Macedonia The cookbook : recipes & stories from the Balkans

Katerina Nitsou

Book - 2021

"Macedonian cuisine is a rich mosaic of influences from the Mediterranean and Middle East, and the neighboring countries in the Balkan Peninsula. It is known for its opulent family meals, and the regional dishes play important symbolic roles in local traditions and family celebrations. Macedonia: The Cookbook is a love letter to Macedonian culture, and a cuisine deeply rooted in its land and traditions. Through over 100 mouthwatering recipes for mezze dishes, salads, soups, fish, poultry, meat, vegetables, and delicious sweets and preserves, chef and food writer Katerina Nitsou shares the authentic flavors and wisdom brought along with her family, recreated and adapted in her North American kitchen."--Amazon.

Saved in:

2nd Floor Show me where

641.594956/Nitsou
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 641.594956/Nitsou Checked In
Subjects
Genres
Cookbooks
Published
Northampton, Mass. : Interlink Books 2021.
Language
English
Main Author
Katerina Nitsou (author)
Other Authors
Oliver Fitzgerald (-)
Physical Description
272 pages : color illustrations ; 26 cm
Bibliography
Includes index.
ISBN
9781623718794
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • Macedonian culture
  • Mezze; small plates
  • Salata; salads
  • Supa; soups
  • Meso; meats
  • Zhivina; poultry
  • Riba; fish
  • Zelenchuk; vegetables and side dishes
  • Leb; breads
  • Slatko; sweets
  • Zimnica; preserves.
Review by Booklist Review

Many regions boast of their own take on Mediterranean cuisine, often involving an infusion of other countries' food traditions into its staples, creating recipes that are similar yet distinctive. Nitsou's family hails from Macedonia, a southeastern European country nestled between Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, and Kosovo/Serbia. Traces of all these nations plus Italian, Turkish, and more influences are evident in the 100-plus colorfully photographed dishes Nitsou provides here, like pita and watermelon salad, cabbage rolls, and roasted leg of lamb. Some customs she shares (as well as seasonal and regionally available ingredients) are purely Macedonian: the wedding "pig" dance; putting salt on a baby's tongue to protect it from the evil eye. Readers will find recipes for leek crepes, strudel with pears, and pastrmajlija, the Macedonian version of meat pizza. Nitsou's passion for her heritage is evident throughout as she explains her family exodus to Canada, her personal variations on dishes, and her unassuming perspective on life and on food.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

A descendant of Macedonian immigrants to Canada, Nitsou combines a connection to her roots with a strong handle on culinary skills in her intriguing debut. The "rustic and unassuming" food of Macedonia, she writes, assimilates Turkish and Greek flavors and even echoes the cuisine of Tuscany, but the results are distinct, as evidenced in her mezze of crepes filled with leeks, ricotta, and feta, and a meat pie with traditional pastrma ("salted dried meat") replaced with a juicy pork tenderloin. Nitsou, an alum of the Los Angeles Times test kitchen, has a knack for tweaks--such as roasting meatballs for extra flavor before floating them in a lemony soup--and her instructions are clear and direct. She provides an involved recipe for a coiled savory pastry, a "labor of love," then thoughtfully follows up with a version using store-bought puff pastry that's "as close as you can get to homemade dough." Homey desserts include an orange peel--infused rice pudding and a sour cream Bundt cake with cinnamon, walnuts, and brown sugar, while a snappy chapter on preserves features fig jam alongside instructions for making yogurt, a key component in everything from her chilled cucumber soup to marinated chicken skewers. By turns inviting and professional, this shines a spotlight on a little-known cuisine with eminently doable results. (July)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved