Dishes Served on Christmas in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Christmas is one of the most popular holidays in Bosnia and Herzegovina given the fact that
the population in this Balkan country is multinational and multicultural. Thus, the
preparations for this magnificent festivity start weeks in advance. Not only do people decorate
their houses, buy new decorations and bigger Christmas trees, but they also tend to make the
best menus for their Christmas and Christmas Eve dinners. That is why they take out old
grandmothers' cookbooks and choose the most delicious traditional dishes to serve their
family, friends, and guests.

Of course, Christmas dishes are different from one region to another in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, but there are some unique characteristics of the entire country. The well-known
is the fact that lean food is something every household serves on Christmas Eve, but the next
morning may bring several surprises. For that reason, we bring you rather a short list of dishes
served on Christmas Eve and during three-day Christmas celebrations in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. We are sure you will adore some of them.

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Fish and Greens – A Must on Christmas Eve

No matter if you are religious or not, there are always fish and greens on the table on
Christmas Eve. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, people usually prepare either codfish or hake. In
most cases, greens are added as a side dish, but sometimes one can even have potato salad.
There are two variants of the codfish, a white and a red one.
In the white variant, one puts the fish into the pot together with laurel leaves. It needs to boil
for about two hours, after which the fish is cleaned and the bones are removed. The fish meat
is milled into a kind of cream, which is then put together with the perfect mixture of olive oil,
garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley. Such a cream is served on the top of the toasted bread and
with some kind of a green salad. Bosnian-Herzegovinians simply enjoy eating codfish in this
way, so you may try it as well.

Stuffed Squid

This extraordinary dish, apart from squid, considers an incredible mixture of Bosnian
traditional cheese called 'vlašićki sir' (named after the mountain Vlašić where it is usually
made), finely chopped tomato and green pepper as well as salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil.
Squid is stuffed with the mixture and roasted on the grill for several minutes. Should you taste
it on Christmas Eve, you would be enthralled by this magnificent dish.
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Holiday Soup – Perfect for Christmas Menu

It is made of white and green asparagus and other important ingredients like cream, white
wine, mussels, olive oil, garlic, and spices. The soup looks creamy and thick, and what is
more, it is topped with deliciously roasted mussels. People in Bosnia and Herzegovina usually
make this soup for Christmas, but other holidays are also not excluded. The holiday soup is
simply extraordinary and everyone should try it.
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Roasted Lamb With Potatoes

Roasted lamb with potatoes is a Bosnian-Herzegovinian delicacy and it is served on

Christmas in every Bosnian household. The meal is really not hard to prepare, and there are
not many ingredients. All you need is a large piece of lamb (about 2-3 kg), usually without
bones and 1,5 kg potatoes. Both, the meat and potatoes are cut into smaller pieces and roasted
at a moderate temperature for at least 1 hour (or hour and a half). Salt, pepper, and Vegeta
(dry vegetable mix) are the only spices added to the dish. Nevertheless, this is the meal that
will be eaten before any other treat on Christmas.
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Cabbage Rolls

Cabbage rolls are a tasty traditional dish in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and they involve minced
meat and the cabbage leaves. However, Christmas cabbage rolls have one more ingredient –
ham. Namely, ham is added to the mixture of minced meat, rice, and spices. All of these are
rolled into cabbage leaves and boiled on average temperature for an hour or two. Should you
want to make something new for Christmas, choose cabbage rolls and you won't regret your
decision.

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Cakes and Desserts – Hurmašica

There are numerous cakes and desserts made in Bosnia and Herzegovina for Christmas. Some
of them are traditional, and some of them are international. Among the traditional cakes,
hurmašica takes the first place on Christmas table.

These are a kind of a dough with eggs, sugar, and oil. The medium hard dough is divided into
small splattered balls that are baked at 220°C until they become golden. Then, they are poured
with 'agda' – a mixture of water and sugar. Hurmašica is a sweet and tasty cake, and if you
come to Bosnia and Herzegovina of Christmas, you can have it in every corner.
Baklava

Baklava is a very sweet cake. It involves a kind of a puff pastry (in Bosnian 'jufka') and 1 kg
finely chopped nuts. After it is baked at a low temperature, baklava is poured with the mixture
of hot water and sugar. Christmas is impossible without baklava in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
so get ready to taste it in case you visit the country sometime around Christmas.

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Other Christmas Cakes

Various other Christmas cakes are made days and days before the holiday, and women in
Bosnia and Herzegovina tend to prepare colorful, tasty and rich cookies to serve their guests.
Among the cakes and cookies served on tables for Christmas, there are the so-called chocolate
triangles with hazelnuts, Christmas stars with cinnamon, chocolate stars, Christmas honey
cakes, chocolate and coconut rolls, black and white cookies and rum balls.
Christmas menu in Bosnian-Herzegovinian households is indeed rich and abounds with both,
salty and sweet dishes. Some of them are traditional and some are not, but Bosnians always
find a perfect mixture of both, local and international dishes. Cakes and desserts are also an
important part of the Christmas treat and apart from the traditional cakes like baklava and
hurmašica, there is a whole bunch of other cakes (usually 6 or 7) that Bosnians make during
one of their favorite holidays.