Kacamak (Cornmeal)

Ingredients:

• 400g. Cornmeal
• 1l. water
• Salt
• Oil

Kacamak that is also known as: Kačamak, kachamak or bakrdan is a traditional dish in Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro that is made of cornmeal/cornflour. Instructions for the recipe are very simple:

Put water in a deep bowl, bring to the boil, add salt and gradually add the corn flour, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. The mash should be medium thick.

Cook for half an hour and when cooked pour over with hot fat or oil. You can add potatoes, cheese, hot pepper or kaymak. Serve with yogurt or sour milk

Kacamak (Cornmeal)

Russian Salad (Ruska Salata)

Ingredients:

• 3 potatoes, boiled and chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 can of green peas
• 300g. of ham, chopped
• 300g. mayonnaise
• 100g. olives, chopped
• 5 pickled cucumbers, chopped
• salt to taste

Cook the potatoes and after that cut into slices as same as the carrots, ham, olives and cucumbers. Take all the ingredients (except mayonnaise) in a serving bowl and mix all slowly.

Add salt to taste. You can add pepper too. Now mix it all with mayonnaise. You can garnish with parsley and olives.

Keep in fridge at least for an hour before serving. Try Russian Salad with kiflichki instead of bread. Enjoy

Russian Salad (Ruska Salata)

The Taste of Mediterranean Cuisine

The deep, blue sea named the Mediterranean (or Med) gives heart and life to the countries around her. The Mediterranean got its name from Latin and means “middle of the Earth” or “inland”. People in this region took the sea as the main trading source, so, obviously, people around the Mediterranean share more than a beach and water; they share history, a bit of culture and of course overlapping cuisines. They have created a varied and cosmopolitan cuisine which is one of the most famous cuisines that exist in this world. Like everything in the Mediterranean that is special, so does the Meditation cuisine is special too; every tiny detail that it owns is special; starting from Mediterranean food through out Mediterranean cooking to Mediterranean dishes. The Mediterranean cuisine could be roughly divided into three dining regions: southern European, North African and eastern Mediterranean, but it has also made an enormous influence in many cuisines. This cuisine is considered to be one of the most exotic cuisines in the World.

Keys of Mediterranean Dining

The main keys of every Mediterranean dish are the perfectly grown vegetables. All Mediterranean dishes are abundant with vegetables like peppers, onions, eggplants, mushrooms, cucumbers, squashes, garlic, artichokes and various lettuces and greens. What makes this cuisine one of a kind is the fact that the basic in the Mediterranean cooking is the usage of many herbs like basil, rosemary, mint, cilantro, oregano, parsley, dill and fennel. The heart of the Mediterranean dinning is seafood. Shellfish are extensively used in many Mediterranean dishes from stews, soups, pastas to salads. Also, anchovies are mostly eaten in the Mediterranean region, and there are many ways to prepare this fish. As well, ell, swordfish, octopus, monkfish, squid and cuttlefish are the other fish that are predominantly served.

Source for meats in Mediterranean dinning are smaller animals like goats, lambs, pork, rabbit and sheep. Beef, on the other, is uncommon for this cuisine. In addition, another key of Mediterranean dinning is the usage of olive oil. Almost all Mediterranean dishes start with olive oil. What is more about the Mediterranean cuisine is that it has mouth-watering wines especially famous are the Balkan wines. Wine is the most famous preserved drink, and it is said that Mediterranean dish is not complete if there is no wine.

Pita Bread - The Core of Every Mediterranean Dish

One of the specialties that stand for the Mediterranean cuisine is pita bread, which is a round pocket bread extremely used in all Mediterranean countries including the Middle eastern and the Balkans. Interesting about pita bread is the way of the Mediterranean cooking of the “pocket” in its middle. The “pocket” is made by stream that wisps out the dough; and as the bread flattens and cools, then the pocket is left in the middle of the bread. This pita bread could be found in all forms and sizes. Moreover the Mediterranean cooking has an interesting way of baking this bread: under “sač” which is a large lid, and the bread is covered with the “sač”, and then goal and ashes are put on the lid. Also, baking in brick oven is recommended. This kind of Mediterranean cooking is used in Montenegrin cuisine, Greece cuisine, Croatian cuisine, Turkish cuisine and many more.

