Ajvar
The most delicious, the most difficult to prepare, but the favorite winter preserve Ajvar is part of every home and every table in Macedonia. Hot or cold, spread on bread with or without white cheese, it makes the mouth and the young and the old red.
Needed ingredients: 20 kg. red peppers – Kurtovska Kapija, 2 kg. eggplants, 1 l. of oil, 1 spoon of sugar, salt.
Preparation method:
The peppers and eggplants are washed and dried, their handles removed and the peppers are cleaned from seeds. Then baked on a stove or grilled. Once cooked, peppers and eggplant are placed in plastic bags for easier peeling. Carefully peeled and cleaned from the rest of the seeds they are placed in mash like bags to drain overnight. The next day the peppers and eggplants are grinded in a machine for meat. The mixture is placed in a pot and fried until the liquid has evaporated, during which oil is added and it is fried for a few hours with a constant stirring to achieve a density of marmalade. Before the end of the frying process add salt to taste and mix well. The warm ajvar is placed in hot jars and closed.
Green figs jam
If you go in the Gevgelija region, you will be served with the best and most carefully prepared jam, with which the locals are proud of - Green figs jam with a glass of cold water as part of the culinary traditions of this region.
Needed ingredients: 60 green figs, 1 kg. of sugar, 1 l. of water, 1 spoon of citric acid.
Preparation method:
Take exactly 60 green figs (not ripe), peel them and place them in a large frying pan on the fire. In the pan, pour water and once boiled remove it and add fresh water. This process is repeated up to 9 times in order to remove the bitter taste of the green figs. After this process leave the figs aside to drain of the water. In a pan, placed on fire, pour 1 liter of water and 1 kg sugar and boil them to make a sorbet. When the sorbet is half way ready pour the figs and boil them until they are filled with the sorbet. Before the jam is removed from heat, pour 1 teaspoon citric acid and stir. The green fig jam is left to cool and once it gets a shiny color, fill it in jars.
Hot peppers - Feferoni
Hot feferoni are often present in the household and are part of the winter supplies to every family that enjoys the hot and spicy flavors. Feferoni go always accompanied by dishes of meat and beans.
Needed ingredients: 1 kg. feferoni, 2 dl. acid, 2 dl. water, salt, pepper in grains.
Preparation method:
Wash the feferoni shorter their handles and line up straight in the jars. Boil water in a pot, add acid and salt, leave it to cool and is pour into jars. In the jars add pepper in grains, close it and leave it in a cool place.
Jelly of roses
This interesting Jelly has a special taste and appearance. It is prepared from not grafted roses and consumed in small quantities to celebrate the beautiful warm days.
Needed ingredients: 100 gr. Not grafted rose petals, 1 kg. sugar, 1 l. water, 2 -3 lemons.
Preparation method:
Take leaves of monochrome or colorful carnations, wash and put to boil in a pot with 1 liter of water for 20 minutes. Add sugar and juice of 2 lemons and continue to boil over low heat with continuous removal of fluff. When sorbet will start pulling as a thread, add more juice from 1 lemon and mix. Jelly of roses, also pour hot in pre-prepared hot jars and closes well.
Jelly melon
Jelly melon is the only way that watermelon is processed in this region. The taste and aroma of Jelly melon are unique and look up to your imagination. It is served as a dessert with a glass of cold water.
Needed ingredients: 1 kg. watermelon, 1 kg. sugar, 250 ml. water, 1 vanilla sugar, 1 lemon.
Preparation method:
Cut watermelon into large pieces and remove the red part and the outer green rind. The white part of watermelon, which remains, cut into pieces or cut the mold in the desired shape. Cuts are put in cold water until squirt and boil 5 minutes. This procedure is repeated 5-6 times and always drain boiled water and pour cold. During the last boiling sorbet is prepared. For about 1 kg. cleaned watermelon pieces is used 1 kg. sugar in 250 ml water. When you boil sorbet, watermelon slices are added to the same pot and boil on a strong fire, without stirring. When jelly is half boiled add vanilla sugar and lemon cutted into quarters. When part of the liquid has evaporated and begins to appear sweet bubbles over the jelly is done. Allow to cool and fill the jars, which are very good closed.
Marmalade of plums
Dark blue plum fruit is popular in the southeastern region of Macedonia. Because the period of the year that the plum is available fresh is short, a lot of winter supplies are made of which one of the most popular and delicious winter supplies is marmalade. Jam of blue plums is consumed as food for breakfast, and as filling in various desserts prepared.
Needed ingredients: 4 kg. ripe blue plums, 1 kg. sugar, 2 teaspoons rum, 2 vanilla sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Preparation method:
Washed and cleaned plums ground and put them in a pot, strew with sugar and leave them to stay through the night. The next day, boil the marmalade on high temperature, stirring constantly until the liquid has evaporated. Before being finished, add vanilla sugar, rum and cinnamon. Once it’s almost done boiling, mix marmalade for another fifteen minutes and pour into hot jars, which are well closed.
Russian salad
Russian salad is a mixture of different vegetables and is usually served as an appetizer on cold winter nights inevitable accompaniment of hot homemade rakia, and in addition to the lunch table when are served meat dishes.
Needed ingredients: 1 kg. cauliflower, 1 kg. pickles, 1 kg. carrots, 1 kg. red peppers, 1 cabbage, 1 bunch of parsley, 1 packet of pepper grains, 1 packet of preservative, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup salt, ½ l. oil, ½ l. wine vinegar.
Preparation method:
Cut finely cauliflower, cucumbers, carrots, peppers and cabbage and put them in a deeper bowl, to stay for 24 hours. Stir occasionally the contents in the bowl. Vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and preservatives are put in a pot on fire to boil. Cut the parsley and mix it with the vegetables. Vegetables are placed in jars, and each jar covers with previously boiled and cooled liquid. Add a few grains of black pepper.