Kačamak recipe

A mountain dish of potato and cornmeal beaten by hand until it pulls away in glossy ropes, then flooded with melted kajmak and cheese.

1 hour and 20 minutesmedium7 ingredients

Ingredients

• 1500 g potatoes
• 250 g cornmeal
• 150 g kajmak
• 250 g fresh cow cheese
• 500 ml sour milk
• 1500 ml water
• 2 tsp salt

How to make Kačamak

1. Peel 1.5 kg of potatoes, cut them in large chunks and put them in a wide pot with 1.5 litres of salted water, more water than you would use to simply boil them.
2. Boil 30 minutes uncovered until the potatoes fall apart, without draining. The starchy water is part of the dish.
3. Pour 250 g of cornmeal over the surface in a mound, do not stir, and cook 20 more minutes on low heat so the meal steams through.
4. Now beat. Use a wooden masher or a sturdy spoon and work the mass against the side of the pot until there is not one lump of potato left, 15 to 20 minutes. Montenegrins count 365 strokes. This is the whole dish, there is no shortcut.
5. In a small pan, melt 250 g of kajmak with 250 g of crumbled fresh cow cheese over low heat until they run together.
6. Pour the melted cheese and kajmak over the beaten mass and fold it through in a few strokes, leaving visible streaks rather than a uniform mixture.
7. Serve at once, straight from the pot, with cold sour milk poured alongside.

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