Bosnian Food: An Education

I have to admit that before I visited Bosnia I had no idea what the national cuisine was like. It isn’t like there are Bosnian restaurants on every corner in the UK and so unfortunately I was at a loss as to what the specialities are and whether I would like it.

There are three words that can describe the majority of ingredients in Bosnian cuisine: meat, bread and dairy. Sounds pretty good, right? Unless you’re on a diet I guess, but as I’m not, I embraced this eating philosophy wholeheartedly.

Here are a few of the highlights of my time in Sarajevo.

Buregdzinica Sac

This little burek shop can be found down a side street in the Bascarsija. Burek can be found all over the Balkans, but in Bosnia is a completely different experience entirely. Having been used to being able to buy individual bureks in both Croatia and Montenegro, I was surprised when our first burek purchase was cut into a large triangle from a freshly baked tray and the piece was weighed on a scale. That is how the price is determined, although the bakers will usually try and give everyone a piece which is roughly the same size. Bosnians also like to have yogurt with their burek – either to drink as an accompaniment or poured over the top of the pastry and eaten like a sauce. I tried this and it was actually quite tasty, but only on the spinach version as opposed to the meat one. A burek with yogurt here will set you back around €2.50.

Dveri

You will be hard pressed to find any kind of Western-style breakfast in Sarajevo, partly because so many locals often eat burek or other pastries for breakfast. One item you can find, however, is omelettes. They are on pretty much every menu in the city and when done well, they are definitely tasty. We ordered this ham, cheese and vegetable omelette in Dveri in the Bascarsija, along with a Bosnian coffee. The menu is slightly overpriced for the size of the meal you get, but the atmosphere in the restaurant is very quaint and eclectic and the emphasis is definitely on presentation. However, as it is in the old centre of the city, high prices are to be expected everywhere. A mixed omelette and Bosnian coffee cost around €6.

Bosnian Coffee

I’m not going to mention a specific place to get your Bosnian coffee fix, as it’s served in almost every restaurant and bar in town. It is the presentation of Bosnian coffee as opposed to normal Italian or American style coffees that makes it a unique drinking experience, albeit one that takes some getting used to, especially if you are used to drinking weak, milky coffee (in which case, I wouldn’t recommend it).

Although I keep referring to it as Bosnian coffee, it is actually almost identical to the coffee found in Turkey, yet the boiling process is slightly different. Bosnian coffee is prepared by boiling the water and then taking the water off the heat, adding the coffee grounds and replacing the pot over the heat to boil again. The coffee grounds are not filtered out of the water, so once you have poured it into your cup you have to let the liquid settle, otherwise you’ll end up with a mouthful of gritty grains. This obviously makes the coffee very strong and gives it a very intense flavour. A cup of Bosnian coffee will usually cost around €1 or sometimes slightly less.

Zeljo

I’ve talked about cevapi already, so I won’t harp on about it again, but it has to have a mention on any Bosnian food article as, aside from burek, it is the most popular dish in the country. You pay for cevapi by the number of grilled meat fingers you order – this usually comes in multiples of 5, 10 or 15. For 5 sausages you will normally pay around €3.

Cita de Beyrouth

I know what you’re thinking – why include Lebanese food in a post about Bosnia? Well, as someone who has been craving hummus for far too long, I was delighted to find this Lebanese restaurant in the Bascarsija. It was also a pleasant surprised for me as there was chicken on the menu as opposed to the abundance of red meat found around the city. We actually visited this restaurant a few times and quality and presentation varied each time, but when you get them on a good day, their hummus and eggplant dips are wonderful and you get big portions of bread and rice, as above. A dish of chicken kebab with dips cost around €4.