Traditional ćevapi: Serbian grilled minced-meat sausages with somun bread, onion and kajmak

Ćevapi come from the Ottoman kebab, and the Balkans made them their own. Serbia disputes paternity with Bosnia, and every city has its style: in Leskovac, in the south, they are pure beef and heavily seasoned, and the town holds a festival just for them; in Sarajevo, they are milder and come inside somun bread with onion and kajmak, the fermented cream that is the Balkans' cream cheese.

They are skinless little sausages, the size of a finger, made from meat ground twice with garlic, salt, pepper and baking soda, which gives a soft, springy texture. The mixture needs to rest overnight in the fridge: that is what makes ćevapi firm and juicy on the grill.

Grilled over charcoal, served five or ten at a time in bread warmed over the same coals, with chopped raw onion and a pot of kajmak or ajvar, the roasted pepper spread. A cold beer, and it is a Serbian dinner for any night.

Recipe card

• Origin: Serbia and the Balkans
• Category: Main course, grilled
• Difficulty: Easy
• Preparation time: 20 minutes (plus one night of resting)
• Cooking time: 15 minutes
• Serves: 4, about 24 ćevapi

Ingredients

• 500 g ground beef (chuck or shoulder, with fat)
• 300 g ground lamb (or more beef)
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 3 tablespoons ice-cold sparkling water
• 4 somun breads or thick pita breads
• 2 white onions, finely chopped
• Kajmak (or cream cheese mixed with a little butter and sour cream)
• Ajvar (roasted pepper spread) to serve

Method

1. Mix the meats with the garlic, salt, pepper, baking soda, paprika and sparkling water and knead by hand for 5 minutes, until sticky and uniform.
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
3. With wet hands, shape rolls 8 cm long and 2 cm thick.
4. Heat the barbecue or a cast-iron griddle until very hot.
5. Grill the ćevapi for 3 to 4 minutes per side, turning carefully, until browned outside and cooked through.
6. In the last minutes, warm the breads on the grill, open them and quickly dip the inside in the fat the ćevapi released.
7. Serve 5 or 6 ćevapi inside each bread with chopped onion, a spoonful of kajmak and ajvar on the side.

Tips and variations

• Ask the butcher to grind the meat twice: the texture is finer and the ćevapi do not break.
• Resting in the fridge is not optional: without it the meat crumbles on the grill.
• Without a barbecue, a very hot cast-iron pan with a drizzle of oil works.
• Leskovac version: beef only, more pepper and a little chili flakes.
• They can be frozen raw, already shaped.
• Šopska salata (tomato, cucumber, onion and grated white cheese) is the side salad.
• Quick homemade kajmak: beat 200 g cream cheese with 50 g softened butter, 2 spoons of sour cream and salt.

Ćevapi in warm bread, with onion and kajmak dripping, is hand food and street food, the way the Balkans like it. Make them over coals, serve immediately and do not expect leftovers.