It is true that tastes differ… Still, a large number of people agree on one thing – the treasury of the smells and tastes of traditional Serbian cuisine is very hard to resist. All those delicious ćevapčići, the crunchy komplet lepinja, the magical sarma, the irresistible Karađorđeva steak… Grab a pen because these are Serbian recipes you simply have to write down!
1. Sarma, a dish that never gets old
The title of one of the most favourite and famous Serbian specialties, undisputably belongs to the sarma. This old Serbian dish has been popular for years and years, and as a result there are tens of different recipes for the “best sarma’’. We’ll give you one of them.
Ingredients:
- 1 large head of sauerkraut
- 1 kg mixed minced meat (700 g pork mince and 300 g beef mince)
- A couple of dried pork ribs, smoked sausage
- Rice (a 200 ml cup)
- 600-700 g of onion, 3 cloves of garlic
- Chicken and herb salt, pepper, bay leaf, sweet and spicy paprika powder
- Oil or lard
Instructions:
Heat the oil or lard in a pot and fry the finely chopped onion. Once it gets a golden colour add chopped garlic, the mixed minced meat, rice. Add the chicken and herb salt and pepper according to taste. Also add a lot of sweet paprika powder and a bit of spicy paprika powder. Stir and fry for 15 minutes. Once the meat is fried the next step is the rolling of sarmas. Into each cabbage leaf place about a 2,5 spoonfuls of meat and continue doing so until you run out of the mixture. Once you finish all the rolling, place two to three cabbage leaves on the bottom of the deeper pot and then begin packing the sarmas on across the pot. In between each layer of cabbage rolls place pieces of the chopped pork ribs, smoked sausage, and a couple of bay leaves and peppercorn. In pan, heat about two spoons of lard or oil, add the sweet paprika powder and then pour that over the sarmas. Cover them with 2 to 3 leaves of cabbage, add as much water as necessary and leave to simmer. Cook on stove for about 2 to 2 and a half hours on low heat. The longer it cooks the more delicious it is!
2. Ćevap, the king of Serbian barbeque
Ćevaps, ćevaps, how could anybody say no to you? We can’t give you the recipe for staying away from them, but we can give you one for making the most delicious and scrumptious ćevaps! We chose the one that’s the simplest yet the tastiest of all. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1,5 kg minced beef, ½ kg minced lamb
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- Salt and 2 teaspoons of baking soda
Instructions:
Season the meat with salt, mix it and pour over it a 100 ml of water with onion which you’ve cooked earlier. Mix well with your hands and leave in the fridge overnight. Grind the meat in a meat grinder twice and leave it to warm up to room temperature for a couple of hours. Then put it back in the fridge. Before you start shaping the ćevaps, mix in the baking soda. Enjoy!
If you want to see how the famous Jamie Oliver makes ćevaps, then click here.
3. Karađorđeva steak, the brilliant invention of a Serbian cook
Loved in Serbia and across the globe. The Karađorđeva steak, or as it is also popularly called “a girl’s dream”, is a dish created by chance but a dish that managed to win over many hearts. There are a couple of ways to make the Karađorđeva steak. Here’s one of them!
Ingredients:
- 800 g of pork or veal fillet
- 80–90 g of seasoned kajmak
- 30 g flour
- An egg
- 30 g bread crumbs
- oil
- salt
Instructions:
Slice the fillet so that you get a sizeable steak. Pound the meat until it is thin and soft on both sides. Make one edge of the steak thinner so that it could stick easily one the meat is rolled up. Spread kajmak along the thicker edge and roll the meat into a cylinder shape. Coat the stuffed meat with flour and remove the excess flour. Then dip it into the beaten egg on all sides and then in the bread crumbs. Then roll the meat on a clean surface so that the bread crumbs stick better. Fry in hot oil until golden yellow.
4. Ajvar, the master of winter foods
There’s nothing like homemade ajvar! Precisely for this reason, this Serbian recipe is one you should definitely write down and know. Your family and friends will thank you for it – that’s for sure. So will your stomach! So, let’s start!
Ingredients:
- 30 kg of red bell peppers
- 1 liter of oil
- 200 ml of vinegar
- 1/2 of pa packet of preservatives and salt
5. Komplet lepinja, far from your ordinary flat bun
If you want to try something unusual and tasty, something that will awaken your senses and excite your taste buds, then you simply have to try the komplet lepinja. This dish typical for Zlatibor and Užice will blow your mind. See for yourself!
Ingredients:
- Fresh flat bun
- Kajmak
- An egg
- Pretop (a lard-like substance left after roasting pork or lamb)
Instructions:
Cut the bun horizontally creating a slight dent in the middle so that the bun resembles a pot with a lid. Spread kajmak over the lower part of the bun. Whisk an egg and spread it across the kajmak. Then put the lower part of the bun in a heated oven and bake for about 10 minutes (depending how crispy you like your bun). Put the upper part of the bun in the stove just before you take out the lower so that it can be nice and warm too. After baking them, take the buns and pour hot pretop over them.
