Kosovo

🇽🇰Kosovo

Mushroom Pie

Pite me Kërpudha

Phyllo pie filled with wild mountain mushrooms and cheese.

🇽🇰Kosovo

Nettle Pie

Hithenik

Young stinging nettles blanched and chopped with white cheese, then baked in layers of thin dough.

🇽🇰Peja, Kosovo

Peja Beer

Birra Peja

A pale lager brewed in Peja since 1971 with water from the Rugova gorge, the default draught across Kosovo.

🇦🇱Albania

Petulla

Albanian fried dough fritters, similar to doughnuts but less sweet, served with honey, jam, powdered sugar, or savory with cheese and tomatoes, light fluffy inside and golden crispy outside, a breakfast staple.

🇹🇷Turkey

Pogača

Flat round loaf baked for holidays, weddings and the breaking of the Ramadan fast, sometimes brushed with butter and stacked in layers.

🇦🇱Albania

Qofte

Herb-packed grilled meatballs made with lamb or beef, mint, oregano, and grated onion, juicy interior with charred crust, a beloved Albanian staple, traditional and versatile.

🇽🇰Gjakova, Kosovo

Rahovec Wine

Vera e Rahovecit

Red wine from the vineyards around Rahovec, historically Vranac and Prokupac grown on the terraces above the town.

🇽🇰Kosovo

Raki

Raki rrushi

Albania's national spirit, a clear fruit brandy distilled from fermented grapes, plums, mulberries, or other fruits, 40-55% alcohol, served as a welcome drink and at celebrations, a legendary icon.

🇽🇰Kosovo

Rasoj

The sour brine drawn off barrels of whole soured cabbage, drunk cold by the glass through the winter.

🇦🇱Albania

Sheqerpare

Sheqerpare are Albanian shortbread-like pastries soaked in lemon-scented sugar syrup until tender, often finished with a nut.

🇧🇦Belgrade, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sirnica

Sirnica is a cheese-filled filo pita. In Belgrade, the local bakery convention calls the cheese version burek even though Bosnia reserves burek for the meat filling.

🇽🇰Kosovo

Spinach Pie

Pite me Spinaq

Flaky phyllo pie filled with spinach and cheese, a Kosovar everyday staple.

🇧🇦Bosnia and Herzegovina

Stuffed Peppers

Punjena paprika

Bell peppers stuffed with ground meat and rice, baked in tomato sauce, a popular summer dish when peppers are in season, hearty and traditional.

🇧🇦Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sudžuk

Dry beef sausage seasoned with garlic and pepper, no pork, air-dried into a firm horseshoe and eaten raw or fried into eggs.

🇦🇱Albania

Tave Kosi

Tavë Kosi

Albania's national dish: lamb and rice baked with a tangy yogurt-egg custard topping, seasoned with garlic and oregano, originating from Elbasan, a comforting casserole icon.

🇽🇰Prizren, Kosovo

Tavë Prizreni

Lamb baked slowly in an earthenware dish with aubergine, peppers, onion and tomato until the vegetables collapse into the fat.

🇽🇰Prizren, Kosovo

Tespishte

Tespište

A dense semolina and walnut cake baked in a tray, cut in diamonds and flooded with sugar syrup while still hot.

🇦🇱Albania

Trilece

Trilecë

Albanian three-milk cake, light sponge soaked in whole milk, condensed milk, and cream, topped with golden caramel sauce, well-soaked cake with distinct caramel topping, a beloved celebration dessert.

🇷🇸Serbia

Tulumba

Ridged fingers of choux-style dough deep-fried then drowned in cold sugar syrup, crisp-shelled and juicy within — the baklava-shop counter classic of Turkey and the former Ottoman world.

🇧🇬Bulgaria

Turshiya

Туршия

Mixed winter pickles — cauliflower, carrot, green tomato, pepper and celery — brined together in vinegar so each vegetable stains the next.

🇽🇰Kosovo

Walnut Pie

Pite me arra

Ground walnuts and sugar rolled through thin pastry sheets and soaked in a light syrup after baking — leaner and less buttery than baklava.

🇧🇦Bosnia and Herzegovina

Zeljanica

Pita filled with chopped spinach or chard and fresh cheese, rolled and coiled, and the standard order for anyone avoiding meat.

🇽🇰Sarajevo, Kosovo

Ćevapi

Sarajevski ćevapi

Small skinless sausages made of minced meat (beef, lamb, pork), grilled and served with flatbread and onions, popular street food.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Šar Mountain Kaškaval

Шарпланински кашкавал

Hard yellow sheep's milk cheese made in the Šar Mountains, pressed, scalded and matured for months.