Culinary Tour of the World: Episode 2: Albania - Pitalka, Jani Me Fasule, Feregese Tirane

Welcome to our second episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. The second country, in an alphabetical order is Albania. It is in Europe next to Greece and along the Mediterranean Sea. While I was researching the food of Albania, I came across so many recipes that it was really difficult to pick one.  So with this episode, I am presenting three great Albanian recipes. 

I decided that I would choose recipes that could together make a meal and then I wouldn't have to cook anything else. I love baking bread, so I picked Pitalka. I decided a stew or soup would be a great accompaniment and then a vegetable side. I chose "Feregese Tirane" as a vegetable side. Initially, I thought that Feregese Tirane would make a good meal with the Pitalka. But every recipe that I saw, stated that without adding liver or meat to it, it wouldn't be more than a side.  So, I decided to keep it as a side, which was a good decision. The soup I chose was a white bean soup - "Jani Me Fasule" which was filling and went well with the Pitalka and Feregese Tirane. 

Together, these 3 made a delicious and complete meal! We loved it. I even used the Pitalka bread the next day to make some pita sandwiches with falafel and hummus.  I relied heavily on Google Translate for these recipes. As I started searching with the Albanian names, I came across blogs and videos in Albanian which I couldn't understand and so I used Google Translate extensively for translating the recipes, instructions as well for the pronunciations of the dishes. 

As you will see in the video, these are fairly straightforward dishes to make. They are not overwhelmed with spices and the ingredients really shine.  I made an honest effort to follow Google Translate's pronunciations, and realize that I may not have pronounced the names correctly. I hope you try these out and enjoy them as much as I did. 

Our next country will be Algeria and do let me know if you have recommendations for Algerian vegetarian recipes.  And if you missed our first episode, here is the link to it Episode 1: Afghanistan - Ashak. You can find the link to video recipes here. And for a listing of our episodes, visit Culinary World Tour Episodes.

Here is the link to the video demonstrating the detailed method.

Ingredients

For the Pitalka

4 cups of all purpose flour

1 tsp sugar

1.5 tsp  yeast

1.5 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

3/4 - 1 cup water

For the Jane Me Fasule

1 cup of dry white/cannellini beans

water to soak the beans and cook the beans

1 cup diced onions

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 cup diced bell peppers (mixture of green and orange)

2 tbsp oil

salt to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper

pinch of red chilli flakes

For the Feregese Tirane

1 tbsp oil

2.5 cups roasted, diced bell peppers (mixture of red, yellow and green)

1 cup diced onions

1 cup diced tomatoes

2 tbsp basil

salt to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 cups milk

1 tsp vinegar diluted with 1 tbsp water

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/4 cup yogurt

1/2 cup cottage cheese (made using the milk and vinegar. If using store bought cottage cheese, milk and vinegar are not needed)

Method

For the Pitalka

Add the yeast and sugar to the milk and set it aside for 10 mins. The yeast will start getting frothy indicating that it is active and is fresh. Add salt to the flour and mix. Then add the milk and yeast mixture to the flour. Add a little water at a time and knead the dough till you get a firm but smooth dough. It can take about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of water. If you are kneading it in a mixer, knead it for 5-7 mins till smooth. If by hand, it will take about 15-20 mins. Then place it in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 hour or till it has doubled. 

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 475F.  If you don't have a pizza stone, that is ok. 

Then deflate the dough and cut it into 6 equal parts. Shape each dough piece into a ball. Place this on a floured surface or a parchment paper, such that you can easily shape it into a disc and then place it in the oven. Let the dough ball rest got 10-15 mins. Then, using your finger tips, spread the dough out into a thin disc, about 1/4th inch in thickness. Then, let this dough disc rest for 20 mins. Cover the dough ball and disc with a towel or plastic wrap to ensure that the dough does not dry out. Then place this disc into the oven. If baking on the pizza stone, place it with the parchment or directly onto the stone. If you are not using a pizza stone, place it on a baking sheet and then place the baking sheet into the oven. It will take about 8-12 mins for the bread to become golden brown in color and it will puff up as well. The bread is ready when golden brown.

For the Jani Me Fasule

Rinse and soak the white beans/cannellini in water for 3-4 hours. Then, discard the water and add the beans and salt to a pressure cooker. Add water to cover the beans and there should be half an inch water over the beans surface. Pressure cook the beans for 30 mins. Then, add the diced onions, tomatoes and bell peppers to the cooked beans, along with the oil, black pepper and chilli flakes. Cook under pressure again for 10 mins. Once the pressure is released, check the consistency of the soup and let it boil to thicken if it is watery. Serve hot. Pour a little olive oil on top of each bowl before serving. 

For the Feregese Tirane

Roast the bell peppers on the stovetop or in the oven till the skin starts to char. Then deseed and dice the bell peppers. To make the cottage cheese, heat the milk and then add the vinegar and water mixture to it. That will separate the milk into the cottage cheese and whey water. Drain the cottage cheese and add salt to it. 

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, and add the onions. Cook till they start to soften and then add the tomatoes and bell peppers. Cook this mixture till the liquid from the vegetables has almost evaporated. Then, add the basil, and black pepper. Stir well. 

To make the roux, heat the butter and then add the flour to it. Cook for a minute till the flour doesn't smell raw anymore. Do not brown it. Then, add the cottage cheese and yogurt to it. Mix well. Mix this into the vegetable mixture. Then ladle out individual portions into casserole dishes, or into a large baking dish. If you like, top with some cottage cheese and then bake in the oven at 350F for 20 mins. The casserole is ready to eat.  

Tips

If you are roasting bell peppers in the oven, cook them at 400 F till the skin starts to char.