We could say that pita bread is used with everything! People fill the “pocket” with everything like a sandwich. In the Greece cuisine pita bread is the main component of pita-gyros and pita-souvlaki. Also, it is consumed with dips like tzatziki. Furthermore, pita in Turkish cuisine (or pide) is used for all pizza-like meals, and here it has a soft texture and it has not got a pocket. One of the pizza-like Mediterranean Turkish dish is lahmacun. Also, pita bread is widely used in whole Balkan countries. In addition, pita bread is sacred to the people where it is used, so there are many customs connected with pita bread. One of them is the pita bread with a hidden coin in it used on the night before Christmas Eve.

Mediterranean Cuisine – World’s Healthy Diet

It is believed that Mediterranean dinning is very healthy, so the modern nutritionists have made a special diet named the Mediterranean diet. Furthermore, it is said that Mediterranean cooking stands for naturally healthy eating. All healthy diets contain vegetables, fish and vegetables which are the keys of Mediterranean dining. UNESCO has recognized Mediterranean diet as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Italy, Greece, Spain and Morocco in 2010. Thos diet has made a great impact in every aspect of human health. Researches have shown that the traditional Mediterranean food prepared with the Mediterranean cooking reduces the risk of heart disease, a reduced incidence of cancer and cancer mortality, and a reduced incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

To conclude, Mediterranean cuisine isn’t ruled by a single culture, it is a creation of cultural exchange and influence, thus you can be easily confused about the Mediterranean dishes because many countries serve the same dish. It is a highly rich cuisine, with many interesting ingredients. Fresh vegetables, fruits, fish and the high level of olive oil usage make the Mediterranean cuisine World’s number one healthy diet recognized by many famous nutritionists. Also, there would not be a Mediterranean dish if there is no pita bread and wine.

Books about Mediterranean cuisine:

• Secrets from Coastal Italian Kitchens by Academia Barilla
• Islands of the Mediterranean by HF Ullmann
• Delicious Recipes from the World's Healthiest Cuisine by Martha Rose Shulman
• Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Dummies by Meri Raffetto

Photo: maveric2003

The Taste of Mediterranean Cuisine

Overview of Serbian Cuisine

Another Balkan cuisine which has been influenced by the neighbouring countries is Serbian cuisine. This cuisine is made of mixed traditions, and you could see the influence of Mediterranean, Turkish, Austrian and Hungarian cuisines. Moreover, Serbian cuisine is very strong and rich, and its meals are based mostly on meat and dairy products. Daily Serbians have three meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. The largest and most important is the lunch.

Now, we will describe some of the most famous dishes in Serbia only to give you a clue how the Serbian cuisine looks like. First, we would start with cheese, which Serbians use in almost every meal. The cheese varies in taste and shape depending in which area of Serbia it is produced. It could be from soft and creamy like sremski cheese to hard like sjenica cheese, but the best cheese could be found east of the Morava River. One of the rare authentic specialties is kajmak, and the most recommended kajmak is the one from the Cacak area.

Another product without which a Serbian meal could not be imagined is bread. Also, the bread is used for religious rituals, for example a traditional Serbian welcome is to offer the guest only bread and salt. It is believed that to throw bread is sinful no matter how old the bread is. What is on a special place in Serbian cuisine is gibanica and burek. Gibanica is layered cake filled with various fillings. It could be salty or sweet, and the fillings could be made of cabbage, spinach, cherries, poppy seeds and etc, but the real Serbian gibanica is the one made of cheese and kajmak served with a glass of yoghurt. Burek is a stuffed dough layers with meat or cheese.

Furthermore barbecue is placed on the highest ladder of Serbian food. Everyone enjoys in chevapchichi (grilled minced-meat fingers) served with kajmak and a lots of chopped onion. Pljeskavica, vešalica, muckalica are other Serbian grilled meat specialties. If you could not make up your mind what kind of Serbian barbecue to choose, you can order a mixed plate of grilled meat which is a portion that has a bit of everything. Leskovacka grill is the most famous barbecue not only in Serbia, but in the whole Balkan region.

