Characteristic products
The local cuisine is similar to that of its former Ottoman neighbors, with an abundance of vegetables, especially when summer arrives and the stalls overflow with tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and zucchini. In winter, potatoes and pulses are in the spotlight, not to mention cabbage, which is used to make sauerkraut(kiselo zelje). Bar olives(Barske masline) are very famous. Many grains are used to prepare bread(hleb), such as wheat(pšenični), corn(kukuruzniv), rye(ražani) or barley(ječmeni).
Dairy products and especially cheeses(sir) are very popular, such as skorup or kajmac. Common from the Balkans to Central Asia, it is made by cooking milk for several hours over low heat until a very rich cream is obtained - nearly 60% fat - similar to mascarpone. It is used in desserts or as an accompaniment to grilled meats and salads.
Other cheeses include pljevaljski sir, similar to mozzarella, and njeguški sir, a hard cheese. The prljo is a very dry and crumbly cheese that is traditionally ripened in a goat skin, which is replaced by cloth nowadays. It comes in the form of large, hard, yellowish nuggets that are often served as an appetizer with cold cuts.
In this respect, we can mention the tasty njeguški pršut or raw ham from Njeguši, smoked with beech wood. The term " pršut" is borrowed from the Italian prosciutto. Otherwise, njeguška kobasica is a kind of sausage from the same region - similar to chorizo - smoked and spiced with a touch of paprika. Finally, sudžuk or soudjouk is a dry sausage of Ottoman origin, often with beef or mutton, sometimes with pork, finely spiced with cumin, sumac, garlic and chili.
Between soup, salad and burek
There are many kinds of soups in Montenegrin rural cuisine. Note that a clear broth-like soup will be called supa, as opposed to a thick soup called čorba (pronounced tchorba) while a kaša will be more like a porridge-like porridge. Thus kokošija supa (chicken), goveđa supa (beef) and jagnjeća supa (lamb) are light meat broths garnished with vermicelli and vegetables. Traditionally, rice was used in place of pasta.
Other recipes include čorba od koprive (nettle soup), popular in spring, which may also contain a little cheese(čorba od koprive sa sirom). The čobanska krem supa od vrganja is a creamy mushroom soup, containing porcini mushrooms depending on the season. The ječmena kaša sa pečurkama is a barley porridge with mushrooms.
In summer, fresh or cooked vegetables are abundantly prepared in the form of salads, sometimes as simple as a tomato salad(pamidora salata) or a green salad with lettuce and spring onion(zelena salata). At the end of the summer, in all the kitchens of the country, the famous ajvar is prepared, a cream of roasted bell pepper that is cooked over the coals and flavored with a more or less generous amount of garlic. It is an appetizer particularly appreciated with bread and cheese. It can be sweet or spicy depending on the proportion of chili in the mixture.
In the bakeries of the country, one will not have any difficulty to treat oneself on the go with delicious salted pastries. Let's mention of course the burek that can be found all over the Balkans. This snack - sometimes very hearty - consists of paper-thin filo pastry filled with minced meat, cheese, spinach or leeks. It comes in the form of a simple patty or sometimes a snail(koturača). Zeljanica is a type of burek filled with spinach, herbs and green onions while sirnica contains fresh cheese. Gužvar is a pastry similar to a savory flan made of filo pastry soaked in a mixture of cheese, milk and eggs and baked au gratin. Finally, heljdija is quite similar but is made with buckwheat pancakes instead of filo dough (wheat).
Classics of Montenegrin cuisine
There are a multitude of meat dishes such as the delicate brav u mlijeku (lamb cooked in milk with vegetables, the national dish of the Albanians of Montenegro) or kaštradina (smoked mutton simmered in kale and vegetables). Quite similar to a cassoulet, čorbast pasulj is a white bean stew with smoked pork ribs and various types of salami and sausages, spiked with a touch of tomato. Simpler, grašak is a stew of peas and beef. Balšića tava is a recipe for veal simmered with vegetables and topped with a mixture of egg and sour cream before being baked au gratin. Central European influences are revealed in gulaš or goulash, a stew of beef and vegetables with paprika of Hungarian origin. Finally, ćufte are meatballs, often with sauce. Grilled meats are very popular with the unmistakable trio of ćevapi (long minced meat croquettes), pljeskavica (a kind of spicy ground steak) and ražnjići (marinated meat skewer).
Corn is often used in the form of polenta - Italian influence obliges - as evidenced by cicvara, a polenta bound with kajmak, and čvarci (diced fried bacon). Quite similar, kačamak is a coarser polenta, sometimes embellished with crushed potato and kajmak. Kuvana krtola (boiled potato halves topped with sour cream or kajmac and herbs) are a common side dish. Finally, paštrovski makaruli is a type of homemade macaroni from the Budva region, served with a drizzle of olive oil and a little crumbled cheese.
The vegetables are varied, starting with raštan, a kale similar to Italian kale or cavolo nero. It is simmered for a long time with pork shank or ham bone. But it is also prepared as japraci, typical Montenegrin rolls of raštan leaves filled with minced meat and rice, usually served with mashed potatoes and sour cream. Another popular dish is sarma, which is found throughout the Balkans and is prepared with white cabbage. Paprike punjene are peppers stuffed with the same filling (rice and meat). In the absence of eggplant, in winter they prepare the famous musaka od krtola (potato moussaka with minced meat). The đuveč and sataraš are two types of vegetable stews close to a ratatouille.
On the coasts, of course, one enjoys fish and seafood, often prepared with simplicity: grilled or fried squid, octopus salad, black risotto (with squid ink), tuna, shrimp and mussels. Freshwater trout or pastrva is also caught in the lakes and rivers.
Desserts and sweets
The notion of dessert after a meal is not automatic in Montenegro and very often a seasonal fruit (melon, grape, peach, apple, etc.) is the most common way to end the meal. Pastries are more often reserved for snacks with tea or coffee.
One of the most popular sweets is krempita, a cake consisting of two thin strips of cookie with a thick layer of vanilla cream. In the same genre, šampita consists of a cake crowned with a huge layer of meringue, while španski vjetar alternates layers of hazelnut sponge cake, meringue and chocolate cream. The simpler lenja pita is a cake filled with cinnamon applesauce. Keks torta is a home-made cake made of cookies piled with custard and covered with chocolate. Finally, štrudla is the local term for a strudel, usually filled with apples, but sometimes with cherries or fresh cheese.
You can also taste cakes with Turkish accents such as baklava, composed of alternating filo pastry and dried fruit, all soaked in syrup. The Montenegrin version often contains raisins and finely chopped nuts. The tulumba also has its origins in the Ottoman conquest. This churro-shaped doughnut is also soaked in syrup. Priganice are another type of doughnut, shaped like a ball, served with honey, while krofne are classic sugar doughnuts filled with jam. Pancakes or palačinke are very popular, as is rice pudding(sutlijaš). The čupava kata is a type of crumbly walnut pie, filled with jam and covered with crumble, while padobranci is a type of macaroon, often topped with chocolate.
