Satarash: fast and furious four ingredient Balkan vegetable stir fry. Eggs are optional, but recommended. Satarash stir fry is a wholesome breakfast, and a great side too. (BOSANSKI) WHAT IS SATARASH, AKA BALKAN STIR FRY? Satarash doesn’t perfectly fit the description of what’s traditionally defined as a stir fry: ingredients fried in super hot oil,…
Erva’s Very Berry Raspberry Cake
Best, moist vanilla pudding and mixed berries raspberry cake. A dessert that brings the feel of summer wherever you are. (BOSANSKI) Before we get to this delicious vanilla pudding raspberry cake, a quick run down. We’ve been in the neighborhood for sixty years or so. And neighborhoods, they live and breathe. Ours survived recessions and…
Balkan Cornbread (Kukuruza)
Whoever came up with phrase “breaking bread” had no idea they were talking about Balkan cornbread: a slightly sweet, sturdy, comfort staple you don’t use a knife to cut, but break it apart old-school – with your hands. Best eaten a day later in a bowl of milk. (BOSANSKI) TO KNOW GOOD CORNBREAD IS…
Chocolate Pudding Dessert Cup
Three layer chocolate dessert pudding cup is destined to become your go-to for a super fast sugar fix. It’s bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S! (Yes, I went there!) (BOSANSKI) Some people have a talent for whipping up desserts from whatever they find in the pantry at a given moment. While my gifts lie elsewhere, luckily for all of…
Balkan Ratatouille (Đuveč)
Balkan ratatouille (đuveč) is a rich vegetarian dinner dish. (Meat lover? Add grilled chicken or beef on the side.) Let this one simmer for a while… then dip in, not with utensils but with bread. (BOSANSKI) Vegetables are well represented in sauces and stews in Balkan cuisine, and this dish is no exception. It welcomes whatever you…
Stuffed Zucchini (Punjene Tikvice)
Stuffed zucchini: ground beef, rice and spices combined into perfect filling and baked in hollowed zucchini. Forget zucchini boats, these little zucchini cups are the new kids on the block! (BOSANSKI) When we think about which veggies to stuff, zucchini doesn’t come to mind as quickly as stuffed peppers. Shame, really. Zucchini is incredibly soft….
Baby Beef Noodle Soup
Baby beef noodle soup: savory, hot, light and soul enriching. All the qualities of chicken noodle, intensified. (BOSANSKI) According to Balkan mythology two things keep one in tip-top shape: staying away from the all powerful wind draft, and eating something with a spoon every day. I question the draft. I knew a Norwegian who arrived…
Homemade Fresh Fig Jam (Džem od Smokava)
Homemade fresh fig jam without pectin the way it’s made along the Adriatic coast: sweet and succulent. A perfect pairing with toast, prosciutto and cheeses. Equally elegant on a charcuterie board as it is on a warm slice of bread. (BOSANSKI) If fresh figs are like your first kiss… Lush. Intimate. (That moment you lightly…
Potato Soup (Krompir Supa)
Thick, hearty and easy to make potato soup. Don’t let the boring name fool you; along with a thick slice of bread, this one has the potential to be your lunch and dinner! (BOSANSKI) What I remember most about the summer ’93 is the hunger. Deep, disturbing hunger. Thoughts of food, like thoughts of wood…
Apricot Cheesecake
Silky apricot cheesecake based on whipped cream and curd cheese filling plus just the right amount of not-overly-crunchy crust makes for one delicious dessert you’ll put on a rotation in your repertoire. This one comes to you all the way from Austria. (BOSANSKI) This is one fancy apricot cheesecake. Or is it a classic apricot…
Savory Crepes with Spinach and Cheese
Easy to do savory crepes with a spinach and cheese stuffing, and a review of Julia Child’s My Life in France. (BOSANSKI) You grow up on chocolate on bread and you grow up on crepes, if you grow up near my part of Europe. We call them palačinke (pah-lah-cheen-keh) and the batter is more or…
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
A fancy, special-occasion Chocolate Hazelnut Cake that will quickly become your favorite dessert. Not only are the hazelnut health benefits sky-high, but the taste is reminiscent of both Nutella and meringue. This moist chocolate cake is a perfect marriage of substance and tenderness. (BOSANSKI) CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CAKE People are more terrified of baking than any…
