Tavche Gravche
This weekend, I decided to take on what is arguably the most traditional dish in Macedonia (also common in Albania), Tavche Gravche. Basically, it’s baked beans with meat. And believe it or not, it happens to be one of my favorite dishes. Although it’s not super difficult to make, it takes a lot of time. About 4 hours to be exact! There are two variations of this dish. There’s the baked version or the stew-like version. The great part is, is that you can make both versions by just baking the stew!
I didn’t have my mom with me this time, so I was on my own. And I have to say, I nailed it :) Getting the right flavor was a little tricky, and required some taste testing, but nothing a stick of butter couldn’t fix! And let me tell you something I learned throughout this process...BUTTER MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER. That is my biggest takeaway. Just add butter.
Anyway, here are some pics of the process:
Overall, this a been a great learning experience for me. For someone who rarely cooks, I'm pretty proud of the dishes I made. And as someone who loves to learn about different cultures and enjoy dishes from around the world, I feel good about being able to share some dishes from my own background.
