Well Done in North Macedonia

Let’s taste some Macedonian food!

In the Balkans, just like elsewhere, the food culture varies greatly based on which country and area you are in. 
There are many shared qualities in the cuisines of the Balkan countries, too, though. Particularly in the areas that were heavily impacted by the Ottoman Empire.
One of the countries that has taken a lot of influences from Turkish cuisine is North Macedonia.

If you prefer to read in Finnish, continue here: Hyvää pataa Pohjois-Makedoniassa

Ottoman Inspired Meat Dishes

On our first trip, a month-long bus tour of the Balkans, we tried to find foods that were as local as possible. At minimum this meant local to the country, if not a smaller area of it, or even a particular village.
It wasn’t always easy, since the same foods are cooked all over the Balkans.

On the first night in Skopje, I ended up choosing a juicy steak for dinner, just as I had done after our small hike in Kotor.
To be exact, I ate that steak in the restaurant of our hotel that was situated on the outskirts of Skopje near the Canyon Matka.
I have no complaints but also nothing much more to say about this universal dish that is popular all over Europe.

But in general in the Balkans, meat is usually not served in the form of a steak. Ground beef is a more common option, although they do like grilling whole meat here, often entire animals.
Intestines are popular too, from cow stomach to pig brains.

Balkanese Show Their Hospitality With Food 

If you want to get along well with the locals in North Macedonia, allow them to decide what you will eat. The people of the Balkans tend to show their hospitality through serving food to guests, even in their homes. But if you don’t get invited to any private homes, you can always trust the waiters’ recommendations in the restaurants.

Unlike in Kotor, after the infernal hiking trip to the Canyon Matka, I was no longer craving a steak.
Then again, we were so exhausted anyway that we could barely think of what we wanted to eat. So we just popped into the first restaurant we came across.

This particular restaurant was located on the road leading to the canyon, just before the official hotel and bar area. There were no other guests, but the owner of the restaurant did have his own birthday party going on, which he was celebrating with his family.
Even us party crashers were greeted with joy. We were the only ones sitting out on the terrace, though.

Here in warm Southern Europe the locals often like to eat indoors. – Whereas we Finns who came here looking for warmer weather like to sit outdoors whenever possible.

The More Fishy Dishes of Matka 

The restaurant owner’s son, the current manager of the restaurant, suggested that we have fish for dinner. Of course we took him up on his recommendation – especially as we could see that the fish was very fresh. At this point it was still swimming inside a net sunken into the river.

You could also choose your own fish here. As an exhausted hiker, I was so tired that my main interest was to have a plate of just about anything in front of me. 
I’m not someone who enjoys choosing from several options anyway, be it in terms of food or something else. Therefore Ismo went to choose the fish for us both.

One of North Macedonia’s own fish dishes is the stuffed Lake Ohrid brown trout. 
Our meals were more simple: grilled fish served with a salad and herb sauce.

That was also a pretty typical local meal, as is breaded fish. To my taste that doesn’t differ much from store bought fish sticks. Except that in certain cases the latter tastes better.

I’ll need to remind you at this point that I’m not a huge fan of fish and even less a fan of breaded foods, so my judgement may be quite unfair.
Whatever the fish was that we ate, I did like it. The oil-based herb sauce that came with the dish was so tasty that we took our time trying to guess the ingredients of the secret sauce.
Since those days we have tried to replicate the herb sauce at home several times.

I have mentioned earlier that while the Balkans are known for their meaty foods, fish dishes are also popular and valued.
However, in inland towns the fish is just as likely to have come from the river streams of nearby mountains or the sea.
Or to be bagged salmon that has traveled all the way from Norway. 
So it’s worth asking about the origin of the fish before you place your order.

The rule of thumb is that trout is usually local, salmon less so. Also, the cheaper the fish, the more likely it is to be local.
Therefore for example trout, that Finnish people value highly, typically costs a third less than salmon.
Again, it’s best to ask the locals to recommend some good fish restaurants.

Skopje’s Long-time Favorite Nourishes The Soul – Well Done North Macedonia

After a couple of nights and a few day-time treks around Matka, we moved onto Skopje for a night. There we had the trip’s final pljeskavica at Soul Kitchen, a restaurant located along the Vardar River.

Pljeskavica, the often plate-sized burger patty, is the most typical Serbian dish but it is well known all over the Balkans.

On our second trip to Skopje we actually had dinner in that same restaurant again. But since by that point we were already living in Belgrade, we weren’t tempted by the pljeskavica anymore. After all, those are served at just about every street corner in our Serbian hometown.

On both of our visits to Soul Kitchen, the staff also helped us to get to our accommodation.
On our second visit we scanned the menu in hopes of finding something that would be particularly typical of North Macedonia. 

We ended up getting fried cheese and tavche gravche, the most quintessential choice of all Macedonian foods. This baked bean stew of sorts is a very typical and traditional dish often cooked in local homes. It is affordable, nutritious and easy to prepare.
After the bean stew we enjoyed some selska tava, which is a rural village dish that typically includes meat and onion. The meat in our meals was lamb.

In typical Balkanese fashion, Ismo and I enjoyed our meals family-style, sharing them with each other.
Overall that is a very handy thing to do while traveling, as that way you get to try more foods.

Also, meal sizes are often so gigantic in the Balkans. If you are not a big eater, it’s quite optimistic to attempt to eat a meal with several courses by yourself.

Where Have All The Mehanas Gone? 

On our second night in downtown Skopje we imagined ourselves eating in one of the mehanas, i.e. local taverns, of the bazar area.
Unfortunately we discovered that these traditional restaurants have now largely been replaced by fast food joints.
Pljeskavicas and kebabs from self-service desks –  blaah. 

