Title : Balkan Cuisine Is As Simple As Beans
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Balkan Cuisine Is As Simple As Beans
From ancient Romans who strarted olive oil production to the Ottoman Turks in the Middle ages and finally the Italian and German influences have made their cuisines and gastronomic customs more sophisticated.
However, the true spirit of the Balkans is in their mountains.
Meat is the main ingredient: grilled, baked or smoked. In Christian countries they mainly eat pork, while Muslims prefer beef.
There are about half a dozen meat specialties known under the common title of rostilj or skara, which comes from the name of the specific type of grill on which these meals are prepared.
The most popular one, called cevap derived from the Turkish kebab, has quite a peculiar geography.
Several Balkan cities compete for the title of the Balkan cevap capital.
When in the southern Serbian town of Leskovac, be prepared for the ultimate gourmet experience called the Leskovac train – a course of five different meat specialties that waiters bring in one after another, which in a way reminds one of train coaches.
In Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, try local cevaps, served in a bun, with a hearty lot of sliced chopped onions and a spoonful of kajmak, a traditional dairy product.
Bascarsija, the old Turkish bazaar in the city serves the best experience.
Banja Luka, in the north of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has its own distinctive cevap variety mainly known for its shape: several kebabs stick together to form small rectangular portions of meat.
Another traditional Balkan specialty is roasted meat. No Balkan festivity is complete without roasted pork, lamb or beef.
The carcass of the animal is seasoned with salt and roasted whole on a spit, then cut into small pieces.
Unlike roasts in other cultures, in the Balkans this type of meat is often eaten cold, which is understandable because no good celebration lasts for less than two days.
The most authentic vegetarian Balkan dish are baked beans. It is such a basic meal that when Serbs want to say that something is simple they call it as simple as beans.
This dish comes under a number of different names depending on the country but the essence is the same: white beans cooked with onions and then oven-baked in a ceramic pot with an appropriate seasoning.
What gives them their remarkable taste is the red pepper. Red bell peppers are the main ingredient of ajvar, a popular relish eaten either as a side dish or a sauce.
Besides roasted pepper, it may contain eggplants, garlic and chili peppers.
Then there are the pies. Made of delicate paper-thin dough, layered with different fillings, crunchy on the outside and juicy inside, they are the typical Balkan breakfast, complete with yoghurt or sour milk.
There are also sweet pies filled with cherries, apples, plums, walnuts, etc.
Probably the most sophisticated of all is the branded Slovenian pastry prekmurska gibanica, or Prekmurian cake, which contains ricotta, apples, walnuts, raisins and poppy seeds.
As far as pastry is concerned, I cannot skip the Macedonian pastrmajlija. An oval-shaped bread and meat pie which originally comes from Turkish cuisine, it is a great oriental pizza alternative, simple but rich and tasty.
The mountainous parts of the Balkans are home to delicious cheese and dairy products.
One of the most widely-appreciated cheeses comes from the Croatian island of Pag, where sheep feed on sage, which gives the milk a specific taste.
One more dairy must-try is kajmak, a milk product with creamy texture and a tender, slightly salty taste. It is used as a surplus ingredient in many Balkan dishes, from cornmeal to grilled meat.
On the Adriatic coast, in Montenegro and Croatia, they often put an extra touch on the local cheeses by keeping them in olive oil, often with herbs, to give them a delicate taste.
There is plenty of excellent fresh seafood too. When in Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro, don’t miss the local smoked ham called prsut.
It is said to be the best starter alongside with cheese and olives to go with the local red wines.
If you are keen on dessert wines, make sure to try bermet, the much appraised specialty of northern Serbia’s Fruska Gora wine region.
It owes its intricate taste to the maceration of 20 different herbs and spices and the recipe is held in secret by a handful of local families.
However it is not the wines that tell the most about the Balkans but the traditional strong spirits commonly called rakija, a brandy made from fruit such as grapes, plums, pears, apples and quince.
Some rare varieties include raspberry and mulberry, but the truly traditional rakija flavors are plum and grape.
A tour around the cuisines of Ex-Yugoslavia would be incomplete without an insight into the Balkan dolce vita the exciting blend of oriental and European desserts.
The oldschool sweet shops in the southeast of the Balkans feature traditional Turkish pastry soaked in honey or sugar syrup, usually eaten with a cup of strong coffee or a glass of boza, a flour-based drink with a rather unusual taste.
