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Food for thought...
When you think of European cuisine, Eastern Europe often gets a little overlooked in favour of pizza, crepes and waffles. But Eastern European food is mouth-wateringly good in a whole different way! Think hearty, warming, peasant food. Selections of grilled meats, pastries filled with everything imaginable, and whatever it is, you can almost guarantee it’s been home cooked for the entire day before reaching your plate. Although there are many, many more dishes you need to try, here are some of our choices for must-eats around Eastern Europe.
1. Warsaw, Poland
Polish food is simple, hearty, and filling as well as very cheap! Eating establishments called ‘milk bars’ are often the favoured place to dine out amongst locals. They are modest, unassuming, casual dining houses which serve cheap, hearty grub with a ‘help yourself’ kind of attitude. A staple dish here would be ‘bigos’ (hunter’s stew) which is a stew of chopped meat, sauerkraut and shredded cabbage. The national dish is a definite must - ‘pierogi’. A plate of dumplings with fillings ranging anywhere from curd cheese to meat and onions. Other traditional foods include the ‘zurek’ - sour rye soup, ‘golabki’ - cabbage rolls and ‘makowiec’ - poppy seed rolls. Yumm!
2. Belgrade, Serbia
Serbian food is heavy, fast, predominantly grilled and utterly delicious! A staple in any Serbian kitchen which goes with almost everything is ‘ajvar’. A sauce / spread hybrid made from red peppers, dollopped on bread and served alongside cheeses and meats. For a main meal, a traditional dish is ‘karadjordjeva snicla’ - a breaded veal or pork cutlet, stuffed with cream, rolled and fried. It comes served with roasted potatoes and tartar sauce. ‘Sarma’ is another traditional Serbian dish that is popular among locals. It contains ground beef, bacon and rice which are rolled in fermented cabbage leaves!
3. Vilnius, Lithuania
Lithuanian cuisine is based on root vegetables (especially potatoes), meat and dairy. The dishes are usually full and hearty, intending to keep you warm during the Baltic weather of Lithuania! Starting with the national dish, ‘cepelinai’ are potato dough dumplings filled with pork and dripping with sour cream and bacon sauce - it’s incredible! ‘Borscht’ is a vibrant, beetroot soup mixed with pork stock and served with potatoes, which are meant to be added to the soup. The perfect bar snack is fried, dark rye bread, seasoned with copious amounts of garlic and salt and dipped in cheese sauce. And don’t forget to try ‘blynai’ - sweet and savoury pancakes topped with sour cream and applesauce.
4. Sofia, Bulgaria
Bulgarian food is a treat! The cuisine is famous for using fresh, quality vegetables and dairy products unique to Bulgaria. A typical breakfast would be ‘banitsa’ - a greasy pastry filled with a feta-type cheese and washed down with a bottle of ‘boza’, a thick fermented drink. For something a little fresher, try the traditional ‘shopska salata’ - a salad of tomatoes, cucumber, peppers and onions topped with a dense layer of cheese. For mains, the ‘kebapche’ is a staple on most menus, consisting of rods of ground meat and spices served with sour condiments. And the ‘shkembe chorba’ (spicy tripe soup) is the Bulgarian’s great hangover cure!
5. Bucharest, Romania
Romanians are experts at comfort food! Meals are simple yet interesting, and are often a mish-mash of various, neighbouring cuisines mixed together to create a unique meal. The ‘sarmale’ is the national dish - smoked mince meat, caramelized onions and rice wrapped in fermented cabbage leaves and boiled in sauerkraut juice. Romanian’s love a soup too! Sour soup, bean soup, black sea fish soup and even tripe soup! Mamaliga is another favoured dish - polenta topped with cheese and sour cream. And for desert, the ‘papanasi’ is a classic. Cottage cheese rolled into a donut shape, stuffed with cream, fried and topped with jam. Delicious!
6. Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Food from this region take a lot of influence from Turkish and mediterranean cuisines. It’s often fresh, light and made with organic meats. The ‘cevapi’ is a standard in almost every restaurant or street food vendor and is basically skinless sausages made from beef or pork and served in a flatbread with sour cream, onions, feta and peppers. ‘Dolma’ is another favoured local dish of eggplant, peppers and/or zucchini stuffed with meat and rice. ‘Baklava’ can be found in many places across Europe, but it’s especially good here! The Bosnian twist creates a small cake with gooey layers of nuts, syrup and honey. Also don’t forget to try a ‘burek’ - rolled up pastry filled with mince meat!
7. Ljubljana, Slovenia
Slovenian food takes on considerable influence from the neighbouring countries of Austria, Italy, Croatia and Hungary, with a strong focus on using locally sourced ingredients. The ‘kranjska’ sausage is a popular (and very tasty!) sausage made from quality, smoked pork, bacon and garlic, and served with sour turnip and fresh horseradish. The ‘Struklji’ is a popular dish you’ll see all over Slovenia - basically cottage cheese pancakes (although they have many varieties) which can be boiled or fried. And for sweet stuff, try a ‘prekmurska gibanica’ a sweet pastry with layers of quark, walnuts, apples and poppy seeds. Or try the ‘potica’ - a sweet, nut roll.
8. Moscow, Russia
Russia definitely lives up to its chilly nature, with the food often being comforting, warming and carb heavy to at least keep your insides toasty even if your fingers feel like they’re about to drop off! The national dish is ‘pelmeni’ which are pastry dumplings filled with meat, and brushed with heaps of butter and sour cream. Another popular dish is ‘herring under fur coat’, which is a layered salad of pickled herring, vegetables, onions and mayonnaise. Also try the ‘borscht’ a beetroot soup and the ‘ukha’, a fish soup. One of the best to-go snacks that are available almost everywhere are ‘pirozhki’. Delicious fried pastries stuffed with all manner of things from cheese, to cabbage, to meat.
9. Skopje, Macedonia
Macedonia is one of those gems of Eastern Europe which has retained all of its tradition, especially when it comes to food. ‘Tavche grache’ is a fond dish from many Macedonian’s childhoods. It’s a white bean stew with tomatoes and onions (a bit like a really good pot of baked beans!). Another warming dish is ‘polneti piperki’ which are peppers stuffed with onions rice, minced meat and spices. It’s hot, gooey, comfort food at its best! And the ‘pastrmajlija’ is the Macedonian version of a pizza! A mix between bread and pie and loaded with dried, salted meat and egg. It’s so popular they even have an annual festival to celebrate the ‘pastrmajlija’!
10. Tirana, Albania
Albanian cuisine is mediterranean with strong influences from Greece, Italy and Turkey. Almost every recipe involves a huge selection of vegetables and lots of stews! The most famous food in Albania is by far ‘byrek’. A filo pastry, salty pie stuffed with cheese, meat or spinach - often eaten for breakfast. If you’re a cheese lover, you will love Albania! ‘Kackavall’ is a salty cheese which is delicious served fried. For desert, try the ‘trilece’ a cake made with milk, cream and concentrated milk it’s outstanding! The ‘tave kosi’ is the national dish - a quiche-like meal made from lamb, rice, eggs and yoghurt.
11. Riga, Latvia
Latvian food is the perfect blend of traditional and modern. They like to cook century-old dishes with a unique twist of new found ingredients. The most staple ingredient is ‘rupjmaize’ - dark rye bread which goes alongside almost every meal and is sometimes made into a pie with a paste of carrot and potatoes. ‘Spek’ is a delicious (albeit fatty!) smoked bacon made from pork belly and ‘kvass is a unique drink which tastes like sweet beer. The ‘liepajas mencins’ is a signature dish made from smoked fish and vegetables, and the perfect desert is ‘rupjmaizes kartojums’ - a rye bread trifle!
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