Savory Cheese Pastry | Banitsa. BULGARIA, EUROPE
Bulgarians serve this vegetarian cheese pastry room temperature or cold with plain yogurt on the side. Add spinach for a healthy variation.
Ham and Cheese Bread | Prisnats. EUROPE
Breakfasty, bready prisnats are great comfort food. You’ll want to cut the ham smaller or add more flour so the little pieces won’t sink to the bottom. Enjoy warm!
Cornbread. ALBANIA, EUROPE
The cheese and green onion make this cornbread unique. Dense and flavorful, the cornbread makes a great accompaniment to stews.
Cardamom Sweet Bread | Pulla. EUROPE, FINLAND
Pulla is the ultimate Finnish bread dough. Pulla always tastes of glorious cardamom.
Rye Bread. BELARUS, EUROPE
A nice, dense crumb, with a mild rye flavor. The sugar and honey make this loaf wonderfully addictive.
Artisan French Bread (or diary of a bread-aholic). EUROPE, FRANCE
Flavor: Mixing the yeast with a little flour and water ahead of time gives a big flavor boost. This is called a poolish or preferment. Slow and cool yeast development is the secret to good flavor. Texture: Achieving a soft interior and thin, shattering crust. You do this by adding moisture while baking and using steady, high heat. A spray bottle and baking stone are the best we can do in our homes.
White Asparagus a la Flamande | Asperges op Vlaamse Wijze. BELGIUM, EUROPE
White asparagus tastes more mild than green asparagus, perhaps even a little sweeter. The topping is rather like a rich, lemony egg salad and goes well with the asparagus.
Potato Pancakes | Mushroom stuffed Draniki. BELARUS, EUROPE
Pan-fried until crispy and hot, mushroom stuffed draniki taste like pumped up hash browns. Really great comfort food. Belorussians eat these with sour cream, although Americans will like them with ketchup.
Spaetzle with cheese and caramelized onion | KasNocken. AUSTRIA, EUROPE
This is an Austrian’s answer to Mac and Cheese. Totally wonderful and, as a bonus, vegetarian! One taste and you’ll want to move to Austria.
Green Beans with Speck | Schinkenspeck. AUSTRIA, EUROPE
Speck, technically called Schinkenspeck, is a dry aged prosciutto product. Bacon or ham can be substituted if your grocer does not carry this Austrian favorite. Enjoy Green Beans with Speck with chicken, fish, or pork.
Trinxat. ANDORRA, EUROPE
Trinxat is an Andorran specialty. Potatoes, cabbage, and bacon get fried together in a hash “pancake.” Garnish with minced parsley.
Shopska Salad | Shopska Salata. BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA, EUROPE
This cheese is just like regular feta with a tad stronger – and a “hair” funkier – flavor. In fact, Barrel-Aged Feta is a great “first” funky cheese for those of you trying to convince a family member to “go funky.”