Ćevapi
Little grilled minced-meat fingers with onion and flatbread.
Ćevapi are small fingers of minced meat grilled over high heat and served with raw onion and flatbread. They are a traditional dish across Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider Western Balkans, cooked at grill houses rather than at home in most of the region. Three things decide the result: the mince, the rest before shaping, and the heat of the grill.
Ingredients
- 500g minced beef
- 200g minced lamb
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Salt, pepper
- Somun or pita, raw onion
Method
- 1
Mix the meats with crushed garlic, salt, pepper and the bicarbonate.
- 2
Add 100ml sparkling water and work the mix until sticky.
- 3
Rest in the fridge at least 4 hours (overnight is better).
- 4
Shape into short fingers and grill over high heat 6–8 minutes, turning.
- 5
Serve inside warm flatbread with chopped raw onion.
Minced meat stretches: ten cevapi per person costs less than one steak.
What ćevapi is served with
- Ajvar — The roasted pepper relish that comes with the plate.
- Burek sa Sirom — The other thing the same grill houses and bakeries sell.
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