North Macedonia

🇦🇲Armenia

Mountain Tea

Τσάι του βουνού

Greek herbal tea of sideritis (ironwort) flowers, dried and brewed in hot water. A national and healthy drink, aromatic and soothing, a winter and home staple, served with honey and lemon.

🇦🇩Andorra

Nettle Soup

Juha od koprive

Traditional soup made with young stinging nettles, often with potatoes and sometimes eggs, a spring seasonal dish.

🇲🇰Ohrid, North Macedonia

Ohrid Cake

Охридска торта

Layered cake of walnuts, jam and cream built in the lakeside towns and served in thin slices.

🇲🇰Štip, North Macedonia

Pastrmajlija

Пастрмајлија

Štip-style pastrmajlija is an oval baked flatbread topped with salted pork or lamb cubes and their rendered fat, often with an egg.

🇧🇬Bulgaria

Pindjur

Пинджур

Pindjur is a chunky relish of roasted peppers, tomatoes, aubergine and garlic.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Pitalka

Питалка

Pitalka is a round North Macedonian bread with a browned crust and soft, close crumb, commonly bought warm from a bakery.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Pitulici

Питулици

Thin salty pancakes of flour and water cooked on a griddle and eaten hot with cheese or yoghurt.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Planinski čaj

Планински чај

Planinski čaj is a North Macedonian Sideritis infusion brewed from dried mountain stems and yellow flowers.

🇷🇸Serbia

Pljeskavica

Pleskavica

Large ground meat patty, sometimes stuffed with cheese, grilled and served with flatbread, a beloved Balkan street food.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Prženi Lepčinja

Пржени лепчиња

Slices of bread dipped in beaten egg and fried, salted and eaten for breakfast or as a child's supper.

🇽🇰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.

🇦🇱Istanbul, Albania

Revani

Ρεβανί

Semolina cake bathed in lemon syrup, baked golden and cut in squares — an Ottoman dessert that travelled across the Balkans and Greece under many names, served at cafés and home tables alike.

🇪🇬Egypt

Salep

Салеп

A warm, creamy winter drink made from the powdered tubers of wild orchids, mixed with hot milk, sugar, and topped with cinnamon. Salep has been consumed since Ottoman times and is sold by street vendors during the cold months. The same orchid root powder is a key ingredient in Turkish dondurma ice cream.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Selsko Meso

Селско месо

Pork and mushrooms baked in a small clay pot with onion, white wine, paprika and a slice of cheese melted over the top.

🇷🇸Serbia

Shopska Salad

Шопска салата

Diced tomato, cucumber, raw or roasted pepper and onion under a thick blanket of grated white brine cheese, dressed with sunflower oil and vinegar. Named for the Shope region around Sofia.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Simit Pogača

Симит погача

Round yeasted bread enriched with milk and oil, baked to a soft crumb and torn rather than sliced.

🇲🇰Skopje, North Macedonia

Skopsko

Скопско

Pale lager brewed in Skopje since 1924, the default beer of the country.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Stanušina

Станушина

Pale red or rosé wine from a rare indigenous grape grown almost exclusively around Tikveš.

🇧🇦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

Sütlaç

Fırın sütlaç

A creamy rice pudding made with rice, milk, and sugar, sometimes baked in a clay pot until the top develops a caramelized, browned skin. It is one of the most familiar and comforting Turkish milk desserts, served chilled in individual bowls.

🇧🇬Bulgaria

Tarator

Таратор

A cold Bulgarian soup of diluted yogurt, minced cucumber, garlic, dill and walnuts, served chilled in summer.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Tavče Gravče

Тавче гравче

Dried tetovac beans baked in an earthenware pan with onion, paprika and dried red pepper until the top crusts and the beans go creamy.

🇲🇰Tetovo, North Macedonia

Tetovo Beans

Тетовски грав

Large flat white beans grown on the Polog plain around Tetovo, thin-skinned and creamy when cooked.

🇷🇸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.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Turli Tava

Турли тава

Mixed vegetables and meat layered in a wide clay tray with paprika and baked slowly until everything collapses together.

🇷🇴Romania

Urdă

A soft whey cheese made from what is left after caș, mild and slightly sweet, used in pies and pancakes.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Vranec

Вранец

Dark, tannic red wine from the indigenous Vranec grape, grown mostly in the Tikveš valley.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Wild Fig Preserve

Слатко од диви смокви

Small wild figs preserved whole in thick syrup with lemon, served a spoonful at a time with water and coffee.

🇧🇬Bulgaria

Zelnik

Зелник

A Bulgarian filo pie filled with cabbage, leeks or sorrel with eggs and sirene cheese, baked into a golden, flaky pastry.

🇽🇰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

Đimirinki

Ѓимиринки

Fried dough strips soaked in syrup or dusted with sugar, made at festivals and family celebrations.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Šar Mountain Kaškaval

Шарпланински кашкавал

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

🇲🇰Skopje, North Macedonia

Širden

Ширден

Sheep's stomach stuffed with chopped offal, rice and paprika, sewn shut and baked slowly until the casing browns.

🇲🇰Ohrid, North Macedonia

Ǵomleze

Ѓомлезе

Thin layered pastry from the Ohrid and Struga lakeside, baked between two heated clay lids buried in embers.