What is more in the Serbian cuisine are soups. These are frequently used before the main meal and the most common soups are the simple pottage made of beef or poultry with vegetables and noodles. Riblja corba is the soup that stands out in taste and quality. Also, sarma and prebranec are traditional meals in Serbia. Sarma is found in every Balkan country, and the way of preparation is same: minced meat rolled in pickled cabbage leafs, while prebranec is cooked white beans with onion, salt, dry paprika and oil, also it is common to put sausages, bacon or dried ribs in it.

Serbian cakes are very sweet with lots of fruit, nuts or cream. Slatko is eminent Serbian sweet specialty that represents a conserving fruit similar to jam. One of the most used beverages is rakija, a kind of a brandy. Also there are different kinds of rakija named after the name of the fruit that they are made of like: jabukovica (apple brandy), lozovaca (grape brandy), šljivovica (plum brandy) and many more. In addition to the beverages, wine and beer are also very popular drinks in Serbian cuisine.

To sum up, Serbian cuisine is another cuisine on the Balkan region and the different influences during the years of its existence makes it a very heterogeneous. It has very mouth-watering meals that certainly will make you try everything. Serbian barbecue is a must!

Overview of Serbian Cuisine

Balkan Wines – Balkan Wineries

The beverage that has marked the whole era of humankind is wine. The Romans and Greeks worshiped Dionysus, also known as Bacchus, as the god of wine and merriment. Moreover, wine is important for many religious traditions, such as the Jewish Passover and the Christian Eucharist. It seems that wine has been around us ever since the first men’s footstep. Also, it is believed that wine first appeared in the Balkans around 4500 BC, so here is a small overview of Balkan wineries.

Bulgaria

On one hand, there is Bulgaria which produces wines since the Thracian times. Due to administrative reasons, the vineyards in Bulgaria are classified into five regions, and there are no vineyards only around the capital city, Sofia. One of the wine regions is the Eastern Region, which is affected by the Black Sea climate, and white wine is the most produced wine in this region. Some of the most famous wineries are Varna and Khan Krum. Another region is the Northern Region, and in this area it is produced white and red wine. Well-known wineries from this region are Russe, the Suhindol and Svishtov. Next on this list is the Southern Region which the most familiar for its red wines, and Plovdiv and Assenovgrad are the most eminent wineries. Another wine region is South-Western Region which has the warmest climate of all regions, and red wine is its special. The vineyard that marks this region is Melnik. Finally, the Sub-Balkan Region is the last in this list. This region produses red wine the most, and the recognized winery is Sliven.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

On the second hand, there is Bosnia and Herzegovina with its unique wine taste. The wineries in this country are few, but the wine is one of a kind, and there is no even similar taste no where in the world. The oldest winery in the country is Hepok Vinarija. This winery is founded in 1886 during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Another winery, which is very exclusive, is Brkic wine family cellar. What makes this winery one-and-only is that there is produced high quality wines, Zilavka and Blatina, which are symbols of the country.

Montenegro Montenegro, one of the youngest country in Europe is next on our wine list. Only the south part of the country is suitable for wine growing. The leading “force” in Montenegro is Plantaze, which is the major producer of bottled wine in the former Yugoslavia. It produces Krstac which is wine made of the same called grape only grown in Montenegro and Serbia.

Romania

One of the world’s largest wine makers is Romania, which has same climate as France, the wine country. Romania has four wine regions. One is Tarnave which produces the fruity wines due to the cool climate, and famous wineries in this region are Medias, Tarnaveni, Valea Nirajului, Zagar, Jidvei, Blaj and many more. Another region is Dealu Mare translated as Big Hill. Because it is old in tradition, this region is believed to be the cradle of red wines. The eminent vineyards are Ceptura, Tohani, Urlati, Valea Calugareasca, Tohani, Pietroasa and Breaza. Then, on our list comes Cotnary which produces the sweatiest wines in Romania. Frumusica, Cotnari and Cucuteni are well-known wineries in the region. Finally, Murfatlar is the one of the most important wine regions in Romania. It is placed near the Black Sea which provides needed humidity and freshness in growing grape. Vineyards that mark this region are Medgidia, Cernavoda, and Adamclisi.

