There are certain meals that are characteristic for a certain area, they have a long tradition of preparation and they are associated with certain people. This is the connection between the Herzegovinians and smokvara (dessert made of figs), which is considered as the most Herzegovinian dessert of them all.
It might look like a differently shaped hurmasica (traditional dessert made of walnuts and dough) covered with fig jam on a first glance, but it is not that simple. You can eat great smokvara dessert in some of the restaurants near the Buna River in Blagaj or among the walls of Pocitelj, but the best one is at the restaurant Europa on the top of Kujundziluk in Mostar.
Kimeta Drljevic, a great chef of classic Bosnian dishes and specific Herzegovinian desserts that have almost disappeared from regular menus, is preparing this sweet dessert there, at the beginning of Kurluk, the shortest street of Mostar, with the view of the Old Bridge.
“Foreigners are demanding it because they heard that this is our traditional dessert, and our people from BiH are requesting it even more because they respect our tradition. There are no figs in Bosnia, only in Herzegovina, so there is no smokvara dessert there,” said Kimeta.
Smokvara dessert is served with a bit of orange in the restaurant Europa, which gives special taste in combination with fig jam, something completely different from anything you tried before.
Together with a cup of coffee and a view of the Old Bridge, it becomes a real symbol of Mostar and Herzegovina, today just like a few hundred years ago…
(Source: R. D./Klix.ba)
