stories & recipes by Tamara

No Waste Phyllo Rolls w/ Stamppot

An easy how-to make it and how-to use it guide.

You know I'm here for the beans. In any shape, color, dried or fresh, beans are the ultimate all year round source of comfort. The naming Mahune refers to the podded beans, green, yellow, purple, Romano or any other kind. They are sweet and bursting with flavor in stews, salads and frittata-like oven dishes, and they are in season right now. We had a small place outside of Sarajevo where my grandmother used to grow her vegetables, small scale and mostly with recreational purpose. Once I open the drawer labeled Buhotina in my memory, I could stay there for hours, watching her rhytmically disappear and reappear behind the tall vines of beans, not saying much, just showing me how big she has grown them that year. I am convinced however that her crop was merely a small fragment of the beans galore going on back in her Sarajevo kitchen. When a certain vegetable was in season, there would be so much of it on the market and it would be incredibly inexpensive for those couple of weeks that she couldn't help herself but buy her weight in it. Some would be preserved for the winter, some would be eaten straight away, prepared any way imaginable. Even though nowdays Mahune are often associated with a stew made with veal or beef, cooked in broth or with addition of water, we like them best in this vegetarian version, with other seasonal veg and cooked in their own juices, with the help of some salt, a fitting lid and patience. My mother would always add some water to speed up the cooking, but like every daughter I know it all and contradict my mom wherever it gives me the slightest illusion of victorious satisfaction. In the case of Mahune, I am very opinionated, as I firmly belive adding water dilutes the flavor, while skipping it makes for the most concentrated flavor explosion and beans that keep their shape. I do hate when things fall apart. The cooking time can vary a bit, depending on the type and freshness of the podded beans you use, but you can control the level of doneness by checking in on them every once in a while and make it just the way you like it. Even al-dente they are yummy, but obviously the longer they cook, the deeper the flavors become and the more they interlock. You can use one type of the beans, or combine different types, depending on what you have on hand. My favorite are yellow Romano beans, as they are tender in both texture and flavor, but they are not widely available in Netherlands so anything works. During the summer months, my local Turkish grocery stocks a special variety of Turkish beans, with fat juicy beans on the inside and slightly bitter pods, which are also yummy in this dish. I count around 200gr podded beans per adult, young kids will obivously eat a bit less, but I doubt there will be any leftovers . Add a boiled potato on the side or serve over some rice, and you've got yourself a wholesome lunch the next day. Mahune taste great (if not better) cooked in advance.

Not much of a story here. Ado is not a fan of classic rice pudding, Sutlija, as that's all he was allowed to eat for months when he was a small boy in the hospital due to the kidney problems. I, on the other hand, love it's creaminess and nostalgic, comforting feels but I craved baking so this is what we ended up with, and we were both pleased with the result. A pefect light dessert for warm days, it is best served properly chilled and eaten in the shadow. Keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge.

I reckon the story behind this kind of dishes is straightforward pragmatic: a solid meal made out of staple ingredients like cornmeal, eggs and dairy and whatever seasonal veg there is, if any. It comes together within minutes, requires minimum attention in the oven (wood fired back in the good ol’ days) and shared at the table. Eaten straight from the baking dish by all family members, one piece of cutlery per person, because which mother of 11 was looking forward to doing unnecessary dishes? I reckon the dishes like this are timeless and don’t need elaborate recipes. My mom, just like probably all moms, does it by heart. I on the other hand, with the heart of a poet and the mind of an engineer, I like my stuff measured accurately and written down properly, so I made sure this one comes out dreamy every single time, with or without veg topping. My favorites are nettles in spring or summer squash, in summer obviously. Garlicky Smetana and/or refreshing salad on the side and I’m good to go.

Pljukanci

It is as simple to make and as satisfying to indulge as it can be: loads and loads of seasonal fruit which sinks through the fluffy delicate cake batter, creating juicy, jammy, sour and sweet spots along the way, make for the ultimate summer feeling.. You are free to use any seasonal fruit of your choice, as long as it's juicy, slightly sour and there's enough of it. This cake was made with a combination of cherries, sour cherries and Mirabelle plums, but it's also tastes great with apricots, peaches, all sorts of plums, alone or combined, cut in halves, quarters of slices. It can also be made with red fruit: raspberries shine in this cake, alone or in combination with strawberries, blackberries, red or black currants, blueberries...

Flekice & Kupus

Musaka