Croatia

Another Balkan country that has perfect wine is Croatia. Its wine has very long history since 5th century BC when the wine was introduced by the Greek settlers, and since then Croatian wine has reaching its peak over and over again. Croatia produces 700 types of wine and has over 300 vineyards which are divided into costal and interior wine regions.

Slovenia

Furthermore, the country that kept the wine heritage is Slovenia which has several wine regions that will last forever. One of them is known as Goriska Brda which produces high quality wine. Another one is the coastal region Kras near the city Koper. Moreover, Podravski or also known as the valley of the Drava River and Posavski or the valley of Sava River are regions that produce unique wine typically only for Slovenia.

Macedonia

Nothing goes without the heart of the Balkan, Macedonia. This country is also placed on our list of Balkan wine countries. Macedonia is sunny, mountainous country whose climate is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea, which makes Macedonian wine only one of its kinds. Furthermore, Macedonian vineries produce all kinds of wine. The dominant role in wine making has Tikves which produces 2/3 of Macedonian wine. This vinery is placed in the centre of the country, and it covers cities Negotino and Kavadarci. Demir Kapija is another town famous for the wine production. Almost all cities in Macedonia have vineries with brilliant wines which taste amazingly.

Serbia

The last one on our list is Serbia. Same like the other Balkan countries, Serbia has an excellent climate for producing wine. Also it has several wine regions which create unique wines. Kinds of grape that are symbols of Serbia are Temjanika and Prokupac.

To conclude, all countries on the Balkan are perfectly wine makers having very old tradition in the production of a quality wine. I could say that wine is embedded deeply in human culture and society especially in the Balkans. Another eminent proof that Balkans is the cradle of wine is the fact that all countries have wine festivals such as Wine Fest in Sarajevo, Tikveski Grozdober in Kavadarci, Vinoskop in Skopje, Vinaria in Plovdiv, Wine Gourmet Festival in Zagreb and many, many more. Your choice is to came, try some wine, try some traditional Balkan dishes and have a wonderful time on the Balkan.

Balkan Wines – Balkan Wineries

Shopska Salad

Ingredients:

• 500g. tomatoes
• 2 cucumbers
• 1 onion
• 200g. cheese
• 1 green hot pepper
• oil and salt

Wash tomatoes, peel and cut into slices. Peel onion and chop finely. Peel cucumbers too and cut into cubes.

Mix all slowly, pour over with oil, sprinkle with grated or crumbled cheese and with small hot pepper cut into rounds.

This delicious salad is often consumed with rakija or mastika.

Shopska Salad

Belgrade Almond Cake

Ingredients:

• 8 eggs
• 125 g. sugar
• 100 g. almonds (skinned and cut in small pieces)
• 50 g. flour

Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Beat the egg yolks with sugar and add the almonds. Mix the egg whites with the flour until it becomes a thick substance. Spoon the almond mixture in the egg white mixture and then pour everything in a buttered and floured cake pan. Bake the cake in a preheated oven on 190°C for about 45 minutes. After the cake cool down, cut it into three layers.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 10 egg yolks
• 125 gr.sugar
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1.2 l. milk
• 1 vanilla pod (ground)
• 380 g. butter

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar, add flour and mix well. Stir in the milk and add vanilla. Cook this mixture au bain marie, stirring all the time until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the fire and stir until it becomes cool again. Cream the butter with a mixer and add it to the filling.

Spread the filling over the three layers of the cake and put the cake together again. Cover the complete outside of the cake with the remained filling. Decorate the cake with some almonds and let it cool down completely before serving.

Source: Zofona.com

Belgrade Almond Cake

Serbian Fisherman's Soup

Ingredients:

• 500g. small greshwater fish
• 1/2l. water
• 2 onions
• 1 paprika
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 200-300g. sterlet or catfish
• 1tbsp. tomato puree's
• 1dl. white wine
• salt and pepper

Fisherman's soup in Serbia is known as riblja čorba and this recipe originates from the Hungarian cuisine. Here are the directions for preparing:

Clean small fish, wash, cut into halves, add chopped onion and garlic, paprika's cut into bigger strips, sprigs of parsley. Pour in cold water and simmer until all is tender. Pass through a sieve, add tomato, salt, pepper, bring to the boil again and then add pieces of sterlet or catfish. Pour in white wine and simmer for another 20 minutes.

