Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Taste the authentic side of Serbia
With fresh produce in abundance, this Balkan state is becoming a top destination for foodies. JONJO MAUDSLEY works up an appetite
WITH an emphasis on fresh, organic, high-quality ingredients, Serbia champions a farm-to-fork culture. No matter where you go, you are sure to come across exceptional flavours in epic quantities.
I start my journey in Serbia’s second city, Novi Sad. Overlooked by the striking 17th Century Petrovaradin Fortress, the old town unfurls like a labyrinth of intimate corridors and sky-high spires. No wonder it’s destined to be European Capital of Culture 2021.
But the foodie highlights lie beyond the city, so I head 30 minutes south in the direction of Vinska Kuca Kovacevic restaurants in Krstasice. Featuring grapes grown in Fruska Gora National Park, I’m excited to sample their five-wine tasting menu (vinarijakovacevic.com; five wine tasting menu 2,900 RSD/£22 per person). I delight in their zesty 2010 Brut, their 2017 Orpheline Riesling and, with my gooey cream slice dessert, their 2017 Bermet – this secret Serbian recipe contains herbs and spices and was, I’m told, the dessert wine of choice aboard the Titanic.
It’s at this table that I learn flavour is only half the story in Serbia; mealtimes here are as animated as Roman theatre battles. Forks probe from all sides of the table, stabbing at mounds of oozing goat’s cheese, crunchy vegetables and hunks of juicy sausage. Drinks are spilled, conversations get heated, and every morsel evokes the taste of the local, authentic side of local culture.
I hit the road again. No journey through Serbia is complete without a visit to its capital, Belgrade, which is shaking off its troubled history to re-establish itself as a punky party city. With its contemporary coffee shops and ornate, antique architecture, Belgrade embodies Serbia’s ambition to establish itself as a top European destination – and that, of course, means plenty to delight the taste buds, too.
I enjoy a wonderful dinner on the banks of the Danube at the historic Stara Carinarnica in New Belgrade (staracarinarnica.com; mains from 680 RSD/£5). The menu is rich with local fish, but before I’ve had a chance to consider it properly, I’m bombarded with samples of local rakia.
What is rakia, you ask? A nostrilstinging, gut-cleansing brandy, available in dozens of different flavours. Every Serbian, I’m told, starts their day with a good measure, and with so much delicious choice on offer, I can understand why.
The next morning, I head further south into the Morava Valley. Here, I discover the Aleksandrovic Winery, one of the most renowned in Serbia – not only for its exceptional wine, but for the impressive history of the brand.
After the original vineyard collapsed during the communist regime, it was revived in 1992 and now produces half a million litres of wine per year. My tour concludes with a feast of fresh food and a six-wine tasting session, featuring the 2017 Prokupac and the sumptuous 2018 Triumph, a sparkling wine said to have been a favourite of the Serbian royal family (vinarijaaleksandrovic.rs; six wine tasting menu 2,900 RSD/£22 per person).
I spend my final night in Belgrade at Ambar, a glam restaurant on the banks of the river Sala with a breathtaking view over the glitzy heights of New Belgrade (ambarrestaurant.com; eight course menu 2,900 RSD/£22 per person). On a weekend evening, expect to find it packed with the local hoi polloi sharing stories over rakia. Eight courses consist of warm breads and freshly churned dips, fried zucchini, pulled cabbage salad and beef sirloin, each with a memorable flavour that firmly establishes Serbia as my new favourite destination for fresh, local, organic (and, of course, delicious) food.