Authentic Popara Recipe Serbia, Europe
JUMP TO RECIPEWe strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though
Introduction & history
A way to transform stale bread into an edible dish that can feed an entire family, popara is a kind of a bread mash that is typically very frugal, consisting only of stale bread, some liquid, usually water, fat — either oil, butter, or lard — and salt. With time, however, additional ingredients began to be added to make it more flavorful and satiable, like fried onions, sour cream, and cheese. Although typically a savory dish, there is also a sweet version of popara. In any case, the preparation is rather simple. Stale bread which has been diced or thorn by hand is poured over with hot water — milk or tea can be used as well — to which oil, butter, or lard have been added, and seasoned with salt. The mixture is cooked until it turns into a mash, typically for no more than five minutes.
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Cooking tips
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method
The number one rule is that the drier the bread, the better. Ideally, 3-5 days old, and preferably, homemade. Also, do not tear or cut the bread in too small of pieces as they might fall apart during cooking. Usually, the bread is added to the water and cooked until the water evaporates, but for more flavor and texture, the bread can be briefly sautéed in oil or lard before it's poured over with water ... Read more -
additional ingredients
Although at its basic popara is a peasant dish, it can be upgraded to be more satiating and flavorful by adding cheese, sour cream, bacon, onions, and various seasonings such as smoked paprika.
Recipe variations
Popara
PREP 10min
COOK 5min
READY IN 15min
This recipe shows you how to make the most basic version of popara. There's the option to make the salty version which you can enrich by adding cheese, or the sweet version, in which case you have to add only the sugar.
Ingredients
1 L water
1 loaf of bread
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
OPTIONAL
100 g sugar
100-150 g cheese
Preparation
Heat the water, salt, and oil in a large pot just shy of a boil, then add the chopped up bread.
Set the heat to low, then check to see if the bread has soaked up most of the liquid. If it has, then leave it to cook for a few minutes more.
You can serve it like this, or add the optional ingredients.
If you decide to add the additional ingredients, first, divide the mash into two.
For sweet popara, add the sugar to one half, and to get savory popara, add cheese to the other half.
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