Yogurt Sauce for Ćevapčići

Ćevapčići revisited

Yesterday I bought 1 pound of frozen ground New Zealand spring lamb and a chunk of pork butt. I let the lamb de-frost in fridge overnight, ground 1 pound of pork and made bunch of Cevapcici sausages. I kept four for supper and rest I froze and vacuum packed for a quick after golf meal. I used ice cream scoop to make uniform size sausages for even grilling and ended up with 19. That is a lot of food!

Anyway, this time I grilled them on barbecue and served them with yogurt and cucumber dip with Napa cabbage, arugula and tomatoes on side. I found this version better then Czech version with mustard. It was so refreshing and light!

Next time I’ll serve Cevapcici I will chop one sausage together with lettuce or Napa cabbage, arugula and white onions and fill half pita bread with yogurt sauce on top. Excellent summer snack or light dinner.

Yogurt Sauce

1 cup finely chopped seeded and peeled cucumber

1 cup plain yogurt, preferably Balkan style

1 Tbs. lime juice

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1 clove garlic. finely minced

Pinch of sugar

Mix all ingredients till well combined. If you want a bit of heat add cyan pepper to taste.

Ready for grill or freezer.

Pork Cevapcici (Ćevapčići)

Cevapcici is a national dish of Balkan states that formed former Yugoslavia. It consists of grilled minced or ground meat (lamb, beef or pork alone or any combination) formed into an oval sausage and is served with chopped onions, mustard and potatoes or rice. Besides Balkans all countries of Central and Eastern Europe have their own version. Wikipedia has an excellent entry on this summer meal favorite.

I prefer pork and lamb combination.

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork

1 lb ground lamb

1 egg white
1 Tbs. hot Dijon mustard

1 tsp. salt

4 cloves minced garlic

1/2 small onion, minced

1 tsp. hot Hungarian paprika

1 tsp. sweet Hungarian paprika

1 tsp. baking powder

Directions

Preheat a grill to medium-low heat.

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, lamb, mustard and egg white.

Add the garlic, salt, baking powder, sweet and hot Hungarian paprika.

Mix well using your hands, and form into thick sausages about index finger long.

Oil the grill grate and grill sausages for about 15 minutes or until cooked through, turning till all sides are light gold.

Serve with boiled potatoes, chopped onions and mustard.

I served my Cevapcici on bed of chopped Napa cabbage and arugula.

Note: If grill is not available it is just as good to shallow fry with lard in heavy skillet. It takes about same time to cook on medium high heat.