North Macedonia is a part of the Balkan region, surrounded by Albania, Greece, Bulgaria and Kosovo, part of the former Yugoslavia. Having been under Ottoman Empire occupation for over 500 years, its food is a melting pot of Turkish, Mediterranean and Slavic flavours. Seasonality governs how we eat and defines our food traditions – agriculture is huge and there are farmers’ markets around every corner, selling local cheeses, cold-pressed oils, produce and herbs.
There are a few key ingredients native to the country that you will find all year round, such as fresh, creamy brined white cheese, most commonly made from sheep’s milk, and bieno sirenje – which translates as ‘beaten cheese’ – a hard, dry, cow’s milk cheese, naturally fermented in the sun and absolutely delicious cooked on the grill. There’s also vezeni
