Makes 4 dozen

2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, creamed
3 cups ground tea biscuits (Arrowroot type)
3 cups ground walnuts
3 squares (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate, grated
1 teaspoon rum extract (optional)

Glaze:

3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter
6 squares (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate
chopped walnuts (optional)

How to prepare:

In a medium-size pot, bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add sugar, simmering until thickened slightly.
Then add the butter, tea biscuits and ground walnuts. Mix all ingredients well, until dough forms. Remove from heat and divide into 2 equal halves. Knead the grated chocolate and rum extract if desired, into one of the halves of dough.
Press the chocolate dough into a greased 11x 13" baking dish Sprinkle some water on your hands to keep the dough from sticking to them. Spread the lighter batter on top of the chocolate, press evenly covering chocolate.

Glaze:

In a small saucepan on the stovetop, heat the milk, sugar and butter. When the butter has melted, add the chocolate squares. When the glaze is smooth, pour over top of the dough in the baking dish. Sprinkle finely chopped walnuts over top (if desired). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cut into small thin bars.
Use a microwave to combine all ingredients. Grind the biscuits in a food processor or use graham cracker crumbs

Serves 6

Ingredients needed

1 kg (2 lb) calamari, whole
1 kg (2 lb) potatoes, peeled and cut in round sli
100 ml (1 /2 cup) olive oil
salt, black pepper

How to prepare:

Preheat the oven to 165 C (330 F). Season potatoes with salt and pepper. Arrange 2/3 potatoes in a greased casserole dish. Cover with whole calamari. Top with remaining potato slices. Pour olive oil over it. Cover and bake over a low heat for 1 hour, until the potatoes are tender. Serve hot from the oven.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 kg (2 lb) mixed fish
2-3 onions
2 dl olive oil
2-3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 dl wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
rosemary (optional)
2 cups red wine
1 tsp black pepper
salt

How to prepare:

Sauté onion in olive oil until soft. Add tomatoes. Place fish on top of broth. Add vinegar, salt, pepper, bay leaf and rosemary. Add so much wine that fish is covered. Do NOT add water. Simmer gently over low heat for 1-2 hours. Do NOT cover nor stir; just shake skillet occasionally. Serve with polenta.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

800 g (1.75 lb) cornmeal
3 l (3 qt) water
salt

How to prepare:

Bring water and salt to a boil. Pour cornmeal in a slow stream into the hot water while whisking vigorously to prevent lumps. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Ingredients:

1 kg (2 lb) squid or calamari
2-3 large onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
parsley, chopped
400 g (0.9 lb) rice
olive oil
salt, pepper

How to prepare:

Clean the squid or calamari (reserve ink sac). Cut them into stripes.
Saute onion in the oil until translucent. Add the squid or calamari and cook for 15 minutes. Add garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and enough water to cover calamari and cook until squid or calamari are soft.

Add the rice, the ink from the ink sac and continue cooking, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add more hot water. Remove from heat when done and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4 – 5 people

Ingredients:

1 kg of flour
1 egg
salt, cooking oil, water
For filling chose: spinach, leek, potato, cheese, eggs, cabbage…

How to prepare:

Prepare the paste: Divide it into two pieces and then each piece divide into 10 equal pieces. Make a "kora" of each piece. "Kora" is a thin peace of paste made by rolling tin. Spread some oil on each "kora" and put one "kora" on another until you use 10 for one big "kora" and the other ten for another big kora. One "kora" should be bigger than another. Take the smaller one and put it at the bottom of a saucepan. Spread the filling. Put the other "kora" (the bigger one) on the filling and place it nicely. Pour some oil on top. Put the saucepan in the oven. Bake it on temperature of 250°C for half an hour. Filling: chop the vegetable and fry it on oil for a while.

