Food - Drink
Ćevapi: The Classic Balkan Dish You Should Know About
By SYLVIA TOMCZAK
The Balkan Mountains of southeastern Europe cross countries including Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Slovenia. While each nation boasts a unique culinary identity, Balkan cuisine tends to consist of stuffed vegetables, cheeses, and stews, but also a few grilled meat dishes such as ćevapi.
Also known as ćevapčići, ćevapi is a skinless sausage made from a blend of meats (preferably twice-ground) such as beef, pork, veal, or lamb, and flavored with salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, and parsley. The mince is hand-rolled into thick, short sausages and traditionally grilled over hot coals for several minutes.
Ćevapi dates back to the Ottoman Empire, when the Balkan region was under Turkish rule, and the dish is comparable to Turkish kofta. Ćevapi can be made at home using a recipe by Serious Eats, and are best paired with lepinja (flatbread), ajvar (red pepper spread), kaymak (clotted sour cream), and sliced onions.