Traditional South Serbian cookbook
Discover Balkan’s forgotten flavors with our collection of grandma’s traditional recipes. 90 dishes in Serbian and English.
This cookbook has 90 dishes from towns of Vranje, Leskovac, Niš, Pirot and the wider region of South Serbia. It contains many almost forgotten dishes like "kapama", "jania", "kasapski djuvec", "tarana", "propec", "mekice", "popara" or "mafisi". The dishes are presented in an easy-to-cook way starting from fresh ingredients found on the local markets and in peoples gardens. Some dishes go together with specific customs, usually religious holidays. The most interesting customs will be described together with those dishes.
The book is bilingual, Serbian and English. Our book has 90 recipes of colorful and tasteful dishes of which 33 vegan and 30 vegetarian. The modern visual design of the book makes it an ideal gift for any occasion. In this way we want to promote the gastronomic tradition of South Serbia which we feel is under-represented.
Salads/starters
For the majority of people across the South Balkans, starter or “meze” is the most favorite part of the meal. It can be served to the guests that came for a short visit, or in a local tavern, so called “kafana”, along with “rakija”, and it often leads to an extravagant lunch. “Meze” usually consists of various salads prepared of raw vegetables. Cool and warm vegetable or meat starters, as well as hard cheese are also served as “meze” along with the salads.
Soups/Stews
Soups and slow cooked stews are quite common on the menu and are usually consumed before the main course with some bread and salad. Clear soups are rare, the most common of which is chicken soup with noodles or dumplings.
Cooked dishes
Lunch is the main meal. It includes vegetable dishes, often slow cooked for several hours : stuffed peppers, dry or raw, as well as cabbage rolls, rice and beans dishes. There are fewer meat dishes and unlike the other regions of Serbia where the pork meat is generally used, the southern menu has to offer a number of lamb dishes.
Meat dishes
"Leskovacki rostijl" is the most famous grill in the Balkans. The way of preparing it is kept as a secret even today by the Leskovac people. Some say that the trick is in freezing the mixed minced meat which includes intestines. Some add the baking soda or ground pickled cucumbers, and there is also a theory on meat that spoils before grilling.
Pastry and pies
In the past, women used to bake bread out of the unused flour ("mekice"). Pie is the most common delicacy and it’s made of the filo pastry spread with a thin rolling pin. It originates from Turkey and Middle East. "Zeljanik" pie is stuffed with pickled cabbage or leek, eggs and cheese, spinach, nettle... Sweet pumpkins, apples, nuts or cherries pies are nonetheless favorite. "Burek" is a savory kind of pie for which the pastry is made by waving it above the head. Hope you will have some fun with this !
Sweets
The guests in the house used to be welcomed with a spoonfull of "Slatko" (Preserved fruits) and a glass of water on a serving plate. "Slatko" are cooked in the south of Serbia, as well as in Macedonia, Greece or Turkey. "Baklava", "halva" or "sutlijaš" (rice pudding) come from Turkey.