Food culture in Montenegro

Fish na gradele is grilled, leso fish is cooked in water with other ingredients, and brodet is simmered with onions and spices. Brodet is served with polenta, a dish made from maize flour. For leso fish, a brochure by the National Tourism Organisation lists boiled potatoes or chard.

Metovic Olive Mill in Stari Bar describes a summer factory tour outside the processing season, with an explanation of how the oil is made and a tasting of oil from Barska zutica, an olive variety. If you want to see processing under way, ask specifically when that is possible, and for a tasting, agree on a time and what the visit will include.

Krap is carp, while ukljeva is a small fish found in Lake Skadar. In krap u tavu, the fish is baked with onions and fruit such as plums, apples and quinces. Alongside this baked dish, the National Tourism Organisation's description of lake cuisine includes smoked carp and fresh or smoked ukljeva.

The National Tourism Organisation describes dried, smoked carp topped with a marinade of olive oil, garlic, parsley and lemon.

Njegusi cured ham is made from pork leg by drying it and smoking it over beech wood. You can try it with Njegusi cheese, which the National Tourism Organisation's brochure classifies as semi-hard to hard. The same brochure states that, after cheesemaking, Njegusi cheese is kept in a shaded, airy place for up to three months before use.

In Kopito, Njegusi, the Bogdanovic household publishes a traditional menu with cured ham, cheese, salads and rastan, leafy greens that it serves with homemade sausage. The household states that it welcomes guests from March to November, so agree on a date and menu for your visit.

In the National Tourism Organisation's brochure, the recipe for smocani kacamak uses boiled potatoes and wheat or maize flour, with the finished mixture topped with cheese and kajmak. Kajmak is a dairy product made from the fatty layer that separates after milk is boiled and left to stand. In cicvara, rich cheese and kajmak are cooked with maize flour.

Lisnati cheese is recognisable by its thin, leaf-like slices, and the National Tourism Organisation's brochure links its production to the municipalities of Kolasin and Mojkovac.