![\"\"](\"https:\/\/burgershereandthere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/BHT-Montenegro-Burger1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nLamb Burger with Prosciutto, Mozzarella, and Pickled Root Veggies<\/h2>\n
My great grandparents were Croatian, so I was very excited to embark on developing a Montenegro recipe. Grammy was an amazing cook, so the food of the region holds a special place in my heart. For those of you who aren\u2019t familiar with it, Montenegro is a small country on the Balkan Peninsula. <\/p>\n
It is bordered by Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, Croatia, and the Adriatic Sea. The coastline of Montenegro was ranked by the National Graphic Traveler among \u201cone of the 50 Places of a Lifetime\u201d. It is a popular tourist destination for people from the region and from Russia. If you like gorgeous beaches and historic sites, add Montenegro to your list for vacation getaways.<\/p>\n
The name Montenegro dates back to the 13th century \u2013 Crna Gora in Montenegrin, it literally means \u201cBlack Mountain\u201d (after the evergreen covered Mount Lovcen). There\u2019s a rich history of kingdoms and warlords, but I\u2019ll save the details of ancient history and skip forward to the 20th century. In 1929 Montenegro was absorbed into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. We\u2019ve covered the dissolution of the Kingdom in previous posts, so fast forward again to 2006 when Montenegro achieved full independence. A candidate for EU membership since 2010 and a member of NATO since 2017, Montenegro is an upper middle income country with a service based economy and concentration of population near the coast.<\/p>\n What does one eat as you\u2019re sitting sea side and enjoy the gorgeous Mediterranean air? Montenegrins love fresh salads made from fresh vegetables that are easily grown in the region, but what they really love is meat. There\u2019s a Montenegrin saying that I came across several times in my research, \u201cmeat is the best salad\u201d. Beef, lamb, chicken, pork, prosciutto, and seafood near the coast \u2013 dinner is a time for meat \u2013 perfect for a burger blog!<\/p>\n Brav u Mlijeku (Lamb in Milk), is a classic dish that I decided to use as my inspiration for this burger. It\u2019s basically lamb and root vegetables braised in milk until you get a fabulous stew. A perfect dish for a cool autumn evening (those are coming soon!). <\/p>\n With a love of meat comes a love of cheese and Montenegrins are no exception. Kolansinski sir is one of the more popular cheeses, it\u2019s similar to fresh mozzarella. So great, we have a lamb burger with fresh mozzarella, add an Ajvar sauce (roasted eggplant and red pepper base), some pickled fresh root veggies, a bit of prosciutto and life is good!<\/p>\n The smokiness of the Ajvar sauce compliments the gaminess of the lamb and the creamy cheese pulls it all together. Pickled veggies provide a little crunch and range that breaks up the richness of the burger and keeps it from being too heavy. If I weren\u2019t allergic to beer, I\u2019d serve this with a nice hefeweizen, but since I am allergic to beer, we had the burger with a crisp Pinot Gris from Alsace. Because it\u2019s summer and the tomatoes are in season, I recommend throwing some tomatoes and cucumbers in a bowl with fresh herbs, a vinaigrette and perhaps a little feta as a side dish.<\/p>\n