6. Vanilice, the best holiday cookie in the world
A simple and irresistibly sweet favourite! The vanilice are one of those cookies which everybody loves and is more than happy to eat! In Serbia they are made on holidays, on special occasions and when there is no special reason at all. The “Food 52” portal declared the Serbian vanilice the best holiday cookie in the world.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg flour
- 500 g lard
- 2 dl yoghurt
- 1 cup of sugar
- 3 packets of vanilla sugar
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Plum or apricot jam
Instructions:
Use a mixer to mix in the lard with the sugar in a bowl, then add yoghurt. Gradually add flour and make smooth dough. Dust the workspace with flour and then spread the dough until it is 5 mm thick. Using a small glass or a mould stamp out the cookies (round shape) and place them in a tray covered with baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C and bake the vanilice for about 15 minutes. Make sure they don’t turn too golden. After they cool take one cookie at a time, spread it with jam and then top with another cookie round. Finally, roll each cookie in the vanilla sugar generously. Enjoy!
7. Prebranac, Serbian baked beans
One of the favourite Serbian dishes is the prebranac, “gravče na tavče” or baked beans. It is popular during the whole year, but during the winter season prebranac takes the place of bean soups.
Ingredients:
- 500 g beans
- 3 dl oil
- 1 kg onion and 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- Paprika powder, ground pepper and salt
Instructions:
Put white beans in a pot, cover them water and bring to a boil. Drain, pour hot water over them and cook until the beans become soft. Then drain them again. Peel an onion and put it to rest in cold water for about ten minutes. Then slice it into thin rounds. Heat one part of the oil and fry the onions until they turn golden. Add a bit of ground pepper, paprika powder and salt. Cover the bottom of the dish with oil and then place the beans evenly. Pour the fried onions over them. Then pour the beans again and the onions again until you run out of beans and onions. Always pour some oil on the layer of onions. The last layer has to be of beans. Put a bay leaf on top as well as two cloves of garlic and a dry hot pepper if you wish. Then pour some oil over that. Cook in a preheated oven for about half an hour. Enjoy!
8. Gibanica, a pie like no other
If you wanted us to name a dish found nowhere else but in Serbia, we would say gibanica – a pie who has “sisters” all over the region, but which is unique to Serbia. And you can describe it with only these words – finger licking!
Ingredients:
- 500 g filo pastry
- 300 g cheese
- 2 small cups of oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- Some salt if the cheese isn’t salty
Instructions:
Whisk eggs with some sparkling water in a bowl, then add oil and crumbled cheese. Mix it well and then add sour cream. Mix again. Oil the baking dish and line the sheets of filo pastry. First put one layer of filo pastry at the bottom of the dish, then crumble two of them,dip them in the mixture and then spread across the dish. Put one layer again, then spread two crumbled dipped ones and repeat until you run out of the mixture. Save one layer of pastry to put on top. Pour the remaining oil over the top layer. Bake in preheated oven on medium heat until golden brown. Serve while hot. Enjoy!
9. Kajmak, irreplaceably good
Whether it’s fresh and sweet or a little more “ripe” and salty, kajmak is a staple at Serbian tables! Serbs use in a number of ways but the best one is considered to be the one from west Serbia. So, why wouldn’t you try to make it yourself? We give you the recipe for a “modern”, quick and easy to make kajmak, because the “proper” kajmak can only be found in a market, ethno restaurant or villages across Serbia.
Ingredients:
- 100 g butter
- 100 g hard feta cheese
- 100 gr sour cream
Instructions:
In a bowl whisk the butter with a fork until it’s fluffy. Add crumbled feta cheese and sour cream. Mix it all well. Note: You don’t need to add salt to the kajmak as the feta cheese is salty on its own. If you like a more mild kajmak, add some cream. This 5 minute kajmak makes a wonderful spread and goes great with ćavaps.
10. Slatko, a scrumptious Serbian welcome
You must have heard about Serbian hospitality, kindness and cordiality. But did you know that all of that is accompanied with a warm welcome that simply can’t go without homemade plum slatko? The famous šljivovica is also made from this fruit, but this time we will give you the recipe for the sweetest slatko (Serbian for sweet)!
Ingredients:
- 1 kg plums
- 1 kg sugar
- Lemon juice
- Vanilla
- Rosette leaf
Instructions:
Slatko is made from slightly ripe plums which are peeled and put in lime water. To make lime water solution dissolve 250 g of lime into 2 l of water, stir and pour 2 more liters of water. Leave it for the lime to fall on the bottom then drain the clear solution (lime water) and put plums in the water. Leave them in this solution for at least an hour and then rinse them well and take out the pips. Using a mix of sugar and 1-2 cups of water make a syrup and cook it on low heat until the mixture reaches the consistency of honey. Add vanilla, lemon slices and a spoon of diluted citric acid. Cooked the prepared plums in this syrup for about 25 minutes and then add the rosette leaves. Take off the stove, cover with a lean, moist cloth and once it has completely cooled pour the slatko in jars.
Enjoy!
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