottled in the left-top corner) |
Topeno Sirenje! This dish is essentially a pot of cheese,
similar to fondue. There is nothing to
not love about this dish (unless you are lactose intolerant). The best topeno sirenje dishes involve
experimentation with other ingredients.
The best topeno sirenje variations can be found at Bitola’s Metro
Pizzeria (where they mix the cheese with chili) and at Struga’s Pizza Angela
(which is mixed with garlic).
 |
| Topeno Sirenje |
Category #7- Turshija
Turshija, or winter foods, are foods that are prepared and
jarred in the fall to last through the winter months. Many vegetables, like cabbage, peppers, and
carrots, are stored in jars of vinegar for their own sour hibernation. However, the only turshija that really
matters in this category are the spreads- ajvar (pepper spread), pinjur,
malijano (similar to ajvar, but composed of eggplant), and lutenica. They each have their own value, but my
favorite is…
 |
| Freshly jarred turshija from PST |
Ajvar! Pinjur tastes fresher, and malijano puts a
nice twist on a morning breakfast, but you have to go with the classic. The best ajvar is homemade, so those living
with host families get the real deal.
Otherwise, there are a few good brands that are available in stores as
well.
Category #6- Sweets
I am not a fan of sweets, so this category is a no-brainer
for me. Macedonians love their sweets,
and there is no shortage of options for sugar fixes in this country (just take
a look at the chocolate aisle in any major supermarket here). Macedonians most often indulge in sweets
during individual celebrations, including birthdays, slavas, and name
days. Often trays of bonbonis, or small candied treats usually
consisting of chocolate, drape the tables.
However, there is only one treat that I can consume interminably, and
that is…
Baklava! Yes, baklava is a Turkish food, but it
was certainly adapted with zeal by Macedonians.
In fact, I am sure baklava is one of the most popular things the Ottoman
Empire brought to the region, ranking much higher than religious/ social
repression and tax burdens. But
seriously, I have never had bad baklava here, and I am lucky that they are
widely available in stores AND both of my host families had made them at some
point during my service. No further
explanation is needed since I am sure that many of you have eaten baklava, as
it is widely available in the States. If
you have not, you are missing out on a great pleasure of life and go buy some
now!
 |
| Baklava |
Category #7- National Dish
So this dish takes the cake- err, not sure if food wants
cake. But anyway, only one Macedonian dish can reign supreme as the
representative delicious dish of Macedonia.
 |
| Pastermajlija in Veles |
 |
| Sarma |
 |
| Chkembe Chorba (with stomach lining) |
There are plenty of great options for this category. Sarma
is a Christmas classic, and I sometimes dream about popping these little
pillows of cabbage filled with rice and meat in my belly. Pastramajlija
(baked bread topped with eggs and brined meat) is worshipped with its own
festivals in the fall (in the cities of Shtip, Veles, and Kratovo), and who can
resist a pizza-like meal? On the other
hand, there is doner, a gyro-like
dish that is widely served in Albanian communities. Finally, one cannot forget about chorba, a soup (the most popular of
which is composed of tripe, or stomach lining) that is said to cure hangovers, hence
served in the morning and largely consumed by older, Macedonian men. However, my vote for Macedonia’s national
dish goes to…
Tavche Gravche! This dish is just too good to pass up. It seems simple- an earthenware pot caked in
beans. But the spices that contribute to
its overall goodness are indescribable.
Homemade tavche gravche is definitely the best, and I can eat it all day
paired with some freshly baked bread, dried spicy peppers, and some beer. However, it is also often one of the cheapest
dishes on a menu at the kafana, so it has that going for it too.
 |
| Tavche Gravche from a Kafana |
So there you have it.
I hope that my description of Macedonia cuisine has you hungry. At first I found Macedonian cuisine to be
repetitive and lacking spices. But after
a year of living and eating in Macedonia, I am used to the monotony and fully
embrace the cuisine, especially when many of the dishes are served with the
fresh spring and summer harvests.
Hopefully you will have the opportunity to try the cuisine, even if you
do not visit this beautiful country.
Either way, на здравје!
No comments:
Post a Comment