Saturday, March 21, 2015

Serbian Cooking - Cookbook Review


Serbian Cooking: Popular Recipes from the Balkan Region by Danijela Kracun and Charles McFadden

I always love to try foods from different places and so when I saw this cookbook on Serbian food I couldn't resist.  It helped that I know virtually nothing about Serbian cuisine.  This was an interesting little book that gave me a peek at Serbian food.

The book is broken into 3 chapters - appetizers, entrees (which also includes side dishes), and desserts.  There are just over 50 recipes and include things like  Cold Cuts Platter, Plum Dumplings, Chicken Paprikash with Peas, Lentil Soup, Baklava and Tulumbe (kind of a danish/pastry sounding dessert).  The recipes are fairly simple.  The ingredient list is fairly short and the instructions aren't overly complicated.  The ingredients all seem to be things you could find at most good grocery stores and the only pre-made ingredient called for is phyllo dough.

While the baklava and vanilla pastry call to me I think the first thing I'm going to try is this delicious sounding vinegar-y bacon laden potato salad.

8 slices smoked bacon
2 pounds boiled potatoes with skin
6 scallions, sliced
1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
4 sprigs of parsley, chopped
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
salt and fresh black pepper

Preheat oven to 375.  Before you put the slices of bacon in the oven, place them on a rack that is put on a baking pan.  That way you will get rid of the excess fat from the bacon and it will be crispy.  It will take about 20 minutes to be done.  When the bacon is cool, crumble it.
Peel the skin from the boiled potatoes and slice them.
Slice the scallions and chop the herbs.
Make the dressing by mixing the oil, vinegar, salt, fresh black pepper and herbs.
Mix everything together, except the bacon; then add the crumbled bacon on the top.

I think this will be heavenly with a crisply breaded chicken cutlet.  The simplicity of the recipes make it easy to add a touch of interest into your weekday meals.

I'm linking up with Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads


16 comments:

  1. That potato salad sounds good and it doesn't contain mayo, also a good thing. Not sure my husband would like it, but I'm pretty sure I would. :-)

    And I know nothing about Serbian cooking either. Would think there would be some crossover to Greek and Hungarian cooking.

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  2. That sounds good to me and, as Kay says, no mayo is a big plus! It's similar to a German potato salad recipe my mother sometimes makes.

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  3. I don't know much about Serbian food either, but it sure sounds good. And that recipe? Yum!

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  4. I had never really heard about Serbian food before. It is fun to try different food.

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  5. Interesting...I had no idea what constituted Serbian food, but Baklavah is yummy!

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  6. Serbian....wow, I never thought about Serbia and cuisine ever. Looks like an interests book, you sure prepared a good sample from it. Potatoes work on our dinner table any day.

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  7. Hi Katherine,

    The only experience I have had with food from this region, was when we visited the former Yugoslavia. The hotel we stayed in used to put on display the range of dishes available from the menu each day, so that you could see the selection. I remember that every dish seemed to come covered in a very vivid pink sauce, so that you couldn't actually tell what was underneath it. Each dish tasted exactly the same and we learned later that the sauce was a beetroot mayo, which as you can imagine, was very overpowering!

    Down in the local village, we found a fantastic cake and pastry shop, so dessert was much more palatable, although the owner was a former 7' 2" national team basketball player, with hands like shovels. He was the nicest person you could wish to meet, although to this day, I shall never know how he made such delicious sweets and desserts :)

    Thanks for bringing back such fun memories, from so long ago.

    Yvonne

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  8. That potato salad does sound good. Cheers from carole's Chatter

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  9. YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! And yes, I definitely think this would be great with breaded chicken cutlets. In two weeks, that is. ;) And oh my goodness I LOVE Baklava. I've never attempted to make it, though.

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  10. One can't go wrong with Bacon and potatoes and herbs.

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  11. So interesting! Doesn't this recipe sound a lot like German potato salad? I guess there is no cuisine that's completely different from all of the others, is there? I like the sound of this recipe, especially with the fresh herbs added in.

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  12. I don't think I've ever tried to cook this type of food. Looks interesting!

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  13. Oh, I must try this salad, thanks for sharing.

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  14. Holy wow, that potato salad does sound tangy and delicious. Hope you enjoy it!

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  15. I don't know anything about Serbian food, either. Plum dumplings sound interesting! And bacon is so good in potato salad - this version sounds delicious.

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  16. I love potato salad, this recipe is similar to one I make.

    Keep cooking and booking,
    Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out

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