A Taste of Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina recieved their independence fairly recently as far as countries are concerned. In fact it hasn't even been twenty years since they officially became independent from Yugoslavia. I actually knew someone from Bosnia when I went to middle school and because of the Bosnian wars in the 90s his parents had immigrated to the states to escape the horrors that were going on. Because many of the people in Bosnia are Muslim, they primarily eat beef and lamb along with plenty of vegetables. Traditional Bosnian dishes do not exclude meat and of course everyone has heard of Baklava, which is a very traditional desert. In fact the guy I know once brought Baklava his grandmother had made and I definitely have a long way to go before my Baklava is as good as hers was. Meat is typically grilled, although sometimes raw smoked meat is served. I went with one of the most tradtional Bosnian recipes I could find, a type of kebab called Ćevapi.

Ćevapi is a small sausage that is made from a mix of two types of minced meat, often beef and lamb. These little sausages are then grilled and served on a type of flatbread called Lepinja. Typically one serving of Ćevapi is four to six sausages and toppings may include onions, tomatoes, and a cream called pavlaka, which is a bit like sour cream. Both the sausages and bread are best served hot right from the grill or oven, but that's nothing new since we all know food is best when fresh.

To mince my lamb meat I stuck it in a food processor for no more than a couple "pulses" and I can say you definitely don't want it to be ground any more than needed or it might become dense sawdust while cooking. Something you never want. I mixed it with ground beef and added a little bit of onion, garlic, and mild chili. You can actually make these little guys as hot or mild as you want. Lacking a grill, I used a griddle and then broiled them for about 2 minutes to brown them. I also made my very own Lepinja (I know, I went all out for this meal! Two recipes in one dish!) I found the flatbread very easy to work with and boy did it come out delicious! I ate half a piece while waiting for my Ćevapi to finish.

The German in me was very happy with this meal, the sausages were very flavorful and I loved the addition of the mild pepper and served on steaming Lepinja with onions, yum. This is definitely what I think of when I hear the word "street food." I ended up eating the rest of my Lepinja for breakfast after warming it up a little and slathering it with butter and jam, delicious. Don't expect the flatbread to last more than a day, mine was definitely on its way to becoming stale. The sausages tasted almost as good for an afternoon snack, but are also much better fresh. Overall, my Ćevapi meal was a success and I definitely want to try them on a grill in the future.