Prespa cironki

Cironki is a fish specialty present only in the southwestern part of North Macedonia, particularly in the vicinity of Lake Prespa and the villages of Stenje and Konsko. The fish used for this specialty is belvica (Alburnus аlburnus belvica).

Production of cironki goes in the following order: fishermen catch the fish mostly at night from 9 pm to 3 am. Traditionally fish is caught with pezol/pezovola, a circular net with lead weights, typically used in this region.

Once caught and removed from the net, the fish is ready for salting with lots of salt. The fish should not be cleaned or gutted – they go in whole. One kilogram of fish is salted with about 300 grams of salt. Once salted, the fish are lined up in a barrel which is filled up with the fish covered with leaves of nettle and a large stone plate for pressing the fish in the barrel. The fish are left in the barrel for a week. After one week of salting, the fish are threaded on strings, each of them carrying about 3 kg of salted fish. They are dried in the hot summer sun.

The most interesting characteristic to entire the process of producing of cironki is that the fish is not cleaned from the internal organs or skin. Cleaning is done when preparing for consummation.

Ingredients:

1) 300 g of cironki;

2) 100 ml of oil;

3) Mint;

4) Garlic;

5) Bukovska pepper (dried and grounded red pepper);

6) Water.

Preparation: After being taken out and cleaned, the cironki are grilled on a plot and left for some time in a hot water to swell and desalinate. After swelling, cironki are cleaned from the internal organs and shells. They can be served with oil, parsley, mint, garlic, red pepper or thyme which gives an excellent flavor to this specialty or just desalinated and slightly fried.

Cironki can be served as a main course, and they are inevitable part of the table during the winter Lenten fast, but also as an appetizer with a little rakija or wine. Cironki has always been a winter supply on the table for the entire fast and saints days.