Ballokume are traditional Albanian cookies, that have become the symbol of Spring Day. The ingredients are very simple, but the technique is a bit challenging. Ballokume homeland is Elbasan, an old city in Central Albania, that’s why this recipe and tips come from my friends from Elbasani, Xhulia, and Ivlin. I would prefer them less…
Traditional
Preserved kumquats made at home
Do you like kumquats? They’re tasty and cute and have a nice bittersweet taste. I don’t know why they rarely sell them in the farmers’ market, so whenever I manage to find some, I make this delicious and super easy kumquat preserve. I love enjoying it on a toast with butter or cheese,…
Cocoa & vanilla bundt cake
Remember double layer cake, where cocoa and vanilla flavours mixed so perfectly with each other? My mom used to make it very often, and I would always have a piece warm, because couldn’t wait for it to cool. This is a recreation of my family recipe for the double layer cake, slightly dense and not…
My family recipe of rice pudding
They say easy as a pie, I would say, easy as a rice pudding. This simple dish has many variation and names between continents and countries: Arroz con leche in Spanish, Budino di riso in Italian, Risogallo in Greek, Sütlaç in Turkish, Syltjash or Tameloriz in Albanian, Duadhapak in Indian and many many more. The beauty of the rice…
Wholesome cherry galette
I’ve always loved the simplicity of galettes. They require few ingredients and the end result is so rewarding. This time I’m sharing with you a whole wheat cherry galette recipe, which is a summer favorite of mine. Choose the sweetest cherries you could find, get bored pitting them, make a sweet mess around and treat…
Homemade Jufka with dried porcini mushrooms
One of the perks of being a food blogger is that all your friends share their thoughts and experiences on food and special food products with you. The latest wonderful gift I got, were homemade Jufka. Jufka are Albanian traditional pasta, cooked especially on Diber, made with fresh eggs, milk and wheat flour. Dried Jufka keep…
Japrak – a traditional dish that brings on so many memories
One of my favourite traditional dishes is japrak (dolma). It is prepared in spring when nature is so generous with greens. Japraks (dolmas) are cooked in all Balkan countries, Middle East and Central Asia. They’re basically vine leaves stuffed with greens and rice. Many recipes call for meat, but I prefer them without. I’m pretty…
Asure aka Noah’s pudding – the easiest recipe you can find
Asure is a special dessert with an eastern origin that is traditionally cooked also in Albania. The dish has a fascinating story behind. When Noah and his animals were running out of food, he mixed whatever was left and cooked them together to feed his companions. The result was asure, a beautiful and so adaptable…
Orange & chocolate Bundt cake
Sometimes I get nostalgic about moms cooking and try to recreate her recipes. I end up calling her to check if I missed something, which for sure always happens. Mom starts explaining in her way, without mentioning concrete measures or amounts at all, a little bit of this and a little bit of that, even when…
Red wine liquor – tradition at its best
I love learning about traditional recipes and experimenting with them. They are paths to the past and make me understand and love Albanian culture and culinary even more. Red wine liquor is one of the recipes I’ve had so much fun with, because, you know, it includes wine. It’s practically wine, cooked with sugar and cloves…