What is ćevapi?
Ćevapi (or ćevapčići or čevapčiči/čevapi in Slovenian) is a traditional recipe from the Balkans. The actual dish typically consists of bread (lepinja), a condiment made from red bell peppers (ajvar) and kebabs known as cevapi.
The region of the Balkans has undergone significant geopolitical changes in recent decades. This is the reason why it is difficult to give an exact origin for the recipes from the region.
Ćevapi (pronounced “tche-va-pee”) or ćevapčići (“tche-va-pee-chee”) is a kind of kebab that is quite common in the Balkan cuisine but also more generally in all of Southern Europe. These long meatballs are generally eaten in lepinja bread, and served with ajvar, but also chopped onions or kaymak (similar to clotted cream).
There are several different cevapi recipes, starting with the meat that is used, either pork, beef, or lamb, or combinations of these meats. The recipe presented here is a more common version with lamb and beef.
We have attributed cevapi to Slovenia but we could also have attributed it to Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria or even parts of Italy… only we had traveled through all these countries already, or close to it!
Cevap comes from the Persian word kebab. It becomes cevapi in the plural form because it’s so good and you can not settle for just one!
What are the versions of cevapi?
There are several versions of cevapi throughout the Balkans. This specialty was introduced by the Ottomans during their expansion in this region in the late Middle Ages.
Leskovački cevap for example is a variant based on pljeskavica, a large hamburger from Serbia. In Bosnia, they bear the sweet name of travnički.
Baking soda in ground meat? Whača doin?
Baking soda in cevapi
This was the first time I used baking soda in ground meat and I think I will always do it from now on. When I found a few cevapi recipes including this ingredient, I did some research and learned that it helped tenderize the meat and made it a little more airy. I tested it and I can now attest. The meat was much less dense and was lighter than usual.
The lepinja was excellent. The dough is slightly more liquid than a traditional dough and the fact that it needs to rise three times gives the bread a light and airy touch.
It was the second time I made ajvar. I had already prepared this condiment at the dinner with my Serbian buddy Djordje when I cooked my sarmas. Ajvar is fairly simple to make and it is just delicious, especially with cevapi.
Everyone loved it this cevapi dish, so much so that we ate it all weekend. I have to say that I bought 4 pounds of meat that I ground myself. I bought a grinder accessory for my KitchenAid 3 months ago and I cannot even fathom why anyone would buy pre-ground meat anymore!
- 1 lb pork
- ½ lb beef (chuck)
- ½ lb lamb (shoulder)
- 5 cloves garlic
- ½ onion
- ½ bunch parsley
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon baking soda , dissolved in ¼ cup of water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- Grind all the ingredients.
- Make small kebabs of ground meat, about 3 to 4 inches long.
- Preheat barbecue (ideally) or a grill.
- Cook cevapi for 8 minutes on one side then turn over and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes.
Serve 5 to 8 cevapi in the lepinja with ajvar, thinly sliced onions and sour cream.
Eva says
I love your blog, but please, guys, do not attribute cevapi to Slovenia :)! First of all, we call them cevapcici and the speling you used is correct, but is distinctly serbian. Slovenians do not use the soft c. Second, they originate on the south of Balkan, namely Bosnia and Serbia. Even though they have become a staple here, It is kind of weird to call them a slovenian dish. We have tons of others… potica, zganci, jota (a kind of choucroute), zlinkrofi, gibanica… if you will have time to focus on our small country, these are just a few of the dishes I’d recomend 🙂
Now, this said, your blog is fantastic! I’ll definitely be coming by again.
Au revoir, j’espere ;)!
Mike Benayoun says
Thanks for the feedback, Eva! So, this is an older recipe from the blog at a time when we were only doing one recipe per country, and it was sometimes not easy to find ONE recipe for the country. So, yes, we ended up making recipes that were popular in that country, although they may not have originated from the country itself (although in most cases, they were from the region). In any case, thank you so much for the ideas of typical Slovenian recipes. Our blog is due for some content rework for these older recipes by the end of the year, so we will make sure to take your comments into consideration. Keep them coming, and thanks so much for the compliments on the blog 😉 We also edited the name of the recipe in the title with the proper “c”.
Sue says
Great recipe! I make these quite often and serve them in pocket pitas with tzatziki sauce, like a gyros. Good cold the next day too. The baking soda is the key ingredient. It really gives them an amazing texture. Also, I let them sit in the fridge for a few hours so the flavors meld. Thanks 196flavors for all of your wonderful ethnic recipes. It’s quite a learning experience, like traveling the world. I’m having fun in my old age trying your recipes.
Mike Benayoun says
Thanks so much, Sue! I am so glad you liked them. And yes, although they are typically served with sour cream, I can totally see tzatziki sauce or toumya sauce (Turkish garlicky sauce) served with them. Enjoy the culinary journey with us 😉
Lynn Tarrence says
I made these for the first time today! We all loved them and will make again. My Ancestry DNA has me In Pomerania, Croatia, Poland and the Balkan States. This reminds me of meatballs my grandmother served over homemade noodles with sour cream cukes. Thank you!
Lunn
Mike Benayoun says
Thanks so much for sharing, Lynn. So glad we reminded you of your grandmother 😉