Serves 6 people

Ingredients:

500g of white beans
1 onion, 1 red paprika
100ml of cooking oil
2-3 pieces of red dry capsicum
pepper, salt, plain flour, parsley, mint

How to prepare:

Wash the beans and leave them to stay in water over night. After that cook them till it starts boiling, drain the beans and put them in another pot of hot water. Then add chopped onion (1/2 of it) and capsicum.
Continue to cook it till the beans are soft but integral. If there is too much water left, drain the beans.
Fry the chopped onion (the other 1/2) and paprika with one spoon of plain flour in cooking oil and then add this to the beans. Put everything in a pottery saucepan and then pour some parsley, mint, pepper and salt on it.
Put the saucepan in oven and bake for a while (the beans shouldn’t be too dry).

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

pickled cabbage leaves
rice in a cup of coffee
2-3 onion pieces
0,5 kg. mixed ground meat
oil, red pepper, pepper, salt, spices
250 gr. steamed meat

How to prepare:

Cut the onion into small pieces and fry it on oil. Add the ground meat, red pepper, pepper, salt, spices the rice also.
Then use the mixture to stuff the pickled cabbage leaves. Line them up in a pot, but first line up pickled cabbage leaves at the bottom of the pot. Put the steamed mead in between the stuffed cabbage leaves. Then, spill over some hot water and boil it on a silent fire, and them put them in the oven to bake.
By the end of the baking, you can add come oil and red pepper (which have been fried before). Cover the pieces with pickled cabbage leaves. The whole has to be dry, not very moist.

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

one 3 kilo leg of young spring lamb
2 to 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
20 small potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons tomato paste, diluted in 1/4 cup water
2 cups hot water

How to prepare:

Preheat oven to 230 degrees.
Wash leg of lamb. Slit with a sharp knife in various places on both sides of lamb. Insert garlic slices in slits. Season with salt, pepper, add 1/2 tablespoon oregano, and brush with olive oil. Pour lemon juice over lamb and place in roasting pan, fat side up. Roast for about 1/2 hour.
While lamb is browning, combine salt, tomato paste, and water and pour over potatoes. Add to roasting pan; sprinkle with remaining oregano. Lower oven temperature to 180°C. Roast for 1 1/2 hours, turning and basting the potatoes occasionally. Remove to a hot serving platter; slice and serve meat surrounded by potatoes.

Serves 3 people

Ingredients:

1 kg of flour
600 g pork meat
200 g lard
4 eggs
1 yeast

How to prepare:

Soak the yeast and after a while put it into flour and prepare the paste. Divide the paste into 4 equal pieces. Use rolling tin to make each of these pieces thin and flat.<br/ >Chop the meat. Add salt. Put the meat on top of each piece of pasta and spread it. Put lard on the meat and if you prefer add pepper also. Put the pastrmajlii (prepared like this) in the oven. Bake it on temperatures of 250°C. Before they are ready, add 1 egg and finish the baking. Serve it hot.

Photo: Gulhan Kara

Serves 4- 6

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

5 cups of water
2 cups of yoghurt
2 tbsp flour
1 egg
1 clove of garlic 
3 tbsp rice
Salt, pepper
1 tsp spoon of dried mint

To garnish: One pinch of red pepper and chopped fresh mint

How to prepare:

Put water in a deep pan. Wash the rice and add it to the pan. Chop one clove of garlic into two and add it in the water. Cover the pan with its lid and let it boil until the rice is tender.

Put the yoghurt in a mixing bowl, add flour and egg. Beat them with a wire whisk or a fork until it becomes smooth.

Continue cooking the soup over low heat, take one scoop from boiling water and whisk it to the yoghurt mix. Repeat this one more time. While you add the yoghurt mix to the pan, stir it at the same time. Add salt, black pepper and dried mint. Boil it for a few more minutes.

After you pour the soup into bowls, add red pepper and chopped fresh mint. Serve it hot. This is a traditional Turkish soup that is cooked throughout the country.

Photo: Gulhan Kara

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients:

800 grams of chopped lamb meat
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion
3 green peppers
3 tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
Salt, black pepper For creamy (Be?endi) eggplant sauce:
2 medium-size eggplant
40 gram butter
40 gram flour
2 cups of milk
Salt
How to prepare:

Pre-heat a deep pan. Add the chopped meat to the pan stir them until brown. Add vegetable oil and continue to sauté it. Finely chop the onion, tomato and green pepper.

