Balkan Ćevapi with Quick Kajmak and Raw Onion

⏱ 50 min · Serves 4

Smoky little skinless sausages with a bouncy, garlicky bite, piled into warm flatbread with cool, tangy quick kajmak and a mountain of sharp raw onion. Street food from Sarajevo, made in your own kitchen.

Per serving: 880 kcal · 48.0g protein · 47.0g carbs · 54.0g fat

Ingredients

• 500g minced beef (15-20% fat)
• 250g minced lamb (or minced pork)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 120ml sparkling water, ice cold
• 1.5 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp neutral oil, for grilling
• 150g cream cheese
• 100g full-fat crème fraîche or sour cream
• 50g feta, finely crumbled
• 30g soft butter
• Pinch of salt
• 1 large white onion, finely chopped
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 4 large pita or somun flatbreads
• Ajvar, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Put the beef and lamb in a bowl with the garlic, bicarbonate of soda, salt, pepper and paprika. Add the ice-cold sparkling water and mix hard with your hands for 4-5 minutes until sticky and paste-like — this gives ćevapi their springy texture.
2. Cover and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (up to overnight).
3. Meanwhile make the quick kajmak: beat the cream cheese, crème fraîche, feta and butter together until smooth and fluffy. Season with a pinch of salt and leave at room temperature.
4. With wet hands, roll the mixture into 20 sausages about 7cm long and 2cm thick. Keep them uniform so they cook evenly.
5. Heat a griddle pan, barbecue or heavy frying pan over high heat and brush with oil. Grill the ćevapi in batches for 3-4 minutes per side until deeply charred outside and just cooked through. Don't crowd the pan.
6. Warm the flatbreads on the grill for 30 seconds a side, then split them open.
7. Pile 5 ćevapi into each flatbread, spoon in a generous dollop of kajmak, scatter over plenty of raw chopped onion and parsley, and add ajvar if using. Eat immediately, with napkins.