Serbian Fisherman's Soup

Sarma

Ingredients:

• cabbage or grape-vine leaves
• 1 coffee cup with rice
• 2 onion pieces
• 0,5kg. mixed ground meat
• 250g. steamed meat
• oil, pepper, salt and spices

Sarma is a traditional meal in the most of the Balkan countries especially for Christmas Eve. It is a heavy dish and usually eaten in the winter days. Here are the directions how to prepare this meal:

Rinse well the leaves, pour over with hot water and drain. Cut the onion into small pieces and fry it on oil. Add ground meat, red pepper, pepper, salt, spices and rice. Then use the mixture to stuff the pickled cabbage or grape-vine leaves. Line them up in a pot, but first line up pickled cabbage at the bottom of the pot.

Put the steamed meat in between the stuffed cabbage leaves. Then, spill over sarma some hot water and boil it on a silent fire and then put them in the oven to bake.

By the end of the baking you can add some oil and red pepper, which have been fried before. Cover the pieces with pickled cabbage leaves. The whole has to be dry, not very moist. You can serve sarma with sour cream or yogurt.

Sarma

Karadjordje steak

Ingredients:

• 500g. of pork steaks
• 150g. of kajmak
• 2 eggs
• flour
• bread crumbs
• salt
• toothpicks

Beat the steaks with hammer until they are thin and soft. Cover one side of steaks with "kajmak". Rool the meat like a pancake and fasten it with toothpick. First, dip the steaks into flour, then dip them into mixed eggs and, finally, roll them into bread crumbs.

Fry the steaks in the heated oil until they get brown-yellow colour. You can add some fried potatoes and tartar sauce ass add-on. Serve with red wine.

Source: balkanrecipes.awardspace.com

Karadjordje steak

Tulumbe

Ingredients:
For the dough:

• 1/2l. water
• 2dl. oil
• 1/2kg. flour
• 5-6 eggs
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 sachets vanilla sugar or 1 vanilla-bean
• oil for frying

For the syrup:

• 800g. sugar
• juice of 1 lemon

Heat water and add oil. Bring to the boil, add vanilla and blend in flour, mixing all the time. Simmer until the mixture is smooth, slightly "sticking" to the bottom of the pan. Cool a little, then add eggs one by one. After adding each egg, work well and leave to stand for a while every time.

When ready, put the dough into the confectioner's pipe with a broader star-like nozzle. Heat oil. When hot enough, press out pieces of dough about 5-7cm long. Fry on all sides until nicely brown.

Cook sugar, water and lemon juice for 10-15 minutes and then cool. Pour cooled syrup over warm cakes. Serve cold.

Photo: Wikipedia

Tulumbe

Serbian rice with meat

Ingredients:

• 500g. veal meat
• 10g. ham
• 1 big onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 250g. green paprika (peppers)
• 250g. carrots
• 375g. tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons oil
• salt
• 375ml. bouillon
• hot red pepper
• pepper
• 175g. parboiled rice
• 1 bunch of parsley

Cut the meat in cubes. Chop the peeled onions and peeled garlic (very fine). Slice paprika, carrots and tomatoes. Roast meat and chopped ham with oil in a pan and season with salt. Roast onions, garlic and paprika. Cook the carrots in the bouillon for 10 minutes, add tomatoes, meat, ham, rice and the other vegetables, season with salt, red pepper and pepper. Put the food in a heat-resistant form and gratinate in the preheated oven at 200°C for 50 minutes. Before serving decorate with fine chopped parsley.

