Svetle's Journal

Passport & Plate - Potatoes with dried paprika

Macedonia | Saturday, February 21, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
10 dried paprika
4 big potatoes
3 bulb of Garlic in small slices
Salt, black pepper, olive ( normal or olive oil)

 

How to prepare this recipe
The potatoes and paprika are bowling together in a pot. When they are ready they are melted together in a mortar with pestle. We are using mortar and pestle that are handmade from wood, as we believe that the taste of the food is better. We add the garlic, salt and black paper, and at the end we add the hot oil

 

The story behind this recipe
Macedonian people are known as a population that eats a lot of paprika in every possible combination. As a population we are producing paprika that is different by sort compared with the ones in Europe. The shape is different, long and thin, and it could be in green or red color. We use paprika to prepare: the traditional food named “Ajvar; paprika that we put in a small cask filled with water, salt, acid for cooking; then roosted paprika and pilled that for winter we put packed in the freezer: paprika in the glass jar, boiled and filled with water, garlic, parsley and, dried paprika that we cooked fried with white cheese, eggs, leek. The recipe is a traditional Macedonian dish that is passed from generation to generation and I learned it from my mother and grandmother.
The specialty is prepared in combination by potatoes and doesn't have special name. Simple: Potatoes with dried paprika. It could be used paprika chili or sweet. The process of preparation is very easy and requires approximately 45 minutes. Potatoes with dried paprika reminds me of my family and my roots and no matter where I am, it brings up pleasant and warm memories.