First add chopped onion and pepper and sauté it with meat. After you add salt, stir it. Add the tomatoes and boil it over medium-heat for about 20 minutes.
Prick eggplants all over and roast it over a naked gas flame until they soften and skin chars. Peel the roasted eggplants and place the inner side in a bowl, sprinkle few drops of milk. 

To make the creamy eggplant sauce: Place butter in small sauce pan until it melts, add flour and stir. Add milk slowly until the sauce thickens. Add salt. Finely chop eggplants, add it to the hot sauce immediately and stir. After you place the eggplant sauce to the dinner plates,  add two service spoons of meat that you prepared earlier. Serve it hot.

Photo: Gulhan Kara

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

800 gram minced meat
1 large onion
2 slices of stale bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 bunch of parsley
Salt, black pepper
2-3 potatoes For tomato paste sauce:
2 tbsp margarine or vegetable oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups of water, salt

How to prepare: Grate onion, chop parsley. Add the crumbled bread, egg, onion, parsley, salt and black pepper into the minced meat and mix it all together with your hands. Wet your hands and roll it in your palms in the form of a sausage form.

Peel the potatoes and chop them like slices of apple.
After heating the deep pan with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil, place the meatballs to fry. Fry the potatoes the same way you did for meatballs.

Add two cups of hot water to tomato paste. Add potatoes and tomato sauce over the meatballs. Cover the lid of the pan and cook it over medium-heat for 15-20 minutes. Serve it hot.

Photo: Gulhan Kara

Serves 4 Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes


Ingredients:

2 cups of rice
2 medium size eggplants
1 tomato
1 tbsp of tomato paste
3-4 tbsp of olive oil
3 cups of hot water
Salt, black pepper How to prepare: Place the rice into a bowl of luke water for 10-15 minutes. Later rinse it under running water.

Peel the eggplants partially leaving lengthwise stripes and dice it. Prepare salty water in a large bowl and place the eggplant cubes for 10 minutes.
Peel the tomato and dice it. Wash the eggplants under running water and dry them with paper towel.

Heat the oil in the pot that you will prepare your rice. Add the eggplants, stir them until brown. Later add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and rinsed rice and stir them all together. Add salt, black pepper and hot water.

Turn the heat to medium and cover. Steam until water is absorbed. When the water is absorbed, turnout the heat and place a paper towel over the pot and cover it with its lid for about 15 minutes. Before you serve, stir it with a wooden spoon.

Photo: Gulhan Kara

Serves 6

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients: 5 tbsp of rice
2 cups of milk
2 cups of granulated sugar
2 tbsp of rice flour
1 packet of vanilla extract
To Garnish: cinnamon How to prepare:

Wash the rice and rinse it under running water. Put the rice in a pot, cover it with enough water until tender. Add milk and bring it to boil for 10 minutes. Add granulated sugar and stir it once a while. Mix rice flour with a little bit of water and add it to the pudding. Add vanilla extract and let it boil for a few more minutes. Pour the pudding into oven safe bowls   Broil them until the top is brown. Sprinkle cinnamon over the pudding and serve it cold. 

Ingredients (for four serving size) • 800 gr. lamb • 2 tablespoon flour • 4 tablespoon Albanian home made butter • 4 cup yoghurt • 2 egg • 2 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon black pepper Preparation Start cutting the lamb on the proper amount of serving, than put the meat in the oven (150-160 deg.) for appr.45 min. During the baking time we add small amount of water to it as need it. After the meat is ready we drain the juice out of it and put the meat covered in the working surface. On a fryer pan we prepare the mixture of butter and flour by adding also the juice we had from the baked meat. If it is needed we might add a cup of warn water to the mixture until the texture gets thicker. Than we put the pan to cool off. In this moment we mix the yoghurt and the egg together. After we have a cooled off mixture of the butter, flour and juice we add yoghurt and the eggs together. Based on our judgment we add salt and pepper .The above mixture goes to the pan along with the meat. We suggest that that cooking pan to be a ceramic one (see the pic.). Before putting the pan into the oven we add some butter to it. Let the pan to cook until the surface takes a brown color (see the photo.) Herion Dhima | Sous Chef - Sheraton Tirana Hotel

Serves 2 Ingredients: 2-3 aubergines
4-5 peppers
3-4 cloves
garlic
parsley
vinegar
olive oil
salt
How to prepare: Bake the aubergines and peppers on a hot plate, peel and cut into small pieces.  Mix with a wooden spoon, add oil and vinegar, salt to taste, beat. Pour into a plate and top with finely chopped parsley.

