Traditional Albanian Cooking Class — Your Recipes

Thank you for spending the evening with us. Albanian food is more than recipes — it's how we welcome people into our homes. I hope tonight gave you a taste of that warmth, and that these recipes bring a little piece of Albania into your kitchen, wherever you are.

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Byrek — Handmade Albanian Savoury Pie

Byrek is the heart of Albanian cooking. Every family has their own version — some with spinach, some with meat, some with tomatoes. What stays the same is the ritual: stretching the dough paper-thin by hand, layering it with love, and baking until golden. In Albania, byrek is breakfast, lunch, a snack, and the first thing a grandmother makes when you visit.

Dough

Makes 1 tray · Serves 6–8 · Rest time 3 hours

Ingredients

• Flour type 00 — 400g

• Warm water — 180ml

• Salt — 4g

• Butter, melted — for layers

Method

1. Mix flour and salt, add warm water gradually.

2. Knead 15 minutes by hand or 10 minutes with machine until smooth and elastic.

3. Shape into one large ball, cover, rest 1 hour.

4. Divide into 5 balls, cover, rest 2 hours.

5. Roll each ball to roughly the size of a small plate.

6. Stack 3 balls with butter between each layer — this is the bottom layer. Stack remaining 2 balls the same way — this is the top layer.

7. Stretch each stack from the centre outward, rotating slowly, until completely transparent.

8. Lay bottom stack in tray, add filling in centre, fold edges up. Place top stack over filling, tuck and seal edges. Brush top with butter.

9. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 35–40 minutes until golden.

Dervis's Tip: The secret to great byrek is patience with the dough. Don't rush the stretching — the thinner you go, the crispier and more delicate the layers become. In Albania, we say you should be able to read a newspaper through the dough.

Filling — Tomato & Onion

• Ripe tomatoes, diced — 400g

• Onions, finely sliced — 400g

• Olive oil — 80ml

• Salt — to taste

1. Sauté onions in olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent.

2. Add tomatoes, cook until most liquid reduces — filling should be juicy but not watery.

3. Season with salt. Cool completely before using.

Filling — Spinach, Spring Onion & White Cheese

• Fresh spinach — 400g

• Spring onions, chopped — 2 bunches

• White cheese (gjizë or feta) — 300g

• Eggs — 2

• Salt — to taste (go easy — cheese is already salty)

1. Wilt fresh spinach in a dry pan. Squeeze out all moisture. Chop roughly.

2. Mix with spring onions, crumbled cheese and eggs.

3. Taste before adding any salt.

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Sheqerpare — Albanian Butter Cookies in Sugar Syrup

Sheqerpare means 'piece of sugar' in Albanian — and that's exactly what these are. Soft, buttery cookies soaked in sweet syrup until they become impossibly tender. You'll find them at every celebration in Albania, from weddings to holidays to a simple afternoon coffee.

Ingredients

Makes ~20 pieces · Best rested overnight

For the Dough

• Eggs — 4 (~240g)

• Sugar — 300g

• Butter, softened — 120g

• Flour — 650g

• Baking powder — 1 tsp

For the Sherbet (Syrup) — equal parts

• Sugar — 500g

• Water — 500ml

• Flavouring — lemon, orange juice, fresh mint, or whole cloves

Method

1. Combine butter, sugar and eggs. Mix slowly and gently — dissolve the sugar, do not whip air in.

2. Fold in flour and baking powder. Dough should be soft but shapeable.

3. Roll into small balls, flatten slightly.

4. Bake at 170°C (340°F) for 20–25 minutes until lightly golden. Do not overbake.

5. Bring equal parts sugar and water to boil, dissolve, add your chosen flavouring, then leave to cool completely.

6. Pour cold syrup over hot sheqerpare straight from the oven.

7. Leave to absorb — ideally overnight.

Dervis's Tip: The golden rule: cold syrup over hot cookies. Never both hot at the same time, or the cookies will fall apart. And mix gently — you want to dissolve the sugar, not beat air into the dough.

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Kulac — Traditional Dense Soda Bread from South Albania

Kulac is the bread of the Albanian south — dense, golden, baked in a cast iron pan or on a hearth. Made with yogurt and baking soda, no yeast, no waiting. This is bread the way Albanian grandmothers have always made it.

Ingredients

Makes 1 round · Serves 4

• Plain white flour — 500g

• Baking soda — 1 tsp

• Salt — 1 tsp

• Plain full-fat yogurt — ~280ml (water can substitute)

• Olive oil — 1 tbsp

Method

1. Mix flour, baking soda and salt.

2. Add yogurt and oil. Mix until a dough forms — dense and slightly sticky. Do not over-knead.

3. Shape into a flat round disc, about 3cm thick.

4. Cook on a dry heavy pan or cast iron, covered, over medium-low heat. 20–25 minutes each side until a deep golden crust forms and it sounds hollow when tapped.

5. Alternatively bake at 190°C (375°F) for 35–40 minutes.

6. Cool before slicing — the dense crumb needs time to set.

Dervis's Tip: Full-fat yogurt gives the best flavour and texture. If you're making this for përshesh, bake it a day ahead — dry kulac absorbs the broth better.

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Përshesh me Kulac dhe Pulë — Village Chicken with Crumbled Bread

This is real Albanian comfort food — the kind of dish that doesn't appear in tourist restaurants but sits at the centre of every family table. Kulac is torn and soaked in rich chicken stock with butter and fresh herbs. Simplicity is where Albanian cooking shines.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• Whole chicken or pieces — ~1.3kg

• Kulac, torn into chunks — 460g

• Butter — 40g

• Fresh peppermint — generous handful, chopped

• Dried oregano (rigon) — 1 tbsp

• Half onion — for stock only

• Salt — to taste

Method

1. Boil chicken with salt and half an onion for ~45 minutes. No bay leaf.

2. Remove chicken. Keep stock hot on low heat.

3. Place torn kulac into a wide bowl.

4. Ladle hot stock over kulac gradually, stirring — it should absorb into a soft, creamy texture, not soupy.

5. Add butter, stir until melted through.

6. Add chopped fresh peppermint and dried oregano.

7. Shred or slice chicken. Serve on top of the përshesh.

Dervis's Tip: The kulac should be a day or two old — dry bread absorbs the broth better and gives the dish its signature texture. And don't skip the fresh peppermint — it's what makes this dish uniquely Albanian.

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