Cooking Method: Boiling

Russian Salad (Sallatë Ruse)

Russian salad, Olivier salad or sallatë Ruse as it’s called in Albanian is a traditional Russian and Eastern European side dish usually prepared for holidays or special occasions. In Albania this eye catching, delicious and colorful vegetable dish was made particularly for New Year’s Eve dinner and it was present on almost all tables. Main ingredients are potatoes, carrots, eggs and mayonnaise. Olivier salad is best when all ingredients are diced to the same size. Dice everything pea-sized for best look, taste and texture.

Meatball Soup (Supë me Pasha Qofte)

This is a genuine old recipe from the town of Gjirokastra, Albania. It is a very colorful, nutritious and exquisite taste with Turkish and European influence. Pasha qofte are paired with a simple soup base made with potatoes and carrots cooked in broth. Into this bubbling soup you drop rice meatballs made with ground meat or turkey, rice, onion, herbs and spices which come together very quickly to a perfect bowl of soup.

Homemade Chicken Broth (Lëng Pule Shtëpie)

Easy homemade chicken broth made with only four ingredients: chicken, onion, peppercorns and salt. Homemade chicken broth is a staple in so many delicious dishes. Usually when I am cooking chicken pilaf or chicken lemon soup I use this broth recipe.

Greek Creamy Egg, Lemon & Chicken Soup (Supë Pule me Limon)

This delicious Greek style egg, lemon and chicken soup is traditionally made in the cold winter days. It requires a flavorful homemade chicken broth made from scratch. The stars of this soup are the chicken broth and the egg lemon sauce.

White Bean Stew (Gjellë me Grosh)

White bean stew is a delicious meal, easy to make and very healthy and nutritious. The recipe below is made with dry beans, stewed in red sauce made with chopped tomatoes or tomato paste and onion. White beans are legumes high in protein and have significant amount of fiber in them. In Albania white beans stew is usually served with fermented food such as pickled tomato or cucumber also rice and bread. This recipe can be a very good vegetarian meal by simply omitting the meat. Dry white beans also are called fasule or grosh, depending on the region or country.