CHRISTMAS IN KOSOVO

Even though the whole expat community of Pristina escapes the city for Holiday season, someone has to stay and keep things rolling. Motivation to stay in Kosovo raised on one grey November day when I was searching for flights home. Pristina-Rovaniemi-Pristina tickets were around 800 euros per person.

The man who shares home with me and I decided to stay in here. This of course meant that we were going to miss mother's feast and had to cook Christmas dinner ourselves. When cooking for two (or three when Christmas Eve dinner guest is counted) persons, it is important to remember the actual consumption of the food. Many times I have had to through non-eaten food items into rubbish and we all know that it is one of the original sins.

We decided to include turkey, carrot casserole, potato casserole, brusselsprouts, cheese and some green veggies into our Christmas menu. However, the unbelievably crappy selection of potatoes in Albimall forced us to change the potato casserole to normal boiled potatoes.

I did not have a particular recipe for carrot casserole so I simply peeled and chopped 500 g of carrots. Next step is to bring them to boil until soft and then crush. Mix the carrot mash with rice porridge, add couple spoonfuls of syrup and a hint of salt. In case you have white pepper, add that as well. Cook in 175 degrees for an hour or so.

I bought frozen turkey so the first step is to melt it. I left it to room temperature over night and that was enough to melt the 4 kilo bird. I am not specialized in turkey stuffing so I skipped it and instead chopped couple of oranges inside the turkey to add some aroma. Otherwise I simply spread some butter-garlic-herb thing over the turkey to ensure that the meat is juicy from inside and crispy on the outside.

I used the instructions of my hero chef Jamie Oliver to cook the turkey. 180 degrees and 40 minutes per kilo. To prevent the bird from drying, cover it with folio wrap and spread the juices from pan on the meat every now and then. Remove the folio about 30 minutes before the meat is done so the skin will get a golden, crispy coat.

Unfortunately blackout came just as we were starting to eat and the mere candlelight was not enough to shoot decent photos. However, the feast tasted good and the company was refined as well. One of the best delicacies was smoked cheese from Kuusamo, which my darling mother sent me in her Christmas parcel. As a test she had posted a pack of cheese with the normal liquirice and Donald Duck comics. At least during the winter months cheese can travel safely and stay delicious on the way from Posio to Kosovo.