Cevapi. Split Croatia

People are giving me strange looks. Who the hell is this idiot taking a picture of a half eaten cevapi sandwich? I’m standing on the Riva in Split Croatia, facing Diocletian’s, Palace, holding a cevapi sandwich (let's call it a Croatian burger) with one hand, up high, with the other trying to frame a photo with my camera. This is more difficult then you might think. I can't get the camera to focus on both the cevapi and the palace at the same time. Oh well, I'll post two photos and between the two you get the idea.

 

Although not technically a burger, it sort of looks like one and it's easy to call this a Croatian burger. Cevapi are small sausage shaped, kabab like, mixtures of ground meat, usually a mixture of beef pork and or lamb and spices but depending on who's making it the ratios can vary and of course the taste. The cevapi are served in a "ljepina' which is pretty much a giant burger bun, but in terms of flavour sort of a cross between your typical bun and a chewy ciabatta bun like texture with some sour dough thrown in. Normally, I'd be screaming about too much bun smothering the flavour of the burger but in this case it works, there is a lot of flavour in this thing. Traditionally served with onions and ajvar (a local condiment, red pepper spread) this is a classic. Huge flavour from the little cevapi smothered in a smooth red pepper sauce and the crunch and sweetness of the onions wow. You can grab a cevapi sandwich at many of the small takeout windows dotted around the Split Riva or almost anywhere in Croatia.

This is my first meal in Croatia this year. Ah, it's good to be back.