Serves 4 Ingredients: 2 cups of dry white beans
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 tablespoon
chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped mint
salt, chili powder How to prepare: Bake the aubergines and peppers on a hot plate, peel and cut into small pieces.  Mix with a wooden spoon, add oil and vinegar, salt to taste, beat. Pour into a plate and top with finely chopped parsley.

Ingredients:
1 rabbit, jointed
2 tablespoons tomato puree or 4-5 fresh tomatoes, approximately 350 gr., chopped
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
150 ml olive oil
0.25 teaspoon sugar
4 cloves garlic, peeled
300 ml hot water
small piece cinnamon stick
salt and black pepper
4 grains whole allspice
700 gr. small onions, peeled but left whole
1 sprig of rosemary
1 small glass of red wine How to prepare: The same recipe can be used for hare, with excellent results, by increasing quantities of other ingredients, since hare is much heavier than rabbit. Rabbit or hare should be treated in exactly the same preparatory way, i.e., being soaked in vinegar. (This only applies to wild varieties.) Served with fried potatoes on the side, this is a piquant dish, or if you prefer a milder taste to counterbalance the richness of the rabbit, serve with plain while rice. A green salad is always welcomed as it adds a refreshing note.

Rinse the rabbit pieces and put them in a salad bowl with the bay leaves. Sprinkle the vinegar over the pieces and let them marinate for at least 2 hours or preferably in the fridge overnight. Heat half of the olive oil in a saucepan, pat the rabbit pieces dry and fry them in it until they are quite brown on both sides. Take out and put on to a plate. When all the rabbit pieces have been fried, put them back into the saucepan along with the garlic cloves, bay leaves, spices, rosemary and the wine. Then add the tomato puree or tomatoes, sugar and the hot water. Season, cover and cook for about 1 hour. In the meantime, heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onions. Stir them occasionally, in order to make sure they turn golden all over, for about 15 minutes. Add the contents of the frying pan to the saucepan, and shake it so that the onions spread evenly. Then cover and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Serve with fried potatoes or plain white rice and a green salad.

Serves 6
Ingredients:
1/2 kg. vine leaves picked in brine
1/2 kg. rice
2 bunches spring onions
1 1/2 glass olive oil
4 glasses water
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 bunch dill
1 bunch parsley
salt, black pepper and spices How to prepare:

Place the vine leaves in boiling water in order to remove their salt. Put 1/2 glass olive oil and chopped onions into a pan and saute over moderate heat while stirring with a wooden spoon, add the washed rice and continue to stir. Add water, spice, salt, chopped parsley and dill, black pepper, and pine nuts. Pour in 1/2 glass olive oil and cook gently while still stirring. Put aside to cool. Cut off the stalks of the leaves and place stalks on the bottom of the pan where the cooking will be done, over these put one layer of vine leaves. Place 1/2 tablespoon of the filling on each leaf, roll and line up in the pan. After all the leaves are stuffed, cover the entire surface with a layer of leaves and pour the water, the remaining olive oil and lemon juice over and cook on moderate heat. When the leaves become tender remove from heat, and put on a serving plate after they have cooled down. Decorate the plate with lemon slices, serve along with the remaining lemon juice if desired.

Serves 8-10 Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 TBS lemon rind, grated
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
 
Glaze:
3/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground allspice
dash of ground cloves How to prepare:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add eggs. Mix. In a separate bowl, combine yogurt and buttermilk. In yet another bowl, sift together flour, powder and soda. Add yogurt-mix and flour-mix alternatively to the butter mixture, blending well. Add lemon grind and cinnamon. Mix well.

