Balkan cuisine

Vegetarian Journal, Jan-Feb, 2004 by Nancy Berkoff

ALBANIA, BELORUSSIA, BULGARIA, ROMANIA, Bosnia and Herzegovinia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia ... These are countries very much in the news, nations swept up in historical maelstroms. Despite conflicts in this geographic region, these countries share many characteristics, including their approach to the culinary arts.

If we try to make generalizations, Balkan cuisine is a hearty cuisine, resulting from harsh winters and short growing seasons. Traditional meals are heavy, and several starches may be served in one course. For example, boiled potatoes and noodles may accompany an entree, with bread or rolls served on the side. A thick bean soup may be made with potatoes and garnished with dumplings, or it may be served with vegetable croquettes or fluffy, steamed barley.

In all of the cultures, root vegetables, such as beets, carrots, potatoes, and turnips; pickled and dried fruits; and hearty vegetables, such as cabbage and cauliflower, are mainstays. Seasonal mushrooms are gathered and dried for use as main ingredients. Additionally, mushrooms and onions are stewed or flied to use as seasonings. Grains are widely available, as many grains are fast-growing crops that store well. Several countries grow grapes for fresh consumption, drying for raisins, and for use in jams, syrups, and wines. Olives and corn are also grown, adding a Mediterranean influence.

Rolled or stuffed cabbage and peppers are made in every Balkan country, as are vegetable patties. Stuffings for cabbage and peppers can include cooked grains, chopped carrots, onions, peppers, potatoes, rice, nuts, and dried fruit. Some countries use pickled cabbage leaves, while others use steamed cabbage and sauerkraut. Peppers can be fresh or pickled, red or green. Sauces can be a sweet and sour tomato, a sour cream-based condiment, or as typical in Yugoslavian cuisine, a garlic sauce spiced with cayenne pepper.

Also popular are dumplings, which come in all shapes and sizes. They may be solid or filled with sweet or savory ingredients. They can be made with white or whole wheat flour, bread, potatoes, or cottage cheese and are served in soup, as a side dish, an entree, or dessert. Bread doughs may be baked to form loaves or rolls, fried to become flitters, or boiled to become dumplings. Thin crepes or pancakes are sometimes used instead of vegetables for stuffing. Pancakes are filled with savory ingredients for an entree and sweetened soft cheeses and fruit for dessert. Thick, heavy jams are used as condiments for both sweet and savory pancakes.

With these overall similarities, some of the food characteristics are difficult to untangle. The Balkan states have always been in a position to do cuisine-sharing. Their availability by water and land routes ensured that most countries have cross-cultural cuisine. It is practically impossible to separate the cuisines of the different countries or from their surrounding cultural influences. For example, the former Yugoslavian cuisine was influenced by Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, and Turkey. Stuffed vegetable dishes, yogurt, syrupy desserts, and strong coffee, along with lots of garlic, onions, and spicy pickled vegetables used to season foods, show the influence of many countries.

Belorussia, wedged in between Poland and Russia, has Lithuanian influences. Belorussian cuisine includes lots of dairy products and butter (a Lithuanian trait). Onions, potatoes, beets, cabbage, pumpkin, mushrooms, sauerkraut, and garlic-dill pickles are found on winter menus. Spinach, sorrel, green onions, radishes, and sweet peas are used during warm weather months. Most meals are accompanied by boiled or baked grains, such as buckwheat and barley. Pirazki (sounding like the Polish pyrogi, a ravioli-type dumpling) are little balls of unbaked yeast dough stuffed with chopped vegetables and deep-flied. Kisiel is a summer fruit dessert, made by pressing cooked berries, peaches, or apricots through a sieve, then reheated and thickened with cornstarch. Halubcy is the Belorussian version of cabbage rolls, garnished with tomato sauce and served with boiled potatoes or boiled barley.

Bosnian cuisine has Turkish influences. It would not be unusual to have baklava, halva, or kadiaf for dessert. These are all Turkish sweets made with chopped nuts and sweet syrups. Assisted by a Mediterranean growing climate, Bosnia traditionally has a healthy cuisine, adding okra, olives, and summer squash to the usual Balkan root vegetables. Croatian cuisine shows some Austro-Hungarian influences, including goulashes (gulyas), strudels, and the use of paprika. Macedonia has Muslim and Greek Orthodox populations, so its cuisine shows Greek and Turkish influences, along with Albanian, Bulgarian, and Serbian accents. Hot chili peppers, fresh herbs, garlic, onions, and leeks are used to season many dishes. Olive oil is used instead of animal fat for cooking, and there are many sweet and savory specialties made with pita as the base.