Tefta Pajenga, 76, is one of many Albanian TV chefs who are of pension age. The retired instructor teaches a younger housewife how to prepare japrakë, a traditional dish of vine leaves filled with rice and herbs, on her nationally televised culinary show.
Albanians have a particular place in their hearts for Japrakë. In this religiously diverse country, families usually prepare it together and then enjoy it on feast days for Muslims and Christians. The recipe, like so many other meals in this culinary crossroads, is foreign (the term is derived from the Turkish word for “leaf”), thanks to Albania’s more than 500 years of Ottoman dominion. However, all of the ingredients—dill, peppers, and mint from northern Albania—are indigenous.