Butter a 9"x13" baking pan. Pour batter and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.

Make the glaze by simmering together all the ingredients, covered, for about 15 minutes. When the cake is done, remove it from the oven, turn the oven off, pour the glaze over the hot cake, and return it to the oven for about 10 minutes.

Ingredients for pastry: 500g of minced Veal
250g of minced Beef
4 onions
25g of butter
2 egg yolks
salt and pepper. Ingredients for filling:

500g of plain flour
25g of butter
salt
Warm water

How to prepare: Mix flour, melted butter, salt and warm water to prepare the pastry. Cut the pastry in four equal pieces. To prepare the filling mix the meet, melted butter, chopped onions, egg yolks, salt and pepper. Roll the pastry out on the table until very thin and leave for few minutes to dry. Cover the pastry thinly with melted butter. Put the filling at the edge of one side of the pastry and roll it up to create Sausage roll like pastry. Take the round dish and create the spiral with the pastry starting from the middle of the dish. Before completely baked pour either the double cream or butter melted in warm water.

Serves 6 Ingredients: 1 package filo pastry
2 bags washed fresh spinach
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 lb ricotta or cottage cheese
olive oil
1 1/2teaspoons salt
milk
plain yogurt (optional) How to prepare:
Preheat oven to 350F. Wash and drain spinach. Chop spinach and put in a big glass bowl. Add salt and mix with hands. Leave for about 10 minutes and then drain the excessive water. Mix together eggs and sour cream and add to spinach. Add cheese to the mixture. Grease a baking pan. Take filo sheets and lay them on a dry surface. (While adding the filling, you may wish to cover the sheets with a dry towel and then a damp one to keep it from drying out or flaking.) Place one sheet of pastry into the pan and cut away excess. Brush with oil, using either your hands or a pastry brush. Repeat for 6 or 7 layers. Add a skim of filling and spread evenly. Repeat until the pie reaches the top of the pan or you run out of ingredients, but make sure you finish with the pastry on top. Place pie in the oven, uncovered, for about 35 minutes. Pour on top of the pie while it is baking, 1/4 cup sour cream blended with 0.125 cup of milk. Bake for another 15 minutes. This dish can be served warm or room temperature. It is traditionally served with yogurt.

Serves 8 Ingredients: 3 lb lamb or beef, cut into cubes
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped celery leaves
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped kohlrabi
1/2 cup chopped parsley root
1/2 cup chopped celery root
1 cup green beans, cut into 1" pieces
2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into squares
2 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded and quartered
3 cups potatoes, cut into cubes
2 leeks, cleaned and cut into 1/2" slices
1 cup coarsely chopped cabbage
1/2 tsp hot paprika or cayenne, or to taste
6 cups water
1/4 cup vinegar

How to prepare:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Rinse the meat and put in a colander to drain. Combine the onion, garlic, parsley, celery leaves, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Melt the butter in a large, oven-proof stew pot, and then put alternate layers of vegetables and meat, sprinkling some of the onion/garlic/parsley combination on top of each layer. Combine the water and vinegar, and pour it into the pot. Cover the pot with a lid or aluminium foil, and bake until everything is tender, about 3 hours.

Serves 4 Ingredients:
4 pounds lamb [2 kg] 1 pound [0,5 kg] red onion
3/4 cup butter
1 (8-ounce) [230 g] can tomato sauce
11 ounces [315 g] okra
Salt, pepper, lemon juice, and lemon as a garnish
Water
How to prepare:

Boil okra in water with a little bit of lemon juice. Cut meat into small pieces, and fry it in the butter. Slice onions, and fry them in the same butter after you have removed the meat. When the onion gets golden brown in color, add tomato sauce and stir it all together. Then add meat and simmer for a while. Once the meat is cooked, add okra, pepper, and lemon juice. Always serve it with a piece of lemon.

Serves 6 Ingredients: 6 cooking apples
2 cups of walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup sultanas (or raisins)
2 1/2 cup sugar
whipping cream, whipped How to prepare: Peel and core the apples. Mix the walnuts and sultanas. Arrange apples on a baking dish, and fill cavities with the walnut mixture. Dissolve the sugar in water and pour over the apples. Cook until the apples are soft but not soggy. Serve cold with whipped cream.

