Dad's Dinner Rolls

2 cups all-purpose flour (more if needed)

1 envelope Rapid Rise yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine 3/4 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Heat milk, water and butter until very warm (120 degrees to 130 degrees F). Add to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed using an electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add 1/4 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover with kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rest 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and shape into balls. Place in greased 8-inch round cake pan. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. We usually placed this on the stovetop while the oven is preheating.

Bake in preheated 375º  F oven for 20 minutes or until done. Remove from pan. Brush with additional melted butter, if desired. Serve warm.

NOTE: Dad used this recipe when he was a chef in the army. It carried over into our family meals as well. Even though they are not Serbian, this is a treasured recipe of my father.

Pasta With Walnuts (Pasta Sa Orasima)

1 pound box of pasta (Bowties, rigatoni, spiral, fettuccini, linguini work best)

8 ounces shelled walnuts coarsely chopped

1/4 cup Olive oil or 1 stick of butter or margarine

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped parsley for garnish

Cook the pasta in lightly salted water until tender. In the meantime, melt the butter or place the oil in a sauté pan and add the walnuts. Fry the walnuts until lightly brown or soft. Drain the pasta and put into a large serving bowl. Pour the walnut mixture on top of the pasta and toss gently until all is mixed well. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle parsley on top and toss again. 

If you prefer, you can sprinkle some grated cheese on top before serving as well.


NOTE: When dad was a chef in the army during WWII, he had the chance to visit Mostar on a leave. He said he went to this kafana near the great bridge and had this for lunch. Since the recipe is simple, he figured it out and often made this for us. He said you can also squeeze a little lemon juice on the pasta after you drain it and put into the serving bowl, then add the walnut mixture.

Rags (Krpice)

This is a very simple side dish. You can use the homemade noodles recipe but cut the noodles wide, or you can buy already made wide style egg noodles.

1 pound of wide noodles or 1 large bag of store bought noodles
1 stick of butter or margarine
1/4 cup vegetable or Olive oil
1 medium onion diced
Salt & pepper taste

In a large sauce pan, melt the stick of butter or margarine. Add the oil and the onions to fry until the onions are soft and translucent. Meanwhile, boil water in a pot and add the noodles. Cook them until soft, about 7-10 minutes. Drain them and add them to the butter, oil, and onions. Mix thoroughly and season with salt and pepper to taste. You can use this simple recipe to make fried noodles and cabbage (halushki) as well. Just add diced cabbage and cook until the cabbage is soft and translucent.




NOTE: Grandma Bekich always called these "Krpice" because they looked like little strips of cloth or rags. She would make some of the most amazing meals and dishes out of whatever she had available in her pantry.

Homemade Noodles (Domaćim Rezancima)

3 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

4 large eggs

Combine the flour and salt and mound on a work surface. With your fist make a hole in the center of the mound. This is the fontana, or well. Crack the eggs into the center of the well and beat gently with a fork to break up the egg yolks. Using one hand and moving in a clockwise fashion, begin bringing the flour from inside the flour wall into the eggs. Use your other hand to keep the outside of the wall together. If the wall breaks, the eggs will seep out. 

Continue mixing until a ball of dough is created that is not soupy and holds its shape. Push the excess flour aside and knead the dough until a smooth, soft ball is obtained. Don't worry if you do not use all the flour; adding too much flour will result in a tough dough. On the other hand, if the dough is still sticky, add the remaining flour a little at a time until the desired consistency is obtained. Any leftover flour can be used to dust the sheets of dough whey they are cut. 

Knead the dough until a smooth ball is obtained, then let the dough rest for 30 minutes on a floured surface covered with a bowl or a damp kitchen towel. This will allow the gluten in the dough to relax and allow you to roll it out with ease. Roll the dough real thin into a large circle on a cutting board. If you have a pasta machine, cut the dough into strips so it is easy to insert in the machine and then cut into strips to the thickness you desire, the thinner the better for soup or a little thicker for boiling and using sauce or frying with cabbage or adding to a recipe. If you do not have a pasta machine, roll the dough carefully as you would a nut roll and starting at one end, with a sharp knife (watch your fingers!) slice thin or thick strips of noodles. Fluff them to separate whether you hand cut or machine cut so they do not stick together when cooking. Let the noodles dry out a little. Cooking for approximately 7-10 minutes should do it before you add them to your soup or other recipe.

NOTE: My mother and grandmother made these all the time in big batches and put them in plastic zip-lock storage bags and froze them. Then, when needed, they would just take out a bag or two, remove the noodles, and drop them in boiling water to cook.

Potato Pancakes (Krompir Palačinke)

My grandmother on my father's side, Baba Julka, taught mom how to make these. They are excellent!

4 large potatoes

1 yellow onion

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

ground black pepper to taste

2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Finely grate potatoes with onion into a large bowl. Drain off any excess liquid.

Mix in egg, salt, and black pepper. Add enough flour to make mixture thick, about 2 to 4 tablespoons all together.

Turn oven to low, about 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).

Heat 1/4 inch oil in the bottom of a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Drop two or three 1/4 cup mounds into hot oil, and flatten to make 1/2 inch thick pancakes. Fry, turning once, until golden brown. Transfer to paper towel lined plates to drain, and keep warm in low oven until serving time. Repeat until all potato mixture is used. 

Note: Mom served these with Kajmak or sour cream and applesauce. She made these as a side dish with breaded pork chops.

Beans & Sauerkraut (Grah I Kupus) Mom's Version

1 pound white Great Northern beans  

1 large can sauerkraut, rinsed and drained 

1 pound diced bacon 

1 small finely diced onion 

1 clove minced garlic 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

2 teaspoons salt or to taste 

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

1/4 teaspoon hot or sweet paprika, to taste

Wash beans and soak them overnight in about 2 gallons water. When ready to cook, drain and rinse beans, and transfer them to a large pot or Dutch oven with 1 gallon water. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 2 hours or until almost tender, adding more water, if necessary.

** YOU CAN USE CANNED OR A LARGE JAR OF ALREADY PREPARED GREAT NORTHERN BEANS, JUST DRAIN THE LIQUID OFF AND COOK IN YOUR POT OR DUTCH OVEN WITH THE 1 GALLON OF WATER **

Add sauerkraut and continue cooking while you prepare this zafrig (roux). Saute bacon and onion in large skillet until fat has rendered from the bacon. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon and onion, and stir it into the sauerkraut and beans along with the garlic.
Into the bacon grease, add flour, salt, pepper and paprika, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until zafrig is golden brown. Remove from heat and slowly add 2 cups cold water, whisking constantly until smooth. Add this to the sauerkraut and beans, mixing well. Cook 20 minutes. If too thick, add more water. If too thin, cook longer.

Mountaineer Lunch -- (Planinar Ručak)

I recall this for Sunday lunch after church and baba called it Mountaineer Lunch. She created this recipe from a few things she had in her pantry. I converted this for a slow cooker or crockpot.

2 lbs of fresh green beans or 2 boxes frozen green beans

2 lbs of ham

4 baking potatoes

1 small onion

Black pepper to taste (no salt needed)

Dice the ham, onion and potatoes.

Put everything in the crockpot along with 3 cups of water and season to taste with pepper.

Put on low for about six hours. Add more water if needed checking the crock pot frequently.