The crushed salt – Ivo Danchev

The-houses-of-Kratovo

Hundreds of red roofs fringe the sides of an old crater, fractures the townspeople have patched up patiently over the centuries, building thirteen bridges over the abyss.

Photo: Ivo Danchev

Text: Francesco Martino

Nature-in-the-salt

 "The kcana sol is born from the sun and the wind kissing the mountains Osogovski, and mixed with the salt of the Aegean Sea". Stevce Donevski.

Drying-the-herbs

 A kaleidoscope of mountain herbs: smilj, kopar, silina, povecerinka, noktarac. But many ingredients are kept jealously secret.

The-house-smells-of-herbs

A stunning symphony of perfumes and fragrances fills the room.

The-Kratovo-canal

Kratovo was one of the central hubs of the trade routes that, through the mountains and valleys of the Balkans, used to link the ancient Adriatic republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) to the Aegean port of Thessaloniki.

Simple-tastes

Crushed salt accompanies all sorts of dishes, from meat to traditional pies called “mantije" to the pastarmajka, a sort of pizza garnished with smoked pork. "The kcana sol is best suited to simple tastes", smiles Valya.

A-bundle-of-ingredients

Full, bright notes like peppermint and rosemary alternate with more balanced, humble ones like roasted corn and majcina dusica, hand-picked on the high pastures

The-katar

First you toast the salt, traditionally imported from Thessaloniki ("a three days' horse ride from Kratovo"). Then the corn, with the katar, an iron hollow cylinder, which turns in a cast-iron stove with the long twisted handle.

Stevce-and-the-dibek

Stevce, sitting on a low oak stool, ceaselessly grinds the large steel pestle in the dibek, the heavy marble mortar.

All-the-herbs-in-the-mortar

Valya gradually pours fifteen herbs and flavours. Once reduced to a fine powder and mixed with sea salt, they will create the magic of kcana sol, Kratovo's crushed salt.

Magical-powder

Peppers (sweet and spicy), rosemary, basil, peppermint, wild mint, and thyme gradually disappear in the mortar.

Family-s-brand

There are not many families producing the “kcana sol”, each one of them mixing the herbs according to their own taste and tradition

The-sieve

Valya, sifting through the dark dust produced by Stevce's rhythmic beat in the mortar.

A-volcanic-salt

Once scrutinized, the final product is a fine powder of burnished colour, reminiscent of the volcanic rocks that dominate the landscape of Kratovo.

The-peta-with-crushed-salt

"There is nothing more humble, and more tasty", says Stevce, grinning while he offers us the peta.

A-slow-hostel

In Valja's dream, the house will become Kratovo's first "slow hostel", the starting point to discover the secrets of this ancient, unexplored land.

Night-on-Kratovo

“Enjoying the bridges and cobbled streets of Kratovo takes time, with the slow pace we have been taught for generations"