Crnogorska corba od kopriva (Montenegrin nettle soup)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

600 grams young top shoots of nettles, well washed
salt
Butter for sauteéing
50 grams round-grain rice, cooked
2 potatoes, diced small
1 bunch spring onions, coarsely chopped
1 liter of water
How to prepare:
Pick the nettles wearing rubber gloves. Sweat the nettle tips, sprinkled with a little salt and water, in a lidded pan until just limp. Pound them to a paste in a mortar, or process to a puree with a food processor or stick mixer.

Serves 4 Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
6 slices ginger root
2 cup cooking wine or sherry
5 cup water
2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt

How to prepare:

Remove any fat from the cavity of the chicken and cut the chicken into bit-size pieces. Heat the wok and then add sesame oil. Stir-fry the ginger root until fragrant. Add the pieces of chicken and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the cooking wine and bring to a boil. Add the water, sugar and salt. Boil again, turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

A carp weighing 2,5-3 kg,
2kg of onions
250 gr of dried plums
1 sour apple, 1 quince
1 small spoon of red pepper
125 gr tomato purée
1 spoon of sugar
4 spoons of wine vinegar
3 spoons of flour
2 glasses of water
salt as needed
half a litre of oil.

How to prepare:

Cut the carp on both sides, salt, and put to fry in oil. During that time, braise chopped onions in oil. After a while gradually 3 spoons of flour, 1 small spoon of pepper, tomato, 2 glasses of water, plums (dipped in hot water previously), chopped apple and quince, 1 spoon of sugar, 4 spoons of wine vinegar. Salt as needed. When the carp is fried pour this mixture over it and leave it to bake for half an hour until it is well fried.

Vasojevicki jardum is made from pure, not-boiled sheep milk, which is salted according to taste. It is cooked on moderate heat with continuous stirring, until the whole surface is covered with foam. Than it should immediately be removed from fire. When it cools down, this milk is very dense and tasty. It can be served at the end of the meal.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 kg of rastan (vegetable with hard green leaves)
400 gr of veal
2 dl of oil
150 gr of onions
80 gr of rice
pepper and parsley as needed
200 gr of dry meat as needed.


How to prepare:

Separate fresh, good and young leaves of rastan from the stem and remove the thick part of the leaf. Wash in cold water and boil in boiling slated ( sour water) for a couple of minutes. When the leaves are blanched, take them out and put immediately into cold water so as to preserve their natural colour. Keep in cold water till you use them again.

Separate veal neck or shoulder-joint from bones, surplus tough parts and fat and cut in small pieces. Clean onions, wash and chop. Clean and wash rice, and then strain well. If we add dry meat when preparing japraci, it must be cut and put so that one portion contains one piece. Fry on grease chopped onions in an adequate heated vessel. Add chopped meat to onions and fry all together. When onions and meat are fried add the prepared rice and fry all together. Season the mass with a little salt, ground pepper and parsley. Let the prepared stuffing cool. Put the stuffing in leaves and roll it. Boil rolls in pot for 2 hours.

Serve with kisjelo mlijeko – yogurt.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

400 gr cheese
4 eggs
80 gr of grated koroman (old rye Montenegrin bread)
80 gr of sugar
1 pack of vanilla sugar
1 pack of baking soda
4 dl of milk
4 dl of sour cream
peel of one home grown lemon.


How to prepare:

Crush cheese, add eggs, grated rye bread (dipped in milk and sour cream), sugar, vanilla sugar, baking powder, lemon peel and pour all together onto hot grease. Bake in the baking pan until it becomes reddish.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 cups of milk
Yeast
Butter
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
5 eggs

How to prepare:

Heat 1/2 cup milk to lukewarm. Add 1 cake of yeast (or 2 packages dry yeast), sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Let rise for 1/2 hour, then add 3 egg yolks. Heat 1 1/2 cups milk to lukewarm, add 1 stick butter and 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour over yeast mixture. Stir in 3-4 cups flour to make a firm dough. Turn onto floured board and knead for 10 minutes, adding a little flour so dough will not stick.