Source: Chris_fra.tripod.com

Serbian rice with meat

Ajvar

Ingredients:

• 4 aubergines
• 8-12 fresh red paprika
• chili peppers to taste
• 1-2 dl. oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar)
• salt and pepper to taste

Ajvar is a popular appetizer made of roasted paprika, ripe tomatoes, and even string beans can be combined into ajvar. Ajvar is a seasonal dish in Macedonia, Serbia and other former parts of Yugoslavia, always made in late summer and early autumn, just after the paprika harvest, when many households bottle their own ajvar for use throughout the winter season. Here are the directions:

Wash aubergines, drain, put into the heated oven (175-200°C) and bake then peel while still warm. Wash paprika's, wipe and dry fry on top the stove, then put into deeper dish, sprinkle with cold water, cover and leave to cool. Skin cooled paprika's and remove seed. Grind paprika's and aubergines together. Peel onion, chop finely, cook slowly in heated oil until quite soft. Towards the end add cleaned and crushed garlic, cook shortly together, set aside, add ground paprika's and aubergines and mix (very often ajvar is prepared without adding onion and garlic).

Turn all into a deeper dish and drip in oil slowly, stirring all the time. When all the oil is used, add lemon juice or vinegar, salt, pepper and mix well. Put into a bowl, shape nicely, sprinkle with more pepper if desired and pour over with some more oil.

Serve as an appetizer to spread on thick slices of country-style white bread or flat pita bread with chunks of feta cheese, or use as a side dish to accompany grilled or roasted meats.

Ajvar is put into small clean jars pressed tightly so that there are no bubbles in them and the jars covered with cellophane ot parchment.

Worth reading:

• His Majesty - Ajvar by Cherry blossom girl

Ajvar

Gypsy chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 ½ medium onions chopped
• 1 green pepper (thinly sliced)
• 1 sweet red bell pepper (thinly sliced)
• 1 yellow bell pepper (thinly sliced)
• a handful of mushrooms sliced
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 tbsp lemon juice, fresh or bottled

Gypsy chicken is a traditional Serbian recipe for a classic dish of pan-fried breaded chicken breasts served with a mushrooms and sauce. Here is the full recipe:

Pound meat until very thin. Salt and pepper. Dip chicken breasts into egg, then in bread crumbs. Heat oil and butter together over medium heat. Sauté until golden (about 15 minutes). Remove to another pan and keep warm.

Add onions to the skillet. Sauté until limp but not brown. Add peppers and cook till limp. Add mushrooms cook just till warmed.

Add flour and stir it around. Add the broth and stir till the sauce thickens and is smooth. Add the cream and lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the chicken breasts that have been placed on the individual plates.

Source: Gourmed.gr

Gypsy chicken

Stuffed peppers

Ingredients:

• 10-15 bigger paprikas/peppers
• 1-1.5dl. oil
• 2 onions
• 150g. rice
• 700g. mixed ground meat
• salt and pepper
• ground hot paprika
• tomato
  
• lukewarm water

Stuffed peppers, Punjena paprika (Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro), Polneti piperki (Macedonia), Pulnena paprika/Pulneni chushki (Bulgaria) or Ardei umpluti (Romania) is a famous Balkan dish consisting of paprikas/peppers filled with mixture of meat and rice. There are many variations of stuffed peppers across Balkan countries but here we present you the basic recipe that can you modify by taste:

Slice the tops off the peppers. Pull out the seeds and the cores. Dip them in warm water and leave to get soft.

Heat oil, add finely chopped onion, cook it slowly until sloghtly brown. Pick over rice, wash and cook in salted water, rise, drain and add to soft onion, then stirr in meat. Cook slowly together, add salt, pepper and ground paprika. Cool a little.

Place the pepper shells in a baking dish that will hold them snugly together. Spoon the filling into the peppers. Replace the tops with peace of tomato. Pour 3 tablespoons of water around the peppers and bake for about 30 minutes in the oven preheated to 175°C until filling is puffed and the peppers are soft. Serve warm or cold.

Stuffed peppers

Serbian trout in kaymak

Ingredients:

• 1 trout of 1,5kg.
• 1 lemon
• 200g. kaymak
• 50g. white flour
• 1 small garlic
• 1dl. of wine vinegar
• salt

Clean fish, wash well, wipe, cut into bigger pieces, sprinkle with lemon juice and salt. Leave to stand like that about 30-40 minutes. Roll fish in flour, put into the frying pan in which kaymak has been melted (about 150g.). Fry at low heat. In the meantime peel the garlic, crush well with salt and chop, add wine vinegar and mix. When fish is fried nicely on both sides, take it out and place in a warmed dish. Each layer should be poured over with mixture of vinegar and garlic, and then pour the rest of kaymak over the whole dish.

