B is for Burek

Burek is that flaky pastry fast food of the balkans, wherever you go you are sure to find a burek stand, my favourite is just inside the walls of the old city of Zadar selling slices of multiple layers of filo pastry with a filling of meat usually lamb spiced with cinnamon, and rosemary, also popular are the sheeps cheese  varieties with a side of yogurt. Burek is to the nightlife of the balkans, of what the Macdonalds drive thru or the Hot Dog van outside the nightclub is to Australia, an absolute necessity !!! Anyway whilst I lived in Sydney I spotted a sign stating "BEST BUREK IN SYDNEY" after talking to the guy inside he told me he was a 3rd generation burek maker his grandfather opened a burek stand in Zagreb the capital of Croatia just after the second world war, They were in Rockdale next door to the Bunnings hardware store, in Melbourne check out

Balkan Fresh Burek

Ph: (03) 9470 2433 ; 351 High St, PRESTON 3072

Kings Fresh Burek 58 Kings Road, St Albans VIC 3021

From Ajvar to Žganci

Ideas come to us in many different ways, this particular idea came to me last night whilst nestling a glass of sljivovica ( plum brandy, and NO not all of it is rocket fuel ) How about a culinary journey through the Croatian alphabet, a bit like "Julie and Julia" but actually more like "Slavko and Zlatko" now the Croatian alphabet has 30 letters some of whom you will recognize some of whom you wont and some of whom wont be there at all, like the letter Q so here goes

A is for Ajvar

Now this delicous relish of eggplant, red capsicum, garlic and chilli is enjoyed all over the region, from breakfast where it is smeared on toast, to  it accompanying your favourite cold meats in a roll or as a side to cevapcici, ajvar is very popular I will go so far as stating that its Balkan Vegemite. Ajvar making season is about now, with my mum forever commenting on the various qualities of capsicums and so forth, recipes are closely guarded which wont stop me posting one as soon as i can pry one out of the relatives so keep a look out, as for the shop bought stuff I have seen the PODRAVKA brand for sale at Coles and Woolworth's usually in the international section ( very quaint ), or you should find it in most delis with a eastern european bent.

Ziveli

Karlovacko Pivo

Ahhhhh  Karlovacko to be sitting in a cafe on one of the islands in the Adriatic drinking this finely crafted beer, brewed in Karlovac Croatia since the middle of the 19th century, the brewery sits on the confluence of five rivers ( got a be a good sign ) a clean full flavoured beer and at 5.4% a decent level, is now available in Melbourne via Dan Murphys and can be enjoyed  at the following fine establishments.

Australian Croatian Association
72 Whitehall  st Yarraville

Dalmatino
280 Bay st Port Melbourne

Atticus Finch
129 Lygon st Brunswick East