Grease a deep bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn grease side up. Cover with clean cloth and let rise until double. Divide dough into 3 equal portions (save a small piece of dough for cross). Roll each portion and braid. Place in large greased pan or cookie sheet. Take a small piece of dough and make a cross for top of bread. Let rise until double in bulk. Brush top with 2 beaten egg yolks to which on teaspoon sugar is added. Bake a 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Serves 6

Ingredients: Large cottage cheese
1-2 sticks butter
1 lg. Philadelphia cream cheese
1/2 lb. Feta cheese, crumbled
5-6 eggs
1 pkg. Filo leaves (in grocery stores) or 1 1/2 pkgs. thick dough leaves (can be obtained at DeRosa Imports, downtown Griffith)

 
How to prepare:

Oil 16"x8" (or so) baking pan. Put two layers of thick or 4 layers of thin dough leaves. Sprinkle oil in between leaves. Mix all of the above ingredients and place a layer over the leaves. Repeat layers (2 thick or 3 thin) until pan is full. Finish with leaves. Mix 1 egg and 1/2 cup of milk and pour over the pita. Prick with fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
NOTE: 1 package frozen chopped spinach can be added to cheese mixture after thawed and juice squeezes out.

Serves 4 Ingredients:

cabbage (or sweet cabbage)
5 onions (diced)
2 stalks celeryolive oil
1 green pepper (diced)
100 gr. rice (cooked)
100 gr. walnuts (ground)
1 can whole tomatoessalt  How to prepare: Cut out the hard core of the cabbage and boil the cabbage and then separate each leaf. Heat oil in a skillet and add onions, celery and green pepper. Fry until soft. Add the cooked rice and stir fry the mixture for about two minutes.Remove the mixture from heat and add walnuts and salt. Mix well.Take a cabbage leaf and scoop approx. one tablespoon of the mixture on it. Roll up the leaf, the sides should be folded inside to prevent the mixture from falling out. Place the rolls in a large pan, add the tomatoes and enough water to cover them up. Cook over a medium heat for about one hour.Switch of the heat and keep the sarma's covered until it's time to eat.

Serves 4
 
Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. scalded milk, cooled
1 tsp. salt
2 pkgs. dry yeast dissolved in 1/2 c. warm water plus 2 tsp. sugar
3/4 c. melted Imperial butter
1/2 c. white sugar
3 egg yolks, beaten
4 1/2 c. to 5 c. flour


How to prepare:

Mix as for any bread dough. Knead dough, but not too long (soft dough). Let rise before rolling out.

Ingredients for filling:

1 lb. ground walnuts
1 heaping c. sugar

How to prepare:

Mix the above with 3/4 cup hot milk. Beat 3 egg whites stiff and fold in nut mixture. Roll out dough and spread filling on dough. Roll up and put in greased 9x13-inch pan. Let rise 15-20 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees about 1 hour. Potica may be put into a ring or cut in half to make 2 loaves.

Flija is a traditional dish from Kosovo.The curiosity is baking "izpod peke"."Sa?"(pron.sach) or "ispod peke" means "UNDER BAKE"."peka" or Sa? is a large metal lid a shallow bell with which dough for bread or meat to be baked are covered,and over which ashes and red hot coals are put. Under "sa?" meat,fish and vegetables remain juicy,and potatoes are rich with the taste of meat.The best is roasted lamb.It is used also for cooking bread and traditional dishes as "burek" for example.

Ingredients:

1 kg flour
salt
Oil
Soured cream
Mineral water

How to make:

Mix flour,salt and water. Bake pancakes in a pan (35 cm diameter). Fill them with soured cream.Then put them into a baking tin(diameter 50 cm) and bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees.Serve with yoghurt.

