Serves 8 Byrek ose Lakror emerges from the oven with a beautiful, shining crust. Cut into the pie too soon, however, and your dreams will shatter. You must wait a full hour for the pie’s juices to redistribute. Ingredients: Leek Filling 2 large leeks, cleaned and very thinly sliced (use only the white/light green part. Thick slices and/or green parts won’t cook properly) 6 eggs 1/4 cup greek yogurt (or regular yogurt strained for 30 minutes) 1 lbs. cottage cheese, strained for 30 minutes 4 oz crumbled feta cheese 1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme, or dried thyme, ground salt, to taste (remember, feta cheese is very salty) 1/2 tsp pepper Pie Crust 1 package puff pastry 1 egg, beaten Method: 1. Preheat oven to 400F. 2. In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients, except for leeks. When the mixture is smooth and blended, add diced leeks. Set aside. 3. Roll one sheet of puff pastry into a 15″ circle. Place pastry on the bottom of a 9″ pie dish. NOTE: You can also lay the puff pastry down in your pie dish …
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Introducing Albanian folk music from 1945. This is seriously old school. I find it electrifying in an “I like to watch old movies” kind of way.
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1. Businesses shut down around noon for a few hours to enjoy the main meal of the day. I could get behind this. Really, I could. 2. Dessert is not common, but oranges, apples, nuts, and berries are. The question is not if, but how my husband would murder me if I removed sweets from our home. 3. Men and women traditionally eat at separate tables. I was always a fan of the children’s table, but not so much this. Afterall, I have opinions and they need to be heard by as many people as possible! 4. Albanians eat dinner around 8pm. I’m already in my pyjamas at 8pm. This would never work in our home. 5. Heart disease and obesity are rare due to low consumption of meat and high consumption of vegetables. Yum, vegetables! Eat more vegetables! 6. Heart disease and obesity are due to low consumption of meat and high consumption of vegetables. Repeated for my husband’s benefit. Source: Albania, Enchantment of the World, by David K. Wright Lifestyle influences diet: Historically, rural Albanians spent most of their time outdoors …
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How do Albanians prepare their food? Who better to ask than a local… with an accent to die for. In this video a woman from central Albania prepares Tava Elbasani, Lamb in Yogurt. She literally bathes the lamb in yogurt prior to baking. The resulting gravy-custard is the most intruiging part of this dish. This Saturday I’ll give it a whirl… would you? I really want to know… Would you? Could you? In your house? Eat Tava (there’s no mouse!)?
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When the weather drops below 30, I crave hot, filling food. This last month Oklahoma saw snow, sleet, and ice, so I filled our menu with Albanian comfort food. Mmm, I can hardly wait! Byrek ose Lakror (Leek Pie) [Recipe] Sautéed leeks and cottage cheese are the stars of this dish. Tava Elbasani (Lamb baked in yogurt) [Recipe] In central Albania lamb is traditionally baked in yogurt custard. This dish even makes mutton moist. Turli Perimesh (Vegetables with parsley) [Recipe] A distinctly mediterranean blend of tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, potato, and parsley. Albanian Cornbread [Recipe] Scallions and feta make this cornbread memorable. Llokume (Turkish Delight) [Recipe] Plan four days ahead to indulge in this delectable confection. Our recipe comes in two flavors: orange and rose.
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“A pinch of this, a dash of that.”
That’s how I cook.
This is not, however, how Albanians cook.
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There are 48 European Countries. Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City
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