Gnocchi alla sorrentina, gnocchi in the style of Sorrento, are a wonderfully simple Italian dish. Sorrento is a town near Naples and the dish itself seems to be a few hundred years old – some sources mention its existence even in the XVIth century! According to the legend, they were invented along with gnocchi themselves,…
Pinđur 🇭🇷 🇧🇦 🇲🇰 🇷🇸 🇧🇬 🇭🇺
I have already written about ajvar, a close relative of pinđur. It is said to originate from Macedonia (North Macedonia 🇲🇰) as well, however the word pinđur is of Hungarian 🇭🇺 origin. Like the internationally better known ajvar, it is popular all over the Balkans, with many local variations, all containing pointy red peppers (crvena…
Zeytinyağlı taze fasulye 🇹🇷
Taze fasulye is the Turkish term for (broad and flat) green beans as well as dishes made with them in a tomato sauce. The zeytinyağlı, i.e. with olive oil, variant is a summer classic popular all over Türkiye. It is simple to make, healthy and inexpensive, is eaten lukewarm or cold as a meze or…
Zapečene štrukle 🇭🇷
Štrukle, also štrukli, is a north Croatian type of pastry traditionally filled with cottage cheese (fresh cheese, svježi sir in Croatian). If you are familiar to Turkish cuisine, one could say they are Hırvat peynir böreği, Croatian börek with cheese, but as far as it is known their origin is not influenced by Turkish cuisine….
Lasagne Bolognese 🇮🇹
Lasagne are one of the most famous dishes in the world. While in the USA the version with ricotta ismore popular (and originally comes from southern Italy), and several other regional variations exist in Italy, the default Italian (and consequently European) version are lasagne alla bolognese: lasagne sheets, ragú alla bolognese (classic Bolognese sauce), bechamel…
Eingetropftes & Käsereis 🇦🇹
Two quick and tasty additions to clear soups Austria and surrounding countries tend to start (not only) Sunday lunches with soups. In most cases these are clear soups, based on chicken or beef broth, alternatively a vegetarian vegetable broth. The basic broth is then enhanced with various Suppeneinlagen, i.e. added dumplings and similar. Best known…
Narlı lokum 🇹🇷
Lokum is known in English speaking countries as Turkish delight, and it comes in many varieties. Some variants of lokum can easily be prepared at home, and for winter season my favourite is this narlı lokum, pomegranate Turkish delight. It needs few ingredients and is super easy to make! Suitable for: Narlı lokum is halal…
Stonska torta 🇭🇷
The cake from Ston, a small historical Croatian town near Dubrovnik, is a traditional cake. It is mainlyprepared fror bigger festivities like Easter and Christmas. Even if it is known and made for centuries, there exist no ‘proper’ recipe – the recipes vary across families and are mostly transmitted from one generation to another. Even…
Domates dolması 🇹🇷
Stuffed veggies are a well-known and ancient staple of Middle Eastern, particularly Turkish cuisine. Many have been adapted to other national cuisines, particularly those who belong to countries once under the rule of the Ottoman empire. The best known of these is, I guess, stuffed peppers, popular all over Balkans, and beyond… Turks stuff peppers,…
Gnudi primavera 🇮🇹
Gnudi. Maybe you never heard of these fluffy, cheesy gnocchi-relatives. They are Tuscan dumplings made of ricotta, originally the sheep one. The best known version also uses spinach in the dough, an after cooking they are turned in butter with sage. There are more than enough classical gnudi recipes online, but… I attempted something new…
Cooker on the Orient Express 