This delicacy consists of a traditional flatbread (lepinja) that is cut in half, coated in thick cream (kajmak), and topped with an egg. The combination is shortly baked and should be doused with a mixture of warm meat drippings, which is locally known as pretop.
Komplet can be loosely translated as with everything in it, and is traditionally associated with Užice and Zlatibor. It is believed to have originated sometime before WWII, and the name was officially registered by Dragan Lazić, a current owner of the bakery Kod Šuljage in Užice.
MOST ICONIC Komplet lepinja
These flaky, golden-colored, crescent-shaped pastries are best made with pure butter and a slightly sweet yeast dough. If made properly, the yellow-white interior should be just the slightest bit elastic when pulled from the center, ready to be covered with a pad of butter or some fresh jam.
Experts agree that the croissant was heavily influenced by Austrian kipfels. This pastry originated in 1683 as a celebration of the Austrian victory over the Ottoman Empire, its shape supposedly mimicking the crescent moon found on the Turkish flag.
MOST ICONIC Croissant
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Bougatsa is a traditional, rustic Greek pie consisting of a phyllo pastry layered with a filling of semolina custard, although there are variations with minced meat or cheese. The name of the dish is a derivation of the Ottoman word pogatsa, denoting a pie filled with cheese.
Bougatsa has origins from the Byzantine period, when Constantinople was Greek, and it began as a dough that was stuffed with numerous sweet and savory fillings. Over time, bougatsa evolved to incorporate a thinly rolled, hand-made phyllo pastry. As many Turkish immigrants settled in Northen Greece, bougatsa became a specialty of Serres and Thessaloniki.
MOST ICONIC Bougatsa
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The Bulgarian pie banitsa made with cheese is the main version of this traditional pie. It's made by layering sheets of buttered phyllo pastry with a combination of eggs, yogurt, and cheese such as sirene and feta. There's an optional ingredient in the preparation of banitsa and it's baking soda, which makes the yogurt rise and makes the pie fluffier and richer in flavor.
Traditionally, banitsa with cheese was prepared and served on Christmas and New Year's Eve, but nowadays it can also be bought throughout the year at grocery stores, street vendors, kiosks, and pretty much everywhere. Apart from this basic variety, there are also other types of savory or sweet banitsa pies filled with various vegetables and fruits.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Zelnik is a traditional North Macedonian pie that can be filled with a variety of different ingredients such as cheese, spinach, eggs, meat, leeks, or cabbage. For the best result, zelnik should be brushed with butter and oil before baking, so that the pie develops a golden-brown color.
Zelnik is best when served warm, and it is recommended to pair it with a glass of yogurt.
Delicious and fragrant waffles are the most famous Belgian culinary trademark. Made with thick dough or thin batter, the cakes are baked in a specially designed waffle iron which creates an unusual checkered pattern on the top and bottom of each cake.
In Belgium, there are two distinct varieties of this national dessert: the light Brussels waffle, and the denser Liege waffle. The key distinction is in the batter: while the Brussels waffle batter is thin and runny, the Liege variety is made with a thick, brioche-like dough which produces a cake with uneven edges and dense texture.
MOST ICONIC Gaufre
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Burek consists of layers of phyllo dough stuffed with various savory fillings. Despite its Turkish origins, this dish has evolved into a proud gem of Bosnian national cuisine. Although most locals claim that only burek with ground beef can be called burek, the same dish also appears with other fillings, and these other varieties are known by different names: sirnica (cottage cheese), zeljanica (spinach), and krompiruša (potatoes).
Burek is baked rolled into a snail-like shape and this type is typically found in bakeries, while traditional restaurants often make it in the form of a pie, which is sliced into quarters before serving. The dish is wildly popular all across the Balkans, though in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the cultural significance of this everyday staple is incomparable and best summed up in a number of local proverbs suggesting that if a woman can make a good burek, she's eligible for marriage.
MOST ICONIC Burek
View moreSyrniki is a dessert consisting of fried cottage cheese pancakes that are usually garnished with honey, fruit jam, sour cream, or applesauce. It is part of the Russian (where it's sometimes also called tvorozhniki), Belarusian, Ukrainian, Latvian and Lithuanian cuisine.
Cottage cheese is traditionally first swetened with sugar, then combined with flour into a dough which is fried in hot oil until it develops a golden-brown color. Syrniki can be served for breakfast or consumed as a tasty dessert after a large meal.
MOST ICONIC Syrniki
View moreBulz is a traditional dish created with cooked polenta that is shaped into balls and filled with a creamy stuffing. Subsequently, polenta balls are grilled, pan-fried, or baked until a crunchy, slightly charred crust forms on the outside. The most common filling is the combination of butter and soft sheep's cheese known as brânză de burduf.
Chunks of bacon or ham are often incorporated into the filling to create a more balanced meal. The grilling process allows the cheese to melt and transforms bulz into an incredibly satisfying dish. It is believed that bulz was initially prepared by the Romanian shepherds, who were the first to use an open fire in order to grill these flavorful balls.
Serve with
MOST ICONIC Bulz
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Burek sa sirom is a phyllo pastry that is round or coil-shaped and filled with a mixture of cheese and eggs. The dough is made with flour, salt, and water (and perhaps a bit of oil) and stretched into translucent sheets. The sheets of phyllo dough are stacked in a large tray, and each sheet is sprinkled with oil or oil and mineral water and spread with the cheese and egg filling.
Still, you might have heard that burek can only be called burek if it's filled with meat. That is, if you live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but not everyone does, nor is burek really Bosnian – in fact, it has Turkish origins. In Bosnia, burek (with meat) and other types of similar pies such as sirnica (cheese) and krumpiruša (potatoes) are usually rolled into a coil, while Croatians and Serbs have a more relaxed approach – burek can be round and cut into quarters, or rolled into a coil – both shapes are good, and both can be called burek sa sirom (when filled with cheese, of course).
MOST ICONIC Burek sa sirom
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