Meat is the main hero in the palette of rich Serbian cuisine
A red-and-white checkered tablecloth, national music a bit louder than usual, a waiter in a white shirt (usually a man), a seemingly unremarkable establishment or, on the contrary, a designer one – it will be delicious everywhere. Meeting Serbian cuisine goes like this: they hand you a menu with the words “Good afternoon, please!” and then the feast begins. «Lenta.ru» invites you to dive into the world of mysterious ćevapčići, čorbe, pljeskavice, and mućkalice.
Serbian cuisine is always from the heart, plentiful and overflowing. Those who care about their figure should order half portions so as not to harm their waistline and not offend the establishment owner.
Yes, not finishing a dish in Serbia is always an insult, meaning you didn't like it. The helpful phrase «Vrlo ukusno, ali više ne mogu» («Very tasty, but I can't eat any more») sometimes helps to smooth over the awkwardness. Of course, there is a possibility that too filling dishes may not appeal to some. But most often, getting to know Serbian cuisine ends in sincere and long-lasting love.
Meat – the very foundation
The core of Serbian cuisine, its heart and soul, is meat. Lots of meat. Being a vegetarian in Serbia is possible, but it's not easy. Serbian cooks and housewives do everything with meat (well, except eat it raw): boil, stew, bake, smoke, and most importantly – grill over coals. Of course, all Serbian dishes deserve attention, but pljeskavica and ćevapčići stand out. They can be ordered in an expensive restaurant or tried in practically any street eatery.
Pljeskavica is a huge grilled patty made from different types of meat, usually ground twice. There are variations: pljeskavica stuffed with bacon, cheese, and hot pepper; pljeskavica with kajmak (salted clotted cream), etc. In a restaurant it is served with a side dish, for example, French fries and onions. On the street, pljeskavica is offered in freshly baked buns with various additions – tomatoes, cucumbers, sour cream, cabbage, ketchup, mayonnaise, etc.
Ćevapčići are minced sausages grilled over coals (similar to lula kebab, only smaller). They are made from different types of meat – pork, beef, lamb. Like pljeskavica, in restaurants ćevapčići are served with a side dish, and in street cafes – in buns with additions. Serbs always know where in the city the «most delicious» pljeskavica or ćevapčići are made. However, don't be surprised that each Serb will have their own «most delicious» place.
Another popular Serbian meat dish that appeared relatively recently, in the mid-20th century, but has managed to conquer the hearts and stomachs of gourmets – Karađorđeva šnicla (Karadjordje's schnitzel). Its prototype was the Kiev cutlet, and its origin story is in some way connected to Russia. The daughter-in-law of the long-time Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito, a Russian by birth, once ordered a Kiev cutlet at a restaurant in Belgrade. The chef did not have chicken meat or butter, and he decided to make something similar by wrapping kajmak in a veal escalope.
Today Karađorđeva šnicla can be chicken, pork, or veal, served with a side dish and tartar sauce; the filling can be not only kajmak but also cheese, ham, smoked pork neck. This dish is so popular that sometimes even in street fast food you can find sandwiches with Karađorđeva šnicla.
In the meat palette of Serbian cuisine there are also such bright accents as uštipci po leskovački (small patties with hard cheese and bacon), ražnjići (skewers of different meats), ordinary grill sausages (not ćevapčići), mućkalica (meat with vegetables, grilled and then stewed with vegetables), meat «pod sačem» (most often lamb with potatoes and onions, cooked on a grill in a special dish such that coals are placed both under and on the dish, ensuring even heat distribution, making the meat especially tender and aromatic).
Of course, one cannot imagine Serbian cuisine without stuffed cabbage rolls and stuffed peppers. The main difference from the way we are used to preparing these dishes is that the cabbage rolls are wrapped in fermented cabbage leaves, and smoked meat is added to the filling of these dishes. Another popular meat dish is Serbian moussaka, which came to Serbia from Greek cuisine.
Soup tale
For a starter in Serbia you can order a simple, familiar soup, but it's more interesting to try a real Serbian čorba (the name «čorba» is etymologically related to the word «shurpa»). Čorba is made from veal, lamb, young beef, or fish. Čorba is much thicker and more filling than ordinary soups. One serving of čorba with bread can be quite enough to eat your fill – you should not forget this when ordering both a starter and a main course in a restaurant.
Salads and appetizers
The most famous salads in Serbia are the Serbian salad and the Shopski salad. Both are made from tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions, but the Shopski salad also includes grated feta cheese. In addition, any restaurant offers simple salads: cabbage salad (served dressed with oil and a little vinegar), tomato salad.
The borderline between appetizers and salads are ajvar (chopped roasted bell peppers and eggplants with spices), urnebes (hot pepper, feta cheese, salt and spices), pinđur (resembles ajvar, but made exclusively from eggplants), lutenica (ground roasted peppers, carrots, eggplants, onions, garlic and spices). By the way, ajvar, pinđur, and lutenica have relatively recently become available in Russian stores.
Among meat snacks, one of the most popular is pršut, a Serbian and Balkan analogue of Italian prosciutto and Spanish jamón. It's also worth trying Serbian kulen – a special type of chopped pork sausage with fat and spices; and Sremska sausage – a hard aromatic sausage with red pepper.
Serbian pastries
A separate layer of Serbian culinary culture is Serbian pastries. Bakeries are such a natural thing for Serbia that it's impossible to imagine any Serbian settlement, even the smallest, without them. In a bakery you can have breakfast, have a snack during lunch, or take something for dinner.
One of the classic options for a Serbian breakfast is burek ('snail' with meat, cheese or herbs) with natural yogurt. Bakeries make meat sandwiches, pizza, sweet pastries. It is definitely worth trying gibanica (puff pastry pie with feta cheese), zeljanica (same pie with herbs) and krompiruša (also with potatoes).
To drink
In fruit-rich Serbia, they drink fruit juices and 'bake' fruit brandy – aromatic rakija. They also brew their own beer, and in several regions they make very good wines. Serbs prefer coffee to tea. Serbian coffee is a necessary attribute and companion of any meeting, conversation, meal. Coffee is drunk before meals, after meals and instead of meals. And in Serbia, a country with a huge number of healing natural springs, many brands of mineral water are produced, including naturally carbonated water.
Sweet crown of Serbian dinner
Most Serbian sweets have an Arabic-Turkish flavor. Baklava, halva, Turkish delight, tufahija (apple dessert with sour cream and nuts), tulumba (pastry tubes in sweet syrup), kadaif (a dish of sweet vermicelli topped with sugar or honey syrup) came to Serbian cuisine from the East.
Many sweet Serbian dishes are made from thin puff pastry (called 'kore' in Serbia). It is definitely worth trying a layered pie (pita) with cherries and with apples. Serbian housewives love to make homemade cakes and pastries for dessert. A special pleasure is to finish a delicious dinner with a cup of Serbian coffee with a creamy cake, krempita.