Friday, January 3, 2014

Starting off with Albanian

This year has just barely started, and already I'm finding myself busier than normal.  On New Year's Day, I made up some hours lost by working.  Not a big deal since the boyfriend put in some miscellaneous hours as well.  It was a good thing I was making up some hours lost since I found out that I'm also due to go out on another business trip next week.

The challenge of an Albanian dish, had to come sooner than expected since tonight I'll be away from the kitchen for the next three nights.

So, without further delay, even if it is a tad on the early side:  Fërgesë of Tirana with veal.

I tried my best to reduce the recipe in order to keep the portion small since we were still eating leftover roasted butternut squash risotto and freshly made sauteed arugula.  We're having to clear the fridge since we'll be gone for a few days and chances are, by the time we get back, the boyfriend isn't going to use what's left since he doesn't cook much when I'm gone.

Part of the challenge this year is to also list out the recipe I used to get the results pictured.  Also, it helps to have the cultured recipe published if it isn't easily found.  In this case, Albanian food is very close to Mediterranean food so it isn't as "foreign" as I'd hoped.  I like Mediterranean food and it isn't "unhealthy" as it were.

As far as cost is concerned, this dish came under $5 since I was using what we had in the fridge.  We had the onion, butter, flour, and Feta cheese so all I needed to purchase was the veal.  So, I'll be putting to $1.51 into the Food Bank fund.  Not a bad way to start out the year.

Fërgesë of Tirana with vealFergesë e Tiranës me Mish Viçi -- http://goo.gl/SpKAcr

Ingredients

Fërgesë of Tirana with veal
  • one pound veal cutlets
  • 1/2 pound salted cottage cheese or Greek feta cheese
  • one tablespoon flour
  • 1/4 lb. (one stick) butter
  • 3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
  • one medium-sized onion
Add saltblack pepper, and chili pepper for flavor.

Procedure

Cut the veal cutlets into small pieces. Dice the onion. In a saucepan, preheat the olive oil and sauté the meat and onion for 15 minutes. In another saucepan, melt the butter and then add flour, cottage or feta cheese, and black pepper, salt and chili pepper to taste. Mix all the ingredients together (adding the sautéed meat and onions) in the saucepan and place in a preheated 350 oven for 15 minutes. Take out and serve immediately. Note: Instead of veal cutlets, beef liver can be used in the same quantity of meat and preparation/cooking instructions as above.
Serves 4 people, sometimes utilized as an appetizer.

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