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Česnica is a Serbian brioche made from flour and water and is served on Christmas Eve. Its name comes from the noun cest = share (beautiful, isn’t it?). The person who prepares this delicious dessert always hides a coin inside it. The coin brings luck to whomever finds it.

My grandmother used to prepare this treat each year. But our Česnica was different. It was filled with a rich walnut mixture and coated with a decadent honey glaze. My grandmother used to turn flour and water into an extremely elastic dough. Then she used to stretch the dough into several thin sheets just by using her hands. It was such a delight to watch her!

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Pljeskavica is a Balkan signature dish. It’s nothing else but a beef/pork grilled burger. It’s perfect in its own simplicity. It is often served in a pita bread, with veggies and milk kajmak. We’ll talk about kajmak some other time.
I ate this delicious burger for the first time when I was about 4 years old. I remember vividly that my mother brought me pljeskavica from Novi Sad (Serbia). She also brought me that day a box of Cipiripi chocolate and a bucket literally a big, fat bucket) of Eurocrem spread. I can’t remember whether I liked pljeskavica or not. Obviously, I was mesmerized by the chocolate. I felt in love with pljeskavica 3 years ago. We were in Belgrade, two block from Kalemegdan and we saw this teeny tiny bistro. We took a place at a table and that was the moment when I tasted perfection for the first time.

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