Balkan beer festivals

Albania

• Festa e birres in Korca

Croatia

• Dani piva in Karlovac
• Rujan fest in Zagreb

Macedonia

• Pivofest in Prilep
• Pivolend in Skopje
• Beer festival in Ohrid

Romania

• Beer festival in Brasov

Serbia

• Beer festival in Belgrade
• Beer festival in Vrnjacka Banja
• Dani piva in Zrenjanin

Slovenia

• BeerFest Slovenia in Ljubljana
• Festival of beer & flowers in Lasko

Balkan beer festivals

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

Red mullets with veggie's

Ingredients:

• 6 smaller red mullets
• 40g. flour
• 2,5-3dl. oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 500g. tomatoes
• 500g. courgettes
• 500g. aubergines
• 3dl. white wine

Clean fish, wash, wipe well, roll in flour and fry in heated oil (about 2 dl.). When fried, drip them with lemon juice, add salt, pepper and chopped parsley (1/2 bunch). Peel courgettes, cut into cubes, peel aubergines, cut into cubes, salt and leave to stand about 30 minutes. Then rinse with cold water and drain.

Cook slowly courgettes and aubergines, in heated oil add salt, pepper and chopped parsley (1/2 bunch). Rub a fireproof dish with cut garlic, grease with oil (left over from cooking) place in fried fish, sprinkle with chopped onion. Cover with peeled tomatoes, cut into rounds, then with cooked courgettes and aubergines.

Bake in the oven preheated to 175°C about 30-35 minutes. Pour wine over at times while baking

Red mullets with veggie's

Thick soup with leeks and cheese

Ingredients:

• 500g. leeks
• 50g. butter
• 40g. flour
• 2dl. cold and 8dl. warm water
• 80g. kashkaval
• 2 eggs
• 1dl. thick yoghurt
• salt
• 1tbsp. chopped celery leaf

Trim leeks, wash, cut into thinner rounds, wash again and drain. Heat butter, add leeks, cook slowly until slightly soft, add flour, fry together until brown, pour in cold and then warm water. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

Towards the end of cooking add grated or crushed cheese. Beat egg yolks well with thick yoghurt, add some soup, mix and add to the ready soup. Before serving add celery and salt to taste.

Thick soup with leeks and cheese

Aubergine sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe aubergines
• 1 onion
• 1/2dl. oil
• 1/2 lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• salt and pepper

Peel aubergines, cut into cubes, add salt, leave to stand for a while, then rinse and drain. Peel onion and chop finely. Heat 3 teaspoon of oil, add onion, cook it a little, then add aubergines, pour in some water and simmer covered until tender. Then pass through a sieve, add the rest of oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper.

Mix all well with a mixer. Serce aubergine sauce very cold with roast or fried fish.

Aubergine sauce