Potato Stew: North Macedonian Kompir Mandza

Simple to make and delicious to eat. This North Macedonian potato stew (kompir mandza) will not leave you feeling hungry. It is one of those ancient recipes, once considered a “poor man’s meal”, which has stood the test of time.

Ingredients

• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion
• 1 tbs paprika
• 1.5kg potatoes
• 2 medium carrots 
• 1.5l vegetable broth
• salt
• pepper
• fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Peal the onion and chop it finely.
2. Heat the oil in the pot, add chopped onion and ground paprika, and fry for a minute.
3. Add a bit of water and keep cooking the onions until they are completely soft (adding more water if needed).
4. In the meantime, peal the potatoes and carrots and cut to your liking (we cut them into 0.5cm cubes). Add veggies to the pot and stir to combine.
5. Pour the vegetable broth and cook on medium low for 30 minutes.
6. Add pepper and salt to taste. If the stew is too thick you can add more water; adjust salt and pepper accordingly.
7. Add chopped parsley to your liking, stir and serve.*

* See bonus tips below

Bonus Tips for Macedonian Potato Stew

• Serve the soup with fresh salad and warm homemade bread.
  We chose the Easy no-knead bread from Macedonian cuisine.