The One Food You Must Try in Bosnia and Herzegovina!
I haven't even left Bosnia and Herzegovina yet, and I'm already prepared to make the statement about the one food you must try here. For those who don't know, this is the third instalment of the One Food Series, so feel free to check out the other two if you're interested with the link just to the left! What I was trying to previously suggest is that I've still got about 27 hours left in this country, and I just know that nothing I try will take the gold medal from the food I'm about to "unveil." I must apologise to my vegetarian and vegan readership with this one (as, you may note, I had to with Romania as well).
As I walked down the streets of Sarajevo yesterday on a perfect spring day, I kept seeing this one particular dish that, shall we say, "called to me." It's not too dissimilar from a dish I appreciate in Turkey, but this really has its own flare and flavour.
The One Food You Must Try in Bosnia and Herzegovina is...cevapi or ćevapčići!
It's pretty much what you think it is...but then again, it's so much more. The "skinless sausages" are formed from two types of minced beef - I don't know the specifics but I'm guessing one is "delicious" and the other is "more delicious." Together, like the Power Rangers combined robot, it's a dangerous thing of beauty.
On their own, these minced beef torpedoes would be sumptuous, but when you ensure that they're served in between a soft, fresh pita-like pocket, and that bread is buttered and lightly grilled on either side, well then you're just inviting people to never leave the restaurant. If that wasn't enough, on the side it's typically served with onions and "kajmak." It's funny, in Turkey "kaymak" is a sweet clotted cream and is often served with honey, but in the Baltics, "kajmak" is actually more sour and cheese-like (think ultra smooth feta meets sour cream.) For someone like me, who prefers savoury over sweet, it's a life changer. Personally, I put the onions and kajmak into it, and sort of attacked it with my knife and fork, but I did have a small inclination to pick it up like the world's most messy, glorious burger and see what happened. You can be the judge about what's best when the time comes for you.
If you get to Bosnia and Herzegovina, do not leave without trying this - I'm serious (with all due respect to veggies and vegans.) On that note, I better get back out there and squeeze in a few touristy stops to justify my next Cevapi. And trust me, they'll certainly be another. I'll leave you with a photo taken yesterday in Mostar just after we'd first tried this dish. Can you see the satisfaction and happiness?
Bri and I atop Mostar's iconic Old Bridge.
Have you been to Bosnia and Herzegovina? What'd you think? Have you tried this particular dish? Do you agree or disagree with me? Feel free to include any, all, or none of these thoughts in the comments below. Either way, I'd love to know what you think!
Cevapi Photo credit: Jakob Gibbons via VisualHunt / CC BY-NC