What to Expect in Macedonian Cuisine
By Amber Holliday
Editor’s Note: We asked Pauza food critic Amber Holliday to
give the MAK13 training group a preview of what to expect on
their plates for the foreseeable future.
A Macedonian meal is not complete without these following
ingredients: a loaf of white bread, sunflower oil, and vagetta.
These three things will undoubtedly be incorporated into your
meal one way or another. The bread is sometimes served before
or during your meal. If it’s served before and you are with locals, the bread generally sits in a basket and stares at you, and I
still am not quite sure when it is appropriate to reach for a piece.
The meal can start with a salad and you cannot go wrong with
either the mixed (meshana) or shopska salads. The meshana
consists of shredded piles of cabbage, carrots, beats (if you are
lucky) and sliced cucumbers. The shopska i s a dish of diced
cucumbers and tomatoes topped with shredded sirenje. Then
sometimes there is soup, usually chorba, a traditional soup that
reminds me of Mrs. Grass’s chicken noodle--although sometimes the chorba here has been gifted with liver chunks.
For the main course you may be overwhelmed, as most of the
options are from the meat category. Kebabs, for instance, come
from the skara (grilled) section, and can be ordered in any
number your heart desires. Then there is selsko meso (village
meat). You may wonder and ask someone what this consists of
and they tell you “meat, of course.” So we are left to wonder
if this dish is different from town to town. Pastramalia is also
another well known dish, a large piece of bread with a broken
egg and perhaps some meat baked on top. Some restaurants
serve ubiach, a piece of chicken with a layer of melted cheese
and bacon wrapped around. This I have not tried, so I have
no comment…though I do find that when in doubt, restaurant
french fries are always good, and you may find yourself fortunate enough to dip them in homemade ketchup.
Babas make the most delectable Macedonian food. The zelnic
(filo dough with leeks in the middle), tavche gravche (Macedonian baked beans), stuffed peppers, and ajvar are some of the
most delicious culinary wonders here. Then if there is room,
there may be torta (cake) which is my favorite Macedonian
dish, although few Americans may agree with me. Don’t forget
that cup of Turkish coffee to finish everything off. Enjoy!
Banana Poppy seed Pancakes
3 cups white flour (or 1½ whole wheat and 1½ white)
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg (optional)
1/3 cup coconut flakes (kokosovo brashno)*optional
¼ cup poppy seeds
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla (packet of vanilla sugar)
2 ripened mashed bananas
6 - pauza
Special Section
What I did During
My Summer Vacation
Quick Banana Dessert
Add a pat of butter, a tablespoon of brown
sugar and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
to a sliced banana. Wrap in foil; bake at
175oC for 15 minutes. Serve from the foil.
Vegetables Provencale
4 sliced small zucchini
2½ cups chopped eggplant
1 chopped onion
2 minced cloves of garlic
One 16-ounce can tomatoes or 3 fresh-med
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon oregano
Simmer together for 10 to 15 minutes or
until tender-crisp.
Combine the dry ingredients (flour-poppy
seeds) and set aside. Now combine the
wet ingredients, slowly fold the wet into
the dry. Do not over-mix, pancake batter is
suppose to be lumpy and bubbly. Cook in a
frying pan with a little bit of oil (depending
on your Macedonian pan!) they are ready
to flip when the bubbles start appearing.
This recipe can be halved for one to two
people, but they are great to make for
guests! These can be topped with whatever: butter, powdered sugar, jelly, peanut
butter (if you have any!!!), or even some
fruit yoghurt. Enjoy!
fall 2008 - 7