Recently, my office just did something we hadn’t done in three years–have a potluck lunch together.
Because the World Cup was on, we made that our theme. We wrote out the names of the 24 countries that made the cut on slips of paper and then passed around a bowl for people to choose a slip from. My slip read “Serbia” and I knew immediately that I would make a version of cevapi, their spiced meat sausages.
I read lots of recipes, and settled on the flavour profile of this one. I used beef and lamb, with a ratio of about 2:1 beef to lamb. However, I did not add mint, onion, eggs, bread or water to the mix. I did add chopped parsley, lots of freshly ground black pepper, lots of chopped fresh garlic, salt and dried oregano, cumin and coriander. I also added some baking soda, which showed up in several recipes I read, like these ones. I made a large batch of the meat mixture and used about half of it for the potluck, storing the rest of it the freezer.
I don’t have a barbecue, so I baked them in the oven for half an hour at 350 C with a sheet of parchment paper under them, and they turned out quite nicely.
I made these quick pickled onions to go with them. I followed the recipe, except I used sugar as the sweetener and heated the liquid in the microwave.
Both the sausages and the onions turned out well and they went beautifully together. The baking soda gives them a springy texture and helps them hold together. A week or so later, I made up the rest of the mixture and ate those with tzatziki and the onions. Absolutely delicious.
These would work well as an appetizer or a main meal. I love the idea of having some of these handy in the freezer. I will definitely be making these again soon.
A Flour By Any Other Name 