Not that there’s anything wrong with these dishes, but we can easily get them at home in Belgrade, too.
Plus in any case, my favorite thing to do is to sit down in a bistro/kafana/mehana/cafe. Soaking in the local vibes, listening to the buzz of the people talking.

By the way – it’s interesting to note that the further you move from Turkey, the more the names of familiar dishes change.
The kebabs of North Macedonia are the same ground beef sticks that in Serbia are known as ćevapčići or ćevapi for short. (Feel free to use the latter version if you are not fluent in the local languages.)

Out of all the Turkish foods, these ground beef sticks are the most similar to the adana kebabs of Turkey. But in the Balkans they are not often prepared in skewers. At the latest when you get to Serbia, the meat changes into beef and pork.

We circled a bit around Skopje’s famous bazar area, but even on the whole the place was disappointing.
It is advertised as the largest bazar area outside of Turkey. 
That might be true, but I expected the smell of spices and at least some type of exotism. 
Instead, we found modern small boutiques and those fast food stands.

If you like shopping for clothes and jewelry, you will probably find this place suitable for that purpose and also quite charming, but we were not feeling it.

Forget The Past, Let’s Try The New Side

Our search for a dinner spot continued. The weather was chilly and wintery foods would have suited us well, but where could we find some good stew?
We had thought that the bazar area would have more authentic local food options than the new downtown, located on the other side of an old stone bridge.
We had believed that the new restaurants of kej, meaning the pier and the riverfront, would be the most touristic spots of Skopje.
This was despite the fact that we had been quite content with the servings of Soul Kitchen, located along the kej, that we had already visited twice by that point.

We continued roaming around Macedonia Square as if we were lost in a roundabout. We wondered which one of the restaurant doors we should enter through.

We needed to find something urgently, but on our last night in Skopje we also didn’t want to end up in the worst possible spot. 

Who Needs A Terrace, It’s Too Cold Anyway

Finally we decided to try out the “Italian” restaurant of La Terrazza right at the edge of the square. 
Mainly because the terrace looked pretty nice. And particularly because we were worried that all the kitchens would close before we would get a chance to fill our bellies.

It also didn’t hurt to have some non-Balkanese cuisine for a change, since we are already based in the Balkans.
However, the terrace was too chilly for us in the March evening and we were already coming down with the flu anyway.
Luckily the indoor space was reasonably nice too.

When looking at the menu, however, we began to feel doubtful. Pizza, pasta… all the typical Italian dishes that are known outside of Italy as good quality Italian food – so that would  be a “no” from us.
Luckily there were also some dishes from North Macedonia – yes, local dishes, not general Balkanese options.

On the wine list we could even find vranec, which probably shouldn’t come as a surprise. In North Macedonia the local wines are indeed the main ones that people drink.

Well Done Stew, Turlitava

Our plate of antipasti came with an adequate amount of roasted mushrooms, eggplant, cucumber, tomato and of course ajvar, the bell pepper paste that exists as various versions around the Balkans.
By the way, Serbia’s Homemade Leskovac Ajvar and also Macedonian Ajvar are protected brand names.

As our main course we enjoyed some turlitava which, similarly to selska, is traditionally cooked in a ceramic oven pan or pot.

Turlitava is one of the foods imported to the Balkans by the Ottomans. Even its name comes from Turkish and roughly translates to a mixed stew.
Both of these potted dishes, selska tava and turlitava, are suitable for fans of traditional comfort foods and we liked both of them as restaurant versions as well. 

There are naturally several different recipes existing for both of these Macedonian foods. All varying by the village and even by family.
The most significant difference between these two dishes is that selska tava is meat and onions without a sauce. Turlitava with its broth is more mashed in its texture.
The latter one also features a greater variety of roots and other vegetables in addition to the meat.

After dinner before calling it a night we also stopped by the bar of Temov @ Kolektiv, which is North Macedonia’s first artisanal brewery in their own words.

The next morning we both woke up with proper cases of the flu. We went to Soul Kitchen once more to nourish our bellies and souls with breakfast and a couple of pitchers of tea before embarking on the long bus ride home to Belgrade.

During our first visit, on the other hand, we departed towards Sofia and from there to our then-home in Helsinki.

Macedonian or not Macedonian?

To get to know other Macedonian traditional foods before traveling to the country in person, you can check out this website of Macedonian cuisine and its article Top 35 Most Popular Macedonian Food. However, please remain slightly critical. Many of the foods mentioned as Macedonian are actually well known all over the Balkans.

For example, the shopska salad mentioned in the article is known in Serbia as a Bulgarian salad. And it’s an everyday food in Serbia, too. Of course there are also local versions of shopska nearly everywhere in the Balkans. 

Not to mention drinks. The fruity spirit of rakija is one drink that the rest of the former Yugoslavian countries wouldn’t be happy to call just Macedonian.

Then again, you can confuse the waiters in many areas by asking for some local food recommendations.
What actually is local food?

The answer might be, for example, Karađorđeva šnicla. This is a dish that, according to a legend, was quickly developed by a Tito’s chef during the days of Yugoslavia. The beef dish was served to a Soviet state visitor as an imitation of Kiev chicken, since there was no chicken around.

Interested in mountain hiking? Read my post about our crazy dayhike near Skopje!

Hiking Tips for Worst Enemies

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Translated from the original text Hyvää pataa Pohjois-Makedoniassa by Mirva Lempiäinen

Mirva is a US-educated travel writer from Finland living in the French Caribbean. 
Her blog is at Guadeloupeguide.com.