Balkan Lunch Box

Slanci: Balkan Breadsticks

Golden breadsticks, painted with salt, with just the right amount of crunch.  Golden bread sticks, painted with salt with just the right amount of crunch. You'll never try other bread sticks again.  (BOSANSKI) The fall has descended upon Sarajevo. A nice reprieve from the scorching summer. The clock moved, the temperatures fell. The sun, bright but farther, is lighting up the sky that the wind previously cleared so well, for a moment it may trick you to go outside without a jacket. But you shouldn't because it is fall, and it will snap back at you quickly. There ... Read more

Filed Under: Appetizers, Breads & Pastries, Vegetarian 3 Comments

Baked Romano Beans

Let's venture to the side not prepared often enough - the velvety, baked Romano beans. Lush, wide and flat beans, quartered and softened, topped with heavy cream-plus-garlic then baked. As striking in taste as it is in looks.  Let's venture to the side not prepared often enough - velvety, baked Romano beans. Lush, wide and flat beans quartered and softened, then baked with heavy cream-plus-garlic topping.  Striking.  (BOSANSKI) Although belonging to same family as string beans, these large, wide, green pods called Romano beans are a necessary upgrade. ... Read more

Filed Under: Side Dishes, Vegetarian 5 Comments

Sarma: Stuffed Sour Cabbage

Stuffed cabbage (sarma) isn't called the queen of winter for nothing. Tender and smoked meats mixed with delicate rice, enriched with few simple seasonings, then lovingly wrapped in fermented cabbage leaves. Cooked on low heat for a few hours until aromas and flavors embrace for an outcome nothing short of sensational. (BOSANSKI) I've shared this recipe with Balkanvibe before, and I though it was time to share it with you as well. If you've read it there, ... Read more

Filed Under: Main Courses 5 Comments

Ground Beef Phyllo Pie

Ground beef phyllo pie. Ground beef (or veal) layered in phyllo sheets softened with butter, then baked until golden. Much pie. Not much fuss.  Ground beef phyllo pie. Ground beef (or veal) layered in phyllo sheets softened with butter, then baked until golden. Much pie. Not much fuss.  (BOSANSKI) Ever since I learned to make pie rounds with store phyllo, that's usually what I do when I'm making a quick one. Sometimes I line them up like ... Read more

Filed Under: Main Courses, Side Dishes 2 Comments

Cream of Pumpkin and Potato Soup

Cream of pumpkin and potato soup.  Only a few simple steps until you have the beloved fall classic.   (BOSANSKI) Most people make pumpkin soup more or less the same way. If you're in a habit of making many soups, then today's may not be very original. That's exactly why I like it, as it's made just as I expect it'd be made. Ingredients are cooked, blended, enriched with heavy cream, and voila! It also tastes just as I'd expect it to taste. Deep pumpkin flavor overpowers other ingredients. However ... Read more

Filed Under: Appetizers, Vegetarian 2 Comments