Yummy Sarajevo Plate

So we have eaten (or had coffee or lemonade) at least once per day at this cafe/restaurant called Bascarcija (ba-shar-shee-ya) which is located in the area of Sarajevo bearing the same name. This is the old town, and the cafe is right on pigeon's square. In fact, the movie Grabavica which is set in another part of Sarajevo (Grabavica) has a scene where the main characters are having a coffee here at the cafe! Very authentic!

Anyway, my father thinks it is funny that I write so much about food, but he will have to bear with me, because this "Sarajevo Plate" is definitely something to write home about!

OK, so to start with, it comes in a really cool pot with a fancy lid that I should have photographed, but I was so excited about eating the food I forgot and then the waiter came and took away the lid... I think they actually cook everything in this pot...anyway... (later on... here is a photo).



A short guide to the Sarajevo plate: Starting from 12 o'clock and going clockwise, there are the stuffed onions, then the meat, then the dolmas, then the potatoes. And obviously you can tell which is the sour cream. Check out the sauce, how tasty it looks... I am getting hungry just looking at the photo and I already ate this once today (and yesterday too!).

So here are the details...

There is a thick and meaty broth-like stuff in which the whole thing is cooked. It is a little spicy but not too spicy (perfect amount of spice for me). Then there are many foods inside the plate that I will now desrcine in detail...

There is meat; otherwise it would not be Bosnian food! I don't know if it is lamb or beef, but Sarah says she thinks it is beef, because beef is cheaper. The meat is tasty, not too tender and definitely chewy but it makes you feel you are eating something REAL. There are usually a couple pieces of meat in the dish, one usually had a bone in it, so you have to be careful.

There are also lots of boiled potatoes, with the perfect consistency. Not too soft, but you can easily slice them with a fork. They soak up the broth/sauce and they are oh so tasty!

Also inside the plate are "dolmas" which are very different from the Greek kind. They are wrapped in a much thicker and chewy leaf (maybe it is cabbage? but I don't like cabbage and I do like these dolmas) and of course they are hot instead of cold like the Greek ones. Inside you will find a bunch of spiced meat and rice. These are my favorite part of the whole plate.

The only part I don't eat are the stuffed onions. Everyone knows how I feel about onions, even cooked ones... so this will be no shocker. I keep wishing my mom was here to eat them (they remind me of a big stuffed version of the onions my mom and aunt eat at Thanksgiving and Xmas). Today I did eat the meat/rice stuffing out of one of the onions and that was very yummy, so maybe I will branch out (or maybe not, because the plate is so filling I still have not finished one, and I concentrate my energy on the dolmas!).

The whole thing comes with the most awesome and decadent bread you can imagine. Like pita on steroids! It is thick and yummy and really indescribable until you eat it. You can dip it in the broth/sauce and then you have all the benefits of what the plate has to offer. They give you a lot of bread, so I put some in my purse and took it home (I am my Nana's granddaughter after all!).

The plate is topped off with a large dollop of sour cream, which just adds a certain something to the whole dish. It balanced the spice and makes everything in the world seem good and wonderful! (OK, maybe I am exaggerating, but this is some fine food!)

The best part is that you can have all this happiness for only 7KM which is about $4.50. I like a meal that appeals to my palate and my wallet!