The most celebrated sweet is probably the baklava, which can have as many as 70 layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts, raisins or cherries.
In the west and the north of the Balkans, where the local cuisines have been influenced by those of Austria and Hungary, you will find a wide range of strudels, rolled cakes and kuchens.
Balkan cuisine refers to:
- Albanian cuisine, the national cuisine of the Albanian people
- Bosnia and Herzegovina cuisine, the cuisine of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgarian cuisine, the cuisine of Bulgaria
- Croatian cuisine, the cuisines of Croatia
- Greek cuisine, the cuisine of Greece
- Kosovan cuisine, the cuisine of Kosovo
- Macedonian cuisine, the traditional cuisine of the Republic of Macedonia
- Macedonian cuisine (Greek), the cuisine of the region of Macedonia in northern Greece
- Montenegrin cuisine, the cuisine of Montenegro
- Ottoman cuisine, the cuisine of the Ottoman Empire and its continuation in other cuisines
- Romanian cuisine, the cuisine of Romania
- Serbian cuisine, the cuisine of Serbia
- Slovenian cuisine, the cuisine of Slovenia
Balkan cuisine is seasonal and sourced from local ingredients.
Each country is proud of its specialty recipes, but you'll find similar themes.
The Balkans is a fertile region and the dishes are based on fresh produce, though you can’t escape the love of barbecued meat.
Cevapi or kebabi are to be found grilled on the street in every city.
An Albanian, says that the prevalence of chargrill cooking in the Balkans is because until fairly recently, in some countries charcoal was the only form of easy and cheap fuel.
Favourite dishes from the Balkans include boureks - filo pies filled with meat, vegetable or cheeses and Albanian baked lamb.
In Macedonia, Evans says starchy rice dishes are popular, including sarma - rice parcels wrapped in vine leaves or sour cabbage, depending on the season.
Baking is also a big part of home cooking, and filo pastry is common, he says.
The key ingredients for cooking Balkan food are: Olive oil, oregano, garlic, paprika, fresh fruit and veg, and ability to mix them.
Food has an important social role in the Balkans, and try not to get too carried away with the mezze.
It’s stimulates the appetite but not set it.
A selection of delicious morsels, mainly savoury, to while away the afternoon whilst drinking moderate amounts of raki or wine.
When traveling the world, it’s not about just seeing the sights and perhaps learning a few words of the local language, it’s about tasting the food too.
Culture is about gastronomy, and in the Balkans, there are plenty of authentic and traditional dishes to try.
You’ll also find that many dishes in Serbia overlap with neighboring countries, but there are subtle differences to explore.
Serbian food has had many different influences throughout the years, which is reflected in the food.
These influences have made Serbian cuisine a real melting pot of delicious flavors for the taste buds.
Influences, ranging from oriental all the way to many parts of Europe, Serbian cooking has its roots in meat, making it a hearty choice for colder days, but you’ll also find many vegetables included in the most local Serb dishes.
Pastry is also quite prevalent in Serbian meals, so when you combine that with meat, you certainly are not going to starve.
Food among others are many other things to do and see in Serbia to keep you busy.
To give you an idea of what you can expect to see when you’re traveling around Serbia, and the best food to try – let’s explore the wonder of Serbian cuisine.
Cevapcici or Cevapi
They are considered a national dish in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and are also common in Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, Slovenia, as well as in Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria.
Cevapi has its origins in the Balkans during the Ottoman period, and represents a regional speciality similar to the kofte kebab.
They are usually served of 5–10 pieces on a plate or in a flatbread lepinje or somun, often with chopped onions, sour cream, kajmak, ajvar, feta cheese, minced red pepper and salt.
Bosnian cevapi are made from two types of minced beef meat, hand mixed and formed with a funnel, while formed cevapi are grilled. Serb cevapcici are made of either beef, lamb or pork or mixed.
You’ll find cevapcici or cevapi all over the Balkans, and these are delicious, small sausages which are made of minced and grilled meat.
The meat is usually either pork, beef, or lamb, and can also be a mixture.
You will often find you get a portion of around 5-10 different sausages and they are served on a fresh flatbread with onions, red pepper relish, and sometimes sour cream too if you want it.
This is a common and quite cheap street food you will find at most takeaways, so give it a try.
In Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia, cevapcici is generally served with mustard mixed with finely chopped raw onions and potatoes or French fries, in a common fast food manner.
Pljeskavica
You’ll find it served in bread, with onions, and the patty itself is mixed with a type of milky cream and a pepper sauce.
This is another very easily found type of street food and is actually one of the most popular snacks you’ll find cheap,cheerful and tasy, because of the amount of meat in it, also very filling.
- Sarajevski cevap, from Sarajevo, Bosnia, meat mix of beef and sheepmeat
- Travnicki cevapi, from Travnik, Bosnia, meat mix of beef, veal, mutton and lamb
- Banjalucki cevapi, from Banja Luka, Bosnia, beef meat
- Tuzlanski cevapi, from Tuzla, Bosnia, meat mix of beef, mutton and lamb
- Novopazarski cevap, from Novi Pazar, Serbia, traditionally sheepmeat
- Leskovacki cevap, from Leskovac, Serbia, veal meat
- sis-cevap
There are variations in meat content and seasoning. The dish is kept simple, and traditionally served in somun with onions and/or kajmak and yogurt as appetizer.
Pljeskavica, a grilled dish of spiced meat patty mixture of pork, beef and lamb. It is a national dish of Serbia, also popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.
It is a main course served with onions, kajmak or milk cream, ajvar relish, and urnebes or spicy cheese salad, either on plate with side dishes, or with lepinja a flatbread, as a type of hamburger.
Pljeskavica has gained popularity elsewhere in Europe and is served in a few speciality fast food restaurants in Germany, Sweden, and Austria.
Varieties include the "
- Leskovac Pljeskavica very spicy with onions,
- Sar Pljeskavica, stuffed with kackavalj cheese
- Hajduk Pljeskavica of beef mixed with smoked pork meat.
- Vranje Pljeskavica
The Leskovac Pljeskavica is an official brand of Serbia.
Becka Snicla
It is a boneless meat which is hit with a hammer until thin and then coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried.
It is often served as a main meal, usually with potatoes and butter, and garnished with parsley.
Karadordeva Snicla
It is stuffed with something called kajmak, which is like a clotted cream, and is then breaded and cooked, usually fried or baked.
Once served, it is usually accompanied by potatoes and tartar sauce.
The kajmak in the middle turns into a creamy sauce when cooked, and makes the meat super-succulent. Delicious.
Karađorđe's schnitzel is a Serbian breaded cutlet dish named after the Serbian Prince Karađorđe.
It is a rolled veal or pork steak, stuffed with kajmak, and then breaded and fried.
It is served with roasted potatoes and tartar sauce.
The steak is sometimes colloquially referred to as the maidens' dream because of its phallic shape.
The dish is a modern invention, created by chef Mica Stojanovic in 1959, who when he needed to prepare Chicken Kiev for a distinguished visitor from the Soviet Union, was faced with lack of poultry.
He used veal instead of chicken. However, not fully satisfied with the result, he poured tartar sauce over it, and decorated it with a slice of lemon and pieces of tomato.
This at the end resembled the medal of the Order of the Star of Karađorđe, and thus the steak was named.
Skembici
Perhaps not one for those with a weak stomach, skembici is very old Serbian dish, and is actually a tripe soup.
The tripe is served in a stew, made of various vegetables, herbs and is usually served alongside boiled potatoes, for a real filling and hearty dish.
You’ll find tripe soup in many neighboring countries, and if you really want to try something new and traditional, then this is the dish to try.
Sarma
It is then wrapped in a cabbage leaf, but can also be a grapevine or a different type of green leaf.
This is then simmered and served with several side dishes, often sour cream.
You’ll find many traditional households serving sarma, and it is much more hearty and filling than you might think from looking at it!
Sarma is a dish of grape, cabbage, monk's rhubarb or chard leaves rolled around a filling usually based on minced meat, or a sweet dish of filo dough wrapped around a filling often of various kinds of chopped nuts.
It is found in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, particularly in the Balkans.
Fis Paprikas
If you’re not a fish lover, you should still give this a go, as it’s not overly fishy, but has a very fresh flavor The stew comprises of paprika and tomato juice and has a spicy kick to it.
Punjene Paprike
Traditional Croatian stuffed peppers croatian cooking paprike
Paprika is very commonly found in Serbia, and this is a stuffed paprika dish.
