Pirot, Serbia. Photo by Dimitar Kazakov on Unsplash
Serbia is a country in the Balkans known for its rich and diverse cuisine. Cooking is a part of the culture and nothing is as inviting as a home-cooked meal. Friends and families often gather to eat together and these are some of their favorite meals.
Gibanica Pie
Serbian traditional cheese pie is also known as gibanica and it’s very easy to make it if you can get your hands on some phyllo dough. It’s popular and cheap in Serbia, which is one of the reasons gibanica is often on the menu for breakfast or dinner, especially in big families. It’s made by layering dough and filling and baking the pie.
Ajvar is a red pepper spread that’s insanely popular in Serbia and nearby countries. To make ajvar, you roast some peppers, peel the skin, then boil them together with other necessary ingredients (mostly spices).
A stuffed cabbage dish known as sarma can be served on a regular day but it’s also on every special occasion table. Sarma is made with fermented cabbage leaves and a mixture of minced meat and rice fried together with spices. Cabbage leaves are stuffed with the mead mixture, rolled and closed together, put in a pot and cook for a few hours.
