Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia
Region: The Balkans

Veal under the lid

Teletina ispod peke/sača
Телетина испод сача (BCMS)

An everlasting kitchen tool

Behold the peka or sač, a time-honored yet delightfully rustic kitchen tool straight from the Balkans! Besides being a culinary treasure, its enduring appeal owes much to the charm of tradition.

But what exactly is a peka? Well, it’s nothing more than a metal, or at best, a cast-iron lid. These lids are covered with hot coals and ash that work their magic, transforming raw ingredients into culinary masterpieces. It is basically the rustic counterpart to the sleek ovens of today, reminiscent of North African tagines.

Cooking under the lid, is one of the oldest cooking techniques involving tools and not just open fire. Archaeological findings show that in the Pannonian fields in Eastern Croatia, long before the Roman era, cooking was done using ceramic lids.

The reason this cooking method has survived is because large parts of the Balkans were outside the reach of modernity for most of the second half of the 20th century. Back when gas stoves were a luxury few could afford, households across the Balkans utilised this age-old method for their daily culinary needs.

In Croatia, this was particularly the case in the Dalmatian hinterland, which remained relatively isolated due to the rugged mountain range that separates the area from the coast. Although the peka/sač is known throughout Croatia, it is mainly associated with this region.

In most Balkan countries this vessel is known as sač/сач (BCMS) or saç (Albanian), which derives from saj. This word comes from the from the Proto-Turkic word *siāč meaning tin or pan, and was introduced to the Balkans by the Ottoman Turks.

While the Turks may not have introduced the cooking technique, their impact resonates unmistakably through the adoption of iron utensils. Prior to the Ottoman era, the cooking lids were fashioned from clay, a tradition harking back to ancient times.

Simplicity with many names

In Croatia, which is renowned for its culinary diversity, this lid goes by numerous different names. While peka is the most common name, sač is also used in Southern Dalmatia and the Dalmatian Hinterland. In picturesque Istria – the northwestern corner or Croatia, it’s known as čripnja, crijepna or similar, resembling the Macedonian word црепна (crepna) and the Serbian crepulja.

Other names that are used in Continental Croatia are pekva and pokrivač (simply meaning cover), and others. In Macedonian, also вршник is used.

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Tips

Don’t put too many hot coals on the lid, the temperature easily gets too hot. Make use of the hot ash as well.

There recipes around that flood the ingredients with water or wine. You definitely want some liquid on the bottom to cook the vegetables and prevent everything from drying out, but remember this is a roast!

If you are using an oven instead of a lid with charcoal or wood, sear your meat (veal, lamb, or chicken) on each side for a minute before adding to the oven dish with potatoes and veggies.

Have a look after 30 or 40 minutes, and turn the meat and the veggies.