Inspired by the finger-licking Serbian cuisine, the cheeky chef Jamie Oliver decided to create a simple recipe using the two foods Serbs love most: ćevapi and ajvar.
On his blog, Jamie said that Serbians respect traditions and are one of those rare people who have three meals a day. He also pointed out that the focal point of Serbian cuisine is meat (pork, beef, chicken, veal…) which makes it very hard for foreign meat lovers to choose from a kafana’s menu without the help of waiter or recommendation of a Serbian friend.
On his official website mr. Oliver describes this scrumptious dish as follows: “These flatbreads filled with grilled meat (cevapi) and red pepper sauce (ajvar) are ideal if you have your mates coming over…”
Our mouths started watering so we decided to share the famous cook’s “Ćevapi with ajvar” recipe with you!
First thing’s first so here’s what ingredients you’ll need to prepare this treat:
750 g quality minced beef jamie oliver cevapi ajvar
400 g higher-welfare minced pork
1 small bulb of garlic, plus 4 cloves
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1 large free-range egg
150 ml sparkling water
olive oil
6 red peppers
2 aubergines
1 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 lemons
extra virgin olive oil
1 onion
6 flatbreads
pickled guindilla peppers (optional)
sour cream
And here’s how you prepare ćevapi à la Jamie Oliver:
Place the minced beef and pork in a large bowl, then peel and crush in the 4 cloves of garlic. Sprinkle over the bicarbonate of soda and paprika, and season.
Crack in the egg and use your hands to scrunch everything together. Add as much of the sparkling water as you need to make a smooth, pliable mixture.
Divide the meat into 10 to 12 pieces and roll each one into a sausage shape, about 10cm long and 2cm thick. Place the cevapi on an oiled baking tray, cover with clingfilm and chill in the fridge until needed.
For the ajvar, preheat the oven to 230ºC/gas 8.
Place the whole peppers and aubergines on a large roasting tray along with the unpeeled garlic bulb and roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the veg skins are blackened, turning halfway through.
Once the peppers and aubergines are charred, place them in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave for 20 minutes, to steam off the skins. Once they’ve cooled slightly, pull off and discard the skins, seeds and stalks and chop the flesh on a board.
Squeeze out the garlic from 6 of the roasted cloves and add it to the veg along with most of the parsley, then chop it all together.
Keep chopping everything together, season with sea salt and black pepper, squeeze over the juice of 1 of the lemons and drizzle over a good lug of oil. Adjust the seasoning to taste, then set aside.
Finely chop the remaining parsley and tip into a bowl. Peel, finely chop and add the onion, squeeze over the juice from the remaining lemon, then mix together. Set aside.
Just before you’re ready to serve, warm your flatbreads in the oven, and place a griddle pan over a high heat. When hot, cook the cevapi for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cooked through.
To serve, spread some ajvar on top of the warm flatbreads, with a couple of cevapi and a guindilla pepper on top of each, a dollop of sour cream and the herby onions on the side.
Bear in mind this dish serves 6 people and that would mean 2 ćevaps per person. Oh, dear Jamie, in Serbia we go at least 10 ćevaps each.
Nonetheless, it’s prste da poližeš!
www.jamieoliver.com
Photo: instagram.com/jamieoliver
