Okay, so today I decided to dive into the world of Macedonian cooking. I’ve always been intrigued by Balkan cuisine, and Macedonian food seemed like a good place to start. Let me tell you, it was an adventure!
Getting Started: Finding Recipes
First things first, I needed some recipes. I hit up the internet, did some searching, and found a few dishes that looked interesting and, more importantly, doable. I’m no chef, so I needed something reasonably straightforward. I settled on trying Tavche Gravche (baked beans) and maybe a simple Shopska salad.
The Great Bean Hunt
Next up, the ingredients. Tavche Gravche, the star of the show, obviously needs beans. I went to the grocery store, and, well, let’s just say finding the right kind of beans was a mini-quest in itself. I finally found some large white beans that looked promising after searching all the shelves.
Prepping and Cooking
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Soaking the Beans:
I learned that you absolutely HAVE to soak the beans overnight. Apparently, this is non-negotiable. Okay, lesson learned. So, I rinsed the beans, put them in a big pot, covered them with water, and let them sit.
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The Next Day:
Time to actually cook! I drained the beans, put them in a fresh pot of water, and boiled them for a while. The recipe said until they were “tender but not mushy.” Figuring out that exact point was a bit of a guessing game, to be honest.
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The Sautéing:
While the beans were boiling, I chopped up some onions and peppers. I heated some oil in a pan and sautéed the veggies until they were soft. The smell was amazing! I should be doing this more often and it’s a very enjoyable process.
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Mixing and Baking:
Then came the fun part – mixing everything together. I combined the cooked beans, sautéed vegetables, and some spices (paprika, salt, pepper, and a little bit of mint, as the recipe suggested) in a baking dish. I Poured some water over everything and popped it in the oven.
The Shopska Salad
While Tavche Gravche baked, I quickly made the Shopska salad. This was super easy: chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and peppers, topped with grated Sirene cheese (I used Feta because that’s what I had). A simple dressing of oil and vinegar, and it was ready to go.
The Verdict
After what seemed like forever (my kitchen smelled incredible, by the way), the Tavche Gravche was done. I took it out of the oven, let it cool a bit, and then dug in.
It was… pretty good! I mean, it wasn’t perfect. The beans were a little mushier than I would have liked, but the flavor was definitely there. The Shopska salad was a refreshing contrast to the hearty beans.
Overall, my Macedonian cooking experiment was a success. It was fun, a bit challenging, and I learned a lot. I’ll definitely be trying more Macedonian dishes in the future, but maybe next time I’ll invest in a pressure cooker to speed up the bean-cooking process!
