Albanian cuisine

The long history of Albania highly influenced its cuisine. Many of Albanian dishes exhibit influences from the cuisines of Italy, Ottoman Turks, and Greece.

Albanians’ main meal is lunch, which is commonly accompanied by vegetable salad. Among their favourite main salad ingredients are cucumbers, green peppers, and tomatoes. Some of the healthy Albanian salads are tomato and pepper salad, cabbage salad, bean salad, Albanian tossed salad, and Albanian potato salad. They also prepare other vegetable dishes including stuffed aubergines with cheese, peppers stuffed with rice, meat and vegetables, Fërgesë of Tirana with peppers, baked leeks, and Dolma, which consists of stuffed vegetable foods.

They also cook different meat and seafood specialties. Seafood dishes are most common in the country’s coastal areas including Sarandë, Vlorë, and Durrës. Meat and fish are among the main components of the Albanian cuisine. Two of its delicious fish dishes are baked fish with olive oil and garlic, and oven-baked trout with onions and tomatoes. Albanian meat dishes include veal with very large lima beans, korce kolloface, fried meatballs (qofte të fërguara), Fërgesë of Tirana with veal, Elli's veal or chicken with walnuts, and Tavë kosi (baked yogurt and lamb). Moreover, they make different appetisers like pickled cabbage, Dolma, eggplant appetisers, and chicken livers.

For dessert, they have Kek, Sheqerpare, Bakllava, Qumështor, Panespanjë, Tambëloriz/Sultjash, Rovanië, Kadaif, Llokume or Llukumë in Albanian, Hasude, and Halvë. They also make Byrek, a pastry that may contain meat, cabbage, or feta cheese.

For their usual drinks, they prefer mineral water and carbonated beverages. Some of their favourite beverages are Boza, Albanian buttermilk, soft drinks, fruit juices, and milk.