BY DOM LORENZO AND VANESSA ABLE 

Cevapi (or ćevapčići, if you want to be all diminutive and cute) are the seminal kafana food of the Balkans, cousins of the Turkish köfte and not too distant relatives of the Persian kebab.

Each area of the Balkans – from Romania to Albania and over to Greece – has its own take on the simple cevapi. There are variations on the kind of meat or seasoning used as well as the ćevap’s length (some two inches, some five). The one thing that holds them all together is their supremacy on the local menu… and how well they go with a beer!

Here, we present our rendition of cevapi, served on a flatbread/pita with a side of ajvar – the delicious roasted pepper relish.

CEVAPI: WHAT THE OTTOMANS LEFT BEHIND

In general, the people of the Balkans don’t look back too fondly on their four centuries of subjugation to the Ottoman Empire, but the remnants of Ottoman rule still live on in modern Balkan states and have morphed into deep-rooted parts of the cultural landscape.

From their conquest of Bosnia in 1463 to their departure in 1878, the Ottomans got deep under the skin of their Balkan subjects. Converting a great deal of the Bosnian population to their Islamic religion, the Turkic overlords also put in place an extensive infrastructure of mosques, schools, forts, bridges and other institutional and monumental buildings. Many of these survive today and were lovingly restored after the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.

Another place the Ottomans really made their mark was in the local kitchens. Balkan food today reverberates with Turkish influence, with dozens of dishes from the Ottoman repertoire taken and adapted to Balkan tastes. Sarme (stuffed cabbage and vine leaves) and pastries like cheese or spinach burek are ubiquitous just like Turkish coffee and baklava.

WHEN IS A KEBAB NOT A KEBAB?

Etymologically, the word ćevap (the local term for cevapi) evolved from the Persian kebab, meaning “grilled meat” or “meat on a skewer.” This term was adopted by the Ottomans and taken with them to the Balkans. Cevapi in form most closely resembles Turkish köfte and Greek souvlaki, but it still signifies a grilled patty of ground meat like a kebab.

According to the 19th century Serbian literary hero (and we presume a cevapi aficionado) Branislav Nušić, ćevapčići were beginning to make a show in Belgrade’s kafane by the 1860s, famously in the Rajić kafana in Serbia’s capital. Here they became a favorite with the drinking crowds and their popularity soon spread.

As you move through the Balkan region, however, the cevapi will vary. Leskovac in Serbia is well known as being one of the best towns to grab a plate of meaty fingers, and their namesake preparation has spread throughout the region.