Related recipes:

• Trout in Ohrid manner

Serbian trout in kaymak

Mussaka with ham from Bachka

Ingredients:

• 1kg. potatoes
• 200-250g. minced or ground ham
• 1dl. oil or 50g. lard
• 150g. kachkaval cut into thin slices
• salt and pepper

B'echame sauce:

• 40g. butter or margarine
• 20g. flour
• 2-2.5dl. milk
• 1/2dl. sour cream
• 1 egg yolk

Peel potatoes and cook in mildly salted water. When tender, drain and cut into rounds. Grease a fireproof dish with some oil or lard. Put in layers of potatoes, ham and cheese in turn. Sprinkle each layer of potatoes with salt and pepper and with some oil or melted lard. Repeat until all is used, finish with potatoes.
Pour b'echamel sauce over mussaka: heat butter, add flour, fry a little but do not let it brown, slowly pour in cold, than warm milk. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Beat well sour cream and egg, add to cooled b'echamel, stirring all the time. Bake in oven preheated to 200°C about 30 minutes, until brown.

Serve with lettuce, betroth salad or the like.

Mussaka with ham from Bachka

Prebranac

Ingredients:

• 700g. of large white beans
• 700g. onion
• 1 large carrot
• 3 bay leaves
• paprika powder
• salt and pepper
• oil

Put beans in a cold water and let it boil for about 10 minutes. Discard water and replace it with new, hot water. Add salt and sliced carrot. Cook until beans get cooked but each bean must remain solid. Take beans from water and dry it but keep the water.

Chop onion in large ribs and put in hot oil until it becomes golden brown. Add 1 tablespoon of paprika powder, mix it well for 30 sec and remove from the heat. Take onion from oil and mix with beans and bay leaves. Put it in a large and deep bowl pour with some water that left after cooking. Put beans in owen and bake it until the top becomes dark brown.

Prebranac can be served both hot or cold and depending on amount of water you put, it can be almost completely dry or it can be like very thick sauce. Try it. It is really great.

Source: Hangrybrowser.com

Related recipes:

• Macedonian gravche-tavche

Prebranac

Sour cherry pie from Vojvodina

Ingredients:

• 500g. ready-made layers of dough for the pie
• 100g. ground walnuts or breadcrumbs
• 1dl. oil or melted butter for sprinkling
• 1kg. sour cherries
• 300g. sugar
• 2 sachets vanilla sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1dl. double cream
• powdered sugar for dusting
• oil or butter for greasing

Wash sour cherries, drain and remove stones. If frozen, thraw out. Leave them in a sieve or strainer so as not to be too juicy. Take 3 dough layers at time, sprinkle each with oil or butter. Sprinkle the third with some ground walnuts or breadcrumbs. Mix sour cherries and sugar, put some over the dough layers, sprinkle with vanilla sugar, roll up and place in a greased cake tin. Repeat until all the dough layers and cherries have been used. Bake for 30-40 minutes i the oven preheated to 170°C until slightly brown. If wanted, the pies can be brushed with well beaten egg yolks and cream, when the pies are half-baked. In that case turn the heat up towards the end, to brown nicely.

Sour cherry pie from Vojvodina

Mixed kebabs

Ingredients:

• 250g. chicken without bones
• 250g. chicken, goose or turkey livers
• 250g. turkey without bones
• 100g. smoked bacon
• 50g. butter
• oil for the grill

Wash meat, wipe and cut into nice ares. Thread on to smaller skewers meat liver and bacon in turn. Grill on medium heated gridiron and turn while grilling. When done, take kebabs off skewers, arrange over cooked rice and pour heated butter over. With kebabs serve lettuce, mixed paprikas and tomato salad, beetroot salad and others.

Related recipes:

• Osmanli kebabs

Mixed kebabs