(From left: At AgriTourism Huqi, Bedri Tila prepares lamb in an underground oven preserving sundried tomatoes at Mrizi i Zanave)Īlbania’s cuisine is born of the natural bounty of the Mediterranean: the country sits just 50 miles (80.46 km) from Italy, across the Adriatic Sea.
This Might Be The Most Affordable Way To See Europe This Summer Albania is a food destination with a rich culinary culture Image Credit: Armand Habazaj. The short drive from Tirana makes this destination an easy day trip for people who want to eat traditional foods, perhaps attend a wedding or birthday party, and support an agritourism industry that is beginning to flourish. Seven modern-looking wood cabins with simple but comfortable furnishings stand on a hillside, giving guests a view of the surrounding greenery and reservoir below. Tila works at AgriTourism Huqi, a farm with a restaurant, a campsite, a botanical garden, an event space, and even a small petting zoo. | From left: A guest takes in the scenery at AgriTourism Huqi a dessert sampling at Mullixhiu includes yoghurt cake with pomegranate, a “kadaif pipe,” and custard served in an eggshell) Tila expertly carved off a small piece of meat and held it out for me to try. In Albanian, mish në pus literally means “meat in a well,” a fitting description of the subterranean oven in which he was roasting a whole lamb.
Through much pantomiming, he told me he had been cooking with this technique for seven years.
