A hand-flattened disc of the same spiced minced meat used for cevapi, grilled and served in lepinja flatbread — essentially the kebab family's burger. The stuffed version (punjena) hides molten kackavalj cheese inside.
Also known as: pleskavica, plieskavica, Serbian hamburger, Leskovac pljeskavica, punjena pljeskavica
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 500 g coarsely ground beef chuck, minimum 20% fat
- 200 g ground pork neck (or all beef, as in the south)
- 100 ml chilled sparkling water
- 1.5 tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp hot paprika and black pepper
- 4 lepinja or thick pita breads
- Kajmak (or thick sour cream mashed with butter)
- 1 onion, chopped
- Ajvar
How to make it
- 1
Knead the meats with salt, paprika and the sparkling water until sticky, then cover and refrigerate overnight; the rest builds the springy bind.
- 2
On wet palms, slap each portion flat into a disc wider than your hand and about 1.5 cm thick.
- 3
Grill over strong heat 4-5 minutes per side without ever pressing down.
- 4
Toast the lepinja cut-side down in the drippings while the meat rests a minute.
- 5
Serve the pljeskavica in the bread loaded with kajmak, raw onion and ajvar.
Pro tip: Overnight maturing of the salted mix is not optional folklore: salt and time restructure the proteins into the elastic, juicy chew that separates pljeskavica from a burger that merely looks like one.