It is stuffed with a combination of different meats, rice, tomato sauce, egg, spice, and red capsicum to give it a kick.
Again, it’s a very hearty dish, but a somewhat healthy one at the same time. You’ll also find this commonly in many households at dinner time and in authentic Serbian restaurants.
Gibanica
This is a pastry dish, and one that is easily eaten on the go as a snack.
It is basically a cheese pie and is made a little like the regional favorite, burek.
There are layers of thin dough which are filled with delicious and quite strong cheese and then glazed with egg to give it a golden color.
Proja
This is a cornbread dish that dates back many years.
This particular dish was popular during times when money was low and poverty was prevalent in the country.
It was easy to make and cheap, hearty, filling and didnt spoil.
Despite times improving, you’ll still find proja in many households and traditional restaurants.
Urnebes
You’ll find it mostly in the south of the country, but it is quite widespread regardless.
It is a salad of cheese and very hot peppers, as well as a few other spicy treats.
You’ll find that it is spiciest in the southern reaches of the country, where it hails from, and can be a little different from place to place in terms of mildness or otherwise.
Urnebes which means disorderor mess is a type of salad characteristic of Serbian cuisine prominent in the city of Nis and southern Serbia.
It is made of cheese and hot chili peppers, with salt and other spices.
In Southern Serbia, it is made with chopped peppers, while ground dry peppers - aleva are used elsewhere, giving it a red color.
Depending on the type and amount of peppers, urnebes can be mildly to very hot. Usually, it is served as a side dish with barbecue.
Sometimes garlic is used.
Baklava
It is characteristic of the cuisines of the Levant, the Caucasus, Balkans, Maghreb, and of Central and West Asia.
Whilst not native to Serbia, you’ll find baklava all over the Balkans and indeed all over the Mediterranean.
This is a sweet pastry which is filled with chopped nuts and honey and usually sprinkled with pistachio nuts.
It’s sticky, it’s sweet, and it’s filling, but you’ll definitely want more than one piece.
Baklava is normally prepared in large pans. Many layers of filo dough, separated with melted butter and vegetable oil, are laid in the pan.
A layer of chopped nuts typically walnuts or pistachios, but hazelnuts are also sometimes used—is placed on top, then more layers of filo.
Most recipes have multiple layers of filo and nuts, though some have only top and bottom pastry.
Before baking at 180 °C, 356 °F, 30 minutes, the dough is cut into regular pieces, often parallelograms which are lozenge-shaped, triangles, diamonds or rectangles.
After baking, a syrup, which may include honey, rosewater, or orange flower water is poured over the cooked baklava and allowed to soak in.
Baklava is usually served at room temperature, often garnished with ground nuts.
Popara
You’ll usually see popara at breakfast, and it is quite heavy, therefore filling you up for the rest of the day.
This is a meal which is made with bread, cheese, kajmak the creamy milky ingredient, milk and water.
This is an accompaniment dish, rather a dish on its own, but again, it will certainly fill you up.
Popara is a dish made with bread. It is mostly made in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Turkey and Montenegro. A warm spoonful of pork lard or kaymak is poured over the popara.
Main Ingredients:
- One or two-day-old or fresh bread with a thick crust.
- Milk, water or tea
- Butter
- A teaspoon of sugar
- kaymak, feta or white cheese or local cheese
Krofne
Krofne is a doughnut and it can be filled with various different ingredients, such as jam, chocolate, or even marmalade, custard or cream.
The most common filling is jam or chocolate, and you can easily grab and eat on the go if you have a sweet craving.
Palacinke
Again, you’ll find regional variations of palacinke all over the Balkans and Europe, but the Serbian version is quite delicious.
This is a crepe or pancake, and it is traditionally filled with cream, chocolate sauce, biscuit, walnuts and sometimes honey.
You’ll easily find them all over the place, either as street food or in dedicated shops, that’s how popular they are and there is also a savoury version to try, which is often filled with cheese or ham.
Pecenje
This means roasted meat and you’ll usually find all over the country in various forms.
A must-have meal at big celebrations, such as weddings.
Pecenje is usually a whole roast pork joint, a whole lamb joint, or even goat, depending on your preference, and is served with various side dishes.
It is always served in thick slices, and in great abundance, so expect to be full.
As you can see Serbian food won’t let you stay hungry.
These are just a few Serbian dishes to try while enjoying your vacation in Serbia.
Tourism Observer
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