Bake flija above an open, wood-fed fire slowly. Mix white flour with water and salt, leaving the mixture more or less hollow. Grease a baking pan with oil or butter. Put the first layer of the mixture of flour, water and salt in the baking pan. Place a special metal lid called saci / sac, heated earlier over a fire, on the baking pan to bake the first layer. Remove the saci, add a second layer of the mixture, and grease it with butter or oil and a special dairy product called maza.

Place the saci again on top of the baking pan to bake the second layer. Continue until the baking pan is full. At this point, put the saci on again to bake the whole thing properly. Arrange flija pieces in a circle to imitate the sun's rays. Villagers attribute this practise to an ancient pagan tradition of sun worship.

Ingredients:

2 lbs various vegetables (peppers, eggplant, okra, zucchini, potatoes, etc)
1/2 cup oil, divided
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup peeled chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt
Pepper


How to make:

After cutting off inedible tips of vegetables, wash and slice them into 1-inch squares. Saute vegetables in half the oil and remove them from the frying pan. Saute onion and tomatoes in the remaining oil, and season with parsley, salt, and pepper. Put everything in a stock pot with a cup of water, cover tightly, and simmer until almost all moisture has cooked away. Serve hot, accompanied by steak, meatballs, or any other main dish.
Serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

4 ripe oranges
4 eggs
1 large jar of black olives in salty water
1 small bunch of fresh, common mint
salt flakes
pepper grinder How to prepare:

Prepare the salad ingredients: Boil some water in a saucepan and slowly lower each egg, using a spoon, into the quietly boiling water. You want there to be some bubbles gently rising through the water, but not bubbling vigourously. Allow to boil for about 4 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the oranges and remove any white pith or seeds. Slice into segments.

Drain the salt water from the olives, using a colander. Roughly chop the mint leaves, discard the stalks.

After approximately 4 minutes check to see if the eggs are boiled by gently tapping them with the back of a metal spoon to slightly crack the shell. If no white fuid streams out like a ribbon, then the eggs are ready. Carefully remove from the saucepan with the spoon, and run under cold water for 20 seconds or so (or save water by immersing them in a bowl of cold water). This will help to set the egg.

Using the back of the metal spoon again, crack the egg shells and gently remove. Allow to cool. Place the oranges, olives, then mint into a large salad-serving bowl. Slice the eggs and immediately add to the salad. Sprinkle with salt flakes and freshly ground pepper. Toss the salad just before serving. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Red peppers, roasted
onion
toasted walnuts
arugula
How to prepare:

Roasted red peppers and onions, toasted walnuts over arugula with garlic dressing, Toss lightly and serve.Garlic DressingGarlic-Lemon Dressing 1 sm. garlic clove1 sprig rosemary1 strip lemon peel (1" x 1/2")3/4 cup olive oil1/4 cup lemon juiceHow to make:Place the garlic and rosemary on a cutting board and lightly crush with the flat side of a heavy knife. Put the rosemary, garlic and lemon peel in a clean bottle with a tight-fitting cap. Pour in the oil and lemon juice. Cap the bottle and shake well. Rerfrigerate and use within one week. Shake before serving.Drizzle on steamed vegetables, or seafood, pasta, potato salad, or other salads.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb veal
1 large onion, grated
salt, pepper, tomatoes
1 1/2 lb of large Lima beans


How to prepare:

Select shoulder parts of the veal and cut them into 1" cubes. Wash the meat thoroughly with cold water, drain, and then place the meat in a pot together with butter and grated onions and stir fry for a few minutes. As the meat is frying, add water until the pieces are covered. Also add salt, pepper, and only two to three tablespoons of tomatoes (note: tomatoes can be cut into pieces to the size of your choice). Cover the pot and let the meat boil.

In the meantime, cut the ends off the Lima beans and clean them well (you also cut them in half if you desire). Add the Lima beans to the meat after it has been boiling for several minutes. Also add water until everything in the pot is covered. Finally, when the beans are done boiling, add the rest of the tomatoes. Then let the stew boil for a few more minutes so that the liquid can thicken.

*** Please note that tomatoes should not be added all at once in the beginning since they don’t allow the Lima beans to boil at the right pace. If you would rather use fresh tomatoes, when you add the Lima beans, add whole tomatoes instead of cut ones.