Vegetarian in Albania? No problem! ( Albanian food overview)

two types of fergese: one made with ricotta cheese
one tomato and peppers, accompanied by garlic mayo

perime zgare

Well my guidebook indicates that vegetarians will have a hard time in Albania.  However, having travelled extensively in neighbouring Greece, I felt rather suspicious about that and was indeed proven right.  I eat dairy products and eggs,  I know things will be more compicated for vegans, but not impossible.

Overwieght people are conspicuous in their absence. Albanians have a healthy, varied diet: lots of salads, fresh veg, locally-caught fish and seafood on the coast and meat inland.  Desserts do not normally feature on the menus, although complementary a plate of fruit is often served at the end of a meal.  There is also a strong Italian influence, meaning pizza and pasta restaurants are everywhere.  What we didn't see anywhere were American chain fast-food joints (although there are burger bars). Nor did we see Chinese restaurants, curry houses, Mexican or anything remotely international.   I guess you have to go to Tirana for that (if you really need to!)

Take into account that the food is usually prepared when you order it, not simply reheated in a microwave, which can mean a long wait, (pass the time sampling the excellent local wines and beers). But don't wait until you are ravenous before you search for a place for lunch.  And if you are starving and still waiting after half an hour, then remind yourself how long it takes you to prepare a meal from scratch at home.

Eating out in Albania is cheap.  We usually ate lunch for under 5€ a head, beer or wine included.   Most veggeie options will be starters and therefore extremely cheap, maybe 2-3€, and if you explain you are vegetarian you will invariably be given a larger portion.

qofte me kungull: courgette patties

It is a very good idea to get familiar with the names of vegetarian dishes and to be able to say "pa meesh" (no meat) or "une yam vegetarian" (I am vegetarian), "pereeme" (vegetables) and "soomeer" (very good).  Fortunately, unlike Spain, no-one bats an eyelid when you say you don't eat meat, and often the cooks are happy to adapt dishes for you.   By the way, many restaurants have a handy explanation in English of the dishes. On the one occasion when we couldn't understand the waiter in Pogradec, he led us to the kitchen to show us what was on offer that day.

A word about pancakes/crepes/pitas.  These terms refer to thin flat bread or pastry.  So in one place a pita was a huge thin pizza type thing but without tomato sauce. In another place, "pancakes" turned out to be the enormous pie made of layers of soft filo pastry filled with feta in the photo below. Tirana is full of creperias serving cheap (around 2€), filling and very tasty 'crepes' stuffed with a myriad of ingredients.

We only ate breakfast in a hotel twice; we were offered omelette, fruit, fried bread, cheese, salad, cake, juice and coffee, which is the Albanian version of the "Full English breakfast".

So, whilst it is true to say that I ate a lot of cheese in various forms, in general there were no problems finding vegetarian food.  I only ate pizza once, preferring to try things I can't usually get at home.  Restaurants will do everything to accommodate your dietary needs, as long as you can make yourself understood.  So make sure you've got your phrase book at hand!   Gezuar!

So here is some info about veggie options which I hope will be useful.

Copy and paste into your phone. 

sallate Greke (pron. salateh grekkeh): Greek Salad  ie feta cheese, tomato, cucumber, green peppers

sallate vend :  country salad, this was variable, in some places it was tomato, cucumber and onions, in others it was the same as Greek salad.

perime ne skare : grilled vegetables, eg. courgette, auberines, red and green peppers, onions, carrots.  Again there were several variations on the theme.  In one restaurant in Saranda, this was diced aubergines, peppers and courgettes, with feta crumbled on top and a generous serving of parsley. Soomeer!
perime ne furre : oven roasted vegetables
xatxik : tzatziki, Greek yogurt with chopped garlic and cucumber
burek : pasty
spinaq : spinach
djathe (pron. dee athe): cheese
djathe ne skare (pr. skareh):  grilled cheese  (sometimes called djathe aluminium)
fegese: cheese, pepper and tomato dip
dolma : stuffed vine leaves
qofte me kungull: courgette patties

chips (french fries) : patate te skuqura (pro. skoochura)
veze : eggs
omelette: omelet
fërgesë verore: delicious scrambled eggs dish  with chopped tomatoes and green peppers
supe perimesh : vegetable soup
supe fasule (pron. soop fasool) : bean soup

typical vegetables:

patellxhan: aubergine
kungull : courgette or pumpkin
patate (pron. pat at eh) : potato
karote: carrot
qepe: onion
speca: red pepper
extras:
buke (pron. bookeh) : bread
sheqer (pron. shecher) : sugar
uthull (pron. oothool) : vinegar
kripe (pron. kreepeh) : salt
salce (pron. salseh) : sauce

pije (pron. peeyeh) : drinks

uje (pron. ooye)  :water
vere (pr. verreh) e barde: white wine
vere e kuqe (pron. kooche) : red wine
leng: juice
raki : clear grape brandy, very strong!  Beware!

Çaj i zi  (pron. cha ee zee): English breakfast tea
kafe: coffee (but not as we know it Jim)
Kafe Turk is a small cup of thick strong coffee with sludge
Expresso and capucchino are available

Desserts: found in shops rather than restaurants

Trilece:  Albanian speciality, sponge cake soaked in milk and topped with caramel and whipped cream
akullore:  ice cream
kos: yogurt
cokollate (pron. choko lateh): chocolate
fruta: fruit
baclava and halva are also very typical. 

Most restaurants don't offer a dessert menu but you will be served a complementary platter of fruit automatically.

Cooking methods

skare : grilled
furre : oven baked
hell : roasted on a spit
i zier : boiled
skuqur : fried


check out my other blog Dawn's Bag, in which I record my travels:
https://dawnsbag.blogspot.com/2019/07/road-trip-in-romania-2019.html