CONTENT

Main meals .........................

Breakfast ..........................

Lunch .....................................

Salads ..................................

Desserts ...........................

BREAKFAST &

Meal STARTER

by Mila

Jovanovikj

AJVAR

Ingredients

2 pounds red bell peppers (about 5 medium peppers)

1 medium eggplant (about 3/4 pound)

5 teaspoons freshly minced garlic (about 5 medium cloves)

1/4 cup sunflower or olive oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Type of fire: two-zone indirect

Grill heat: medium-high

Directions

1.Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Place peppers on hot side of grill and cook until blackened all over, 10-15 minutes. Transfer pepper to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Remove charred skin, seeds, and cores from peppers.

2.While the peppers are cooling, pierce skin of eggplant with a fork all over.

Place eggplant on cool side of grill. Cover and cook until skin darkens and wrinkles and eggplant is uniformly soft when pressed with tongs, about 30 minutes, turning halfway through for even cooking. Remove eggplant from grill and let sit until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Trim top off eggplant and split lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out flesh of eggplant; discard skin.

3.Place roasted red peppers, eggplant pulp, and garlic in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse until roughly chopped. Add in oil, vinegar, and salt and pulse until incorporated and peppers are finely chopped.

4.Transfer sauce to a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool to room temperature then use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

MACEDONIAN SALADS

by Anja Jakovska

Medical salad

Ingredients:·        

2 kg of carrot

1/2 kg of red hot long chili peppers

1/2 kg of green peppers

1 bunch parsley

2 heads garlic

Liquid ingredients:

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

3 small cups white 9% acid ·        

300 ml oil and

2 tablets crashed aspirin

Preparation:

Peel carrots, boil for 10 minutes, drain and cut into circles. Bake peppers shortly and cut into pieces or circles. Wash and chop parsley and garlic. Put all these ingredients in a deep bowl put and mix everything nicely. Then pour the prepared liquid. Mix everything well and let the salad stand for 24 hours. Then collect the salad in well washed and dried jars and place in a dark and dry place. Consume in 1 month and during winter time.

Taratur with zucchini

 Ingredients:

1 pack sour cream 500 ml (with more fat)

1 zucchini

4-5 cloves of garlic

50 g of nuts

oil

salt to taste

Preparation:

Peel zucchini and cut into small cubes, blanch them in salted boiling water shortly and drain them.Put zucchini in a bowl, add crushed garlic, oil and salt to taste.Add the sour cream and mix.Sprinkle crushed nut on top.Combine with rakija.

Shopska salad 

Ingredients:

3-4 tomatoes

2 medium cucumbers

1 small onion

grated cheese

olive oil

red apple vinegar (optional)  

salt 

1 olive

Preparation:

Chop tomatoes and cucumbers into middle-sized pieces. Put them in a medium sized bowl and add some salt.Slice the onions in tiny pieces and add them to the bowl.Add olive oil and some vinegar if you want to. Add grated white cheese on the top of the salad and garnish with fresh herbs. Put the olive on top.

Macedonian caviar 

(eggplants, tomatoes and peppers)

Ingredients:

3 eggplants

2 larger tomatoes

5-6 red or green peppers (I prefer red if available)

1 head onions

5-6 cloves garlic 

salt to taste

1 to 2 tablespoons hot oil

Preparation: 

Wash and clean from seeds eggplants and peppers and bake on a hotplate (or in oven at 200 C degrees) until softened. After baking, put in a plastic bag and leave to cool, then peel.Put tomatoes shortly in a boiling water, then immediately put in cold water and peel.Clean onions and garlic.Put eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic in a blender, add salt and blend till you get the desired roughness.Put mixture in a deep plate or an earthenware and pour over the hot oil.Leave to cool then serve.

Baked peppers with garlic and parsley

Ingredients:

• 20 red and green peppers
• If desired, add 2-3 chili peppers
• chopped garlic 
• chopped parsley
• salt
• olive oil
• vinegar

Preparation:

Bake peppers on a grill or a hotplate, and put in a nylon bag. Leave 10 minutes then peel and clean from seeds.Chop peppers or cut in stripes.Add chopped garlic, salt, oil, vinegar and add parsley in the end. Mix gently.

Tavche Gravche by Elena Trajkovska

Baked beans or tavche gravche is a traditional Macedonian dish which is made in a traditional earthenware. It's one of the most famous Macedonian dishes, healthy and easy to prepare. And here is how to make it:

Ingredients:

• 500 gr beans * oil
• black pepper * salt
• 1 onion   * fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic  * mint
• red pepper * bay leaf
• oil * 2-3 hot peppers (vezeni)

Preparation:

1. First we clean and wash the beans and then we put them in a pot with water to stand overnight, so beans soften better. Once the beans stayed overnight, pour out water and pour in fresh, and put the pot to cook on lower temperature. After the first boil, pour out water again, wash the beans and fill with fresh water (around 2-3 fingers above the beans), add black pepper and bay leaf.  Be careful about the amount of water in the pot while cooking, it should be neither too little nor too much. Once you cook the beans, add hot peppers, so they could slightly soften while cooking.