Albania, as a small Balkan country, with a great historical influence of Italy, can offer tourists not so many authentic delicious dishes. In the national cuisine itself, a large place is occupied by coarse peasant food with the use of a large amount of barley and legumes, and therefore it is not suitable for spoiled tourists.
Food in Albania
Agree, after all, hardly anyone wants to fly thousands of kilometers to enjoy barley porridge with mutton fat roasts with onions, filled with sour sheep’s milk. Perhaps there are such ethnogourmets, but most sane tourists will prefer risotto or carbonara, which began to be made in Albania earlier than in Italy itself. Therefore, we will only talk about those dishes that, in our opinion, need to be tasted in order to understand the soul of the people and enjoy the rich and pleasant taste.
Albanian cuisine traditions
Albanian fish cuisine is a masterpiece of quality
Let’s start with seafood. After getting acquainted with Albanian fish restaurants, a tourist, as a rule, understands that before that he somehow lived in a different way and ordered all sorts of sea delights in the wrong place. In Albania, all the usual seafood dishes have their own unique taste. For example, the famous classic shrimp salad is not known to anyone here. Of course, you can order it by explaining the cooking method to the chef, especially if your Albanian is very good. But then you are not destined to try the melting in your mouth Tave karkaleci me pana (shrimp with sea salt and herbs, baked in a creamy sauce), which is served in a clay pot.
In Albania, even grilled octopus is cooked in such a way that it does not give the impression of a fried rubber hose with the smell of seafood. Sea and lake fish in Albanian restaurants, in most cases, are coated with olive oil with various aromatic herbs and baked on coals.
Albanian Grilled Octopus
Baked sea bass and sea eel, as well as lake and brook trout are considered popular here.
The advantage of local restaurants is that they use fish and seafood from the morning catch, so as not to resort to refrigeration storage of delicate products. Therefore, a dinner with two baked fish, shrimp in a creamy sauce, herbs, lemons and local wine should be a must on your itinerary in Albania. And all this will cost no more than 20 EUR.
Meat in Albania is unrivaled
But Albanians live by the principle: “The best fish is fresh meat.” Islam is widespread in the country, but this does not prevent local chefs from using pork in almost all restaurants and cafes of the country, along with veal, lamb and poultry.
Hearty Albanian cuisine
The most traditional Albanian meat dish is fergesë, roasted in a clay pot. There are two main classic options for preparing this dish. In the classic recipe, the basis is lamb liver, sheep cheese, boiled eggs, basil, rosemary, oregano, parsley, green peppers. And in a more common version: lamb, tomatoes, cottage cheese, red pepper, dry herbs. This dish is very hearty and is served with lots of fresh bread to enjoy the flavorful sauce. It is best to feast on rich roasts in the afternoon, washed down with fresh local beer.
A cheaper way to try the national Albanian cuisine is to order Pilaf me pulë e fara pishe at any restaurant. This is rice that is baked with chicken fillet, sweet pepper and pine nuts. Mish viçi i stufuar will not leave you indifferent – this is veal baked in local herbs in a small ceramic pot covered with dough.
Albanian baked rice with chicken
Another dish in Tave Kosë pots: lamb baked in yogurt with lots of basil and asparagus has a delicate, refined taste and melts in your mouth.
Albanian lamb with yoghurt
Of the soups, Gell can be considered the most original. It is somewhat reminiscent of a classic hodgepodge, only the tomato taste is more intense, and veal and lamb are used as meat filler. Often small young potatoes, asparagus, green peas are added to it. Albanians have great respect for their national drink, rakia, but the amount drunk is not always harmoniously absorbed by the body. And then in the morning the hangover Raçe soup comes to the aid of Albanian men.
Albanian fast food
It comes in two varieties: paçe këmbe and paçe koke. The first is prepared from calf’s feet and bone marrow. The second option is richer: there is a calf’s head, brain and tongue. The dish is very fatty and thick, served with lemon cut into quarters and large tortillas.
Albanian fast food and Sultan desserts
The most popular fast food in Albania is burek, puff pastries and thin dough rolls stuffed with anything from nettle to minced fish and meat. Combined fillings are very tasty: vegetables with chicken and cheese, cheese with nettle and egg, cottage cheese with figs and pine nuts. Such pies are sold in all supermarkets and cafes and are not much more expensive than ordinary bread.
Albanian dessert soaked in three kinds of milk
Of the desserts in Albania, we can distinguish:
- Kasata – a mixture of creamy and chocolate ice cream with a layer of fig or orange jam
- Sultiash is a special kind of rice boiled in milk with sugar and cinnamon, served very chilled.
- Fasude – apricot marshmallow with almonds
- Trileçe – biscuit soaked in three types of milk: cow, goat, sheep – generously topped with caramel syrup
And in August and September, Albanian markets are filled with special smells. It is on large baking sheets that they roast chestnuts, which are popular here with both locals and tourists. Coffee in Albania is brewed according to classic recipes in Turks and on sand. Sometimes, according to the tradition of the East, some aromatic spices are added to coffee.