Food

Albanian cuisine offers a truly unique blend of Mediterranean flavors. Representing a rich historical past, the food of modern Albania has been developed over millennia reflects a variety of influences. East meets west in many discernable ways throughout Albanian culture, but nowhere is it more evident than in the cuisine.

Tarator

Tarator is essentially cold cucumber and yogurt soup. It also has dill, salt, and garlic added to the mix to elevate the flavor. One of the easiest ways to enjoy this traditional dish is with a side of feta cheese, grilled vegetables, and fresh bread. Fruits, olives, nuts, and hummus with pita bread also go well with it.

Byrek

A Traveleater never leaves a country without indulging in street food. If it were the street food Olympics, Albania would have byrek as one of its Olympians. It’s one of the most popular Albanian foods and a must-try in Tirana.

Also known as borek, burek, bourekas, or lakror, byrek is a family of baked or fried stuffed pastries made of thin flaky dough called yufka or phyllo (filo pastry). It’s such a popular food in many Balkan countries that each country has its own version of this delectable pie.

Albanian byrek is often filled with savory ingredients, with spinach the most common. In the city capital of Tirana, cheese and eggs are options, with meat and sweet pumpkin also a choice filling. The final form could be one big pie cut into smaller pieces before serving, or smaller triangular pieces commonly sold by street vendors.

Ashure

Despite its Turkish origin, Ashure is still considered a classic Albanian dessert. This dessert porridge is full of nuts or dried fruit and has a gelatin consistency that many locals love.

Ashure is customarily served during the Islamic calendar’s first month. If you want to try this out, just go to any pastry shop around Albania, and you will find this delectable confection.

When you’re craving something sweet but don’t want to gain weight, this shall be the go-to dessert option for you!

Dolma Japrak – Stuffed Vine Leaves

Dolma Japrak or stuffed vine leaves are prevalent in Mediterranean and Albanian cuisine. The vine leaves are loaded with various ingredients such as minced lamb, rice, onions, cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and spice.

Although grapevine leaves are typically used, you can substitute them with any other green (the most popular being cabbage). For generations, stuffed vegetable dishes have been a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine.

8. Peshk Në Zgarë – Grilled Fish

Albania offers beautiful beaches along the Riviera, where you can enjoy the fresh seafood of the Adriatic and Ionian coasts. There are also various rivers and lakes to sample freshwater fish around the country.

To make Peshk Në Zgarë, the fish is simply cooked on the grill or in the oven whole with tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, onions, herbs, and plenty of olive oil.

Grilled fish and shellfish are among the healthiest dishes you can eat in Albania, and it’s also full of taste thanks to the fresh products and ingredients.

Tambëloriz – Rice Pudding

Tambëloriz, or Sultjash, is a famous Albanian sweet eaten worldwide. It’s a rice pudding cooked with milk, rice, nuts, cinnamon, and sometimes raisins.

This dish’s origins may originate from the Muslim world. When the Muslims invaded the Iberian Peninsula’s south, this dessert was brought to Spain and quickly became a worldwide craze.

While practically every nation has its unique kind of rice pudding, there is something different about Albanian rice pudding that is worth a shot.

Tavë Kosi – Baked Lamb And Rice With Yogurt

The name Tavë Kosi can be translated to “sour milk casserole”. Yes, this might not sound appetizing at first, but trust me, you will get hooked after just one small bite!

Tavë Kosi contains lamb and rice cooked with a roux made of yogurt, eggs, wheat flour, and butter. The locals sometimes use chicken instead of lamb, but in that case, it’s called Tav Kosi Me Mish Pule.

This dish is also quite famous in Turkey, Greece, and North Macedonia. This delicious meal is called Elbasan Tava in these areas, named after Elbasan city in Albania.

Tave Peshku – Fish In The Oven

Albanian fish (Peshk) recipes can be prepared in various ways and ingredients. Most Albanian restaurants use carp, trout, and acne from Shkoder Lake. Some people would catch fish from the lake every day to offer at the restaurant that day.

Oven-baked Peshk is a classic Mediterranean dish. Not only is it simple to make at home, but it’s also incredibly healthy and yummy. As you’re baking the fish, the seafood aroma will permeate your house. It’s difficult to wait until it’s all done!

Patëllxhan Të Mbushur-Stuffed eggplants

Patëllxhan Të Mbushur, meaning stuffed eggplants in Albanian, is one of the locals’ favorites since it is delicious and easy to make.

Eggplants are a popular summer vegetable, available from May through October. Because Albanians eat whatever is in season, you may find this dish anywhere at any time of day.

This veggie dish is super easy to make. All you have to do is split the eggplants in half, scoop out the insides, stuff it with peppers, tomatoes, fried onions, and perhaps meat too.

Bakllava

“Bakllava” is a must try dessert in Albania. The recipe is of Turkish origin but Albanians have embezzled it throughout centuries. The mouthwatering cake consists mostly with dough layers filled with nuts and sugar. Often, sweet syrup called “shërbet” is added on top. Various bakeries make their own variation of Baklava with their own preferred processes, ingredients, and size cuttings.

Tave Peshku /Fish in the Oven

Along the Albanian Riviera, the waters supply the local restaurants with fresh fish and other seafood products. As a small coastal country, Albanian fish recipes keep food simple yet tasty. You can eat freshly caught fish in many places across the country. Oven-cooked fish is a true Mediterranean delicacy.

Qofte-Meatballs

“Qofte” is very popular across Albania, especially in local taverns. The locals usually season the meat with spices and mint and serve it with salad. A regional variation of “Qofte” is “Kernacka”, the meatball typical of Korça plain. Furthermore, this traditional Albanian food goes well with drinks such as beer.

Petulla

“Petulla” is the Albanian authentic version of doughnuts and pancakes. This dish is very popular in the typical Albanian cuisine. “Petulla” consist of fried dough put into fist-sized pieces. You can eat “Petulla” with additional cheese or make them sweet with honey.

Tave Dheu

Tave Dheu which translates to baked liver & cottage cheese casserole. This is yummier than it sounds.

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