North Macedonia

North Macedonia’s food is built around sun-ripened peppers become ajvar; skillet beans, bread pies and shopska salad define convivial meals. Look for Tavče gravče (beans baked in a skillet with paprika, mint; national dish), Ajvar (roasted pepper relish, an autumn family ritual) and Pastrmajlija (oval bread pie topped with cubed pork, sometimes egg). Beans baked in an earthenware tava with paprika and onion, the national dish; the large Tetovo bean is the preferred variety. This atlas has 35 North Macedonia dishes catalogued below, from everyday cooking to food kept for festivals and special occasions.