Bosnia and Herzegovina: Cooking Around the World with Camilla (CATWWC)

Our cooking around the world adventure took us to the former Yugoslavia tonight. We traveled by tabletop to the regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The cultural distinctions in the area are minimal though the cultural identity is fierce with three main political factions: the Muslims (Bosniacs), the Serbs, and the Croats.

Bosnia is named after the Bosna River that winds through the area. And it's a Bosnian recipe that I selected for Riley to make tonight. He strapped on his apron and made a Bosnian meat pie which is shaped like a snail.

Bosanski Burek

2 C white whole wheat flour
1/2 C warm water

1/4 C olive oil

1 egg, beaten

pink Himalaya salt

1 lb 96/4 organic grass-fed beef
1 fennel, diced
1 T minced garlic
2 eggs
1 C thinly sliced kale
olive oil

  

In a large bowl, use a wooden spoon to mix together the flour, warm water, olive oil, egg and salt until it comes together. Remove the dough to a floured work surface and knead until smooth and pliable. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for at least half an hour. While the dough rests, saute fennel and kale until they are softened.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix together the ground beef, garlic, eggs, fennel and kale in a large mixing bowl. Season to salt and pepper.

Remove the rested dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll out into a large rectangle.  

Place the meat filling in a row in the center of your dough. Bring the pastry up and over the meat filling and roll it up into a long sausage-shaped roll.

Lay one end of the roll onto the middle of a greased baking stone. Carefully wrap the remainder of the pastry roll around itself to form a snail-shaped pie in the middle of the baking pan. Brush the top of the pastry with olive oil.

Place in the oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until cooked through and golden-brown. Cut into wedges and serve sprinkled with crumbled feta cheese or a thick yogurt.

For dessert I made a very fast and very loose version of Bosnian tufahije, poached apples filled with nuts.

Enjoy my tabletop travels. Join me in whipping up a dish or two. If you do cook something from If If you cook a recipe from one of these countries, I'd love to hear about it. Feel free to comment on the posts themselves or email me at constantmotioncamilla at gmail dot com.

This Knight of the Global Table Adventure is signing off for now. We're traveling to Botswana next.