Specialties that await you on the Tara rafting trip

While on trips and tours of a certain region, we want to try the authentic flavors, so we can create an image of that area through the sense of taste. Healthy, organic food is gaining popularity both in the world and in our country. Eating healthy, eating foods full of flavor, grown at a short distance from the place where they are consumed, from local cultivation, without chemical treatment or additives has become a privilege and an ideal to strive for.

Fortunately, we are blessed that in our area near Foča, and around the Tara and Drina rivers, we have an abundance of plant and animal food sources from nature of perfect purity, as well as a preserved rich tradition of food preparation according to old recipes.

When you visit us, you will be convinced that not only rafting awaits you at the Rafting Center Drina Tara, but also a true gourmet and hedonistic experience. Many guests say that it is the food in our camp that made the strongest impression on them and that they would always come back because of it. Let's see what culinary specialties await you on rafting in Tara.

Local cultivation and authentic gastronomic pleasure

Local cultivation implies a healthy and ecological approach, which means that the food is grown within a radius of no more than 100 km. Local food is followed by a supply chain completely different from the system of large supermarkets. Local food movements aim to support and connect small food producers and consumers in the same geographic region, develop self-sustaining food networks, and impact health and the environment. Local food represents an alternative to the global food model, according to which food often travels long distances before reaching the consumer.

In contrast to fast food and the hectic lifestyle in cities, this concept strives to preserve traditional, regional cuisine and encourages the cultivation of plants and animals in the local ecosystem. It promotes small local entrepreneurs and sustainable food, focusing on food quality, gastronomic pleasure, the joy of eating, and a relaxed pace of life.

The best quality fish from the Drina and Tara

Wild fish swimming freely in crystal clear rivers and not fattened in farming are also the healthiest and are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. With us, you can eat it prepared on the grill or on a plate.

Brown trout

With a crispy and delicious crust on the outside, and juicy and salty meat of characteristic freshness inside, trout is a sophisticated culinary specialty that no one can resist.

Trout inhabit high-altitude salmonid waters and are characterized by red spots on its body. Important conditions for its life are a faster flow rate and the amount of oxygen in the water and a lower water temperature. Trout swims quickly and skillfully, and its body is proportionally built. The ideal water temperature for brown trout is up to 10°C.

Grayling

Grayling is an extremely tasty freshwater fish with a wide lower jaw, a small head, and a small mouth. It can be found in rivers throughout Central and Northern Europe, and the mountain rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina are especially abundant with it. The grayling looks more like a white fish than a salmonid. It lives exclusively in clear waters with a shallow, gravelly bottom. When a grayling is caught, it is very combative, fleeing into the strongest current or jumping out of the water. Lipljan is a sensitive fish, but an excellent swimmer in the strongest water currents.

It is characterized by its small mouth and large crimson dorsal fin, while it has small round black spots on its back and flanks. It reaches 1 kg to 1.5 kg in weight and is forty centimeters in length.

Priganice

Priganice is served in households in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They can be eaten with honey and homemade jam, sprinkled with powdered sugar, or with chocolate cream, and they are also excellent as a savory breakfast option with prosciutto, ajvar, cheese, and cream.

The mixture for priganice is made from flour, water, yeast, salt, and sugar, and the magical ingredient of this airy dough is a spoonful of brandy. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and they are baked so that they do not absorb the fat during frying.

Meals under the bell "sač"

Dishes under the bell are one of the tastiest because of the special way of preparation. Bell (sač) is a large gusseted, forged, earthen or ceramic lid resembling a shallow bell. It is used to cover the dough for bread and pies or various dishes while baking/roasting/cooking, and over which ashes and hot coal are placed. Dishes prepared under the stove are cooked evenly so that they retain their juiciness and are loved for their rich taste.

What kind of dishes do we offer at our place? In the Rafting Center Drina Tara, we prepare a variety of pies (with cheese, greens, potatoes, and burek with meat), roasts, and our cooks even bake bread under the bell in this way. Fresh homemade rye, barley, and buckwheat bread await you with each meal. Our lamb, goat, and veal roasts have a special note because the cattle grazed on fragrant fields full of various herbs, and when they are prepared under the bell- it's a winning combination.

The preparation of pies under the bell is traditional in many parts of the Balkans. With this method of preparation, the liquid flows down the walls of the container and the juices circulate naturally. All of this contributes to the special taste that the food gets, retaining moisture and juiciness as well as all the healthy ingredients in the food, while the food is not greasy at all. Our cooks develop crusts for pies like in the old days, and a specialty that can rarely be tried anywhere else is a pie made from young nettle, and guests also like the soft, warm and delicious pie razljevuša (‘spilled pie’).

Kachamak (pura)

Kachamak (Turkish: kaçamak) is a type of traditional dish made from corn flour, similar to polenta. In various parts of our region, it has different names - pura, mamaljiga, and žganjci. It is a very tasty porridge made following our grandmothers' recipe and it is a healthy and light countryside breakfast. It is prepared from white corn flour and can be combined with cheese.

Cheese, sour milk, and other dairy products that await you in the restaurant of the Drina Tara Rafting Center are real delicacies made from cow's, sheep's, and goat's milk with special flavors that come from various plants that grazing animals feed on, which gives them a special aroma.

Cabbage or collard rolls with game meat

Sarma is a traditional Greek, Turkish and Serbian dish, very popular in the Balkans. It is a favorite household dish around which we gather at weddings, celebrations, and the like, and it is made from mixed minced meat and rice wrapped in a cabbage leaf and cooked on the stove or in the oven with pieces of dried meat and bacon placed in between. It is mainly prepared from sauerkraut, while in some regions a mixture of minced meat, onions, and rice is wrapped in vine leaves.

With us, you can expect a refreshing combination of sauerkraut or cabbage and game meat, with a specialty- rastika rolls. Raštika is a descendant of wild cabbage - a herbaceous plant that grows on the coast and plateaus up to 1800 m above sea level.

Baklava

Baklava is a sweet dessert loved by both children and adults. It originates from Turkey and is made from a large number of stacked thin pie crusts. This oriental delicacy is a favorite part of Bosnian, Serbian, Montenegrin, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, and Turkish cuisine, and can be stuffed with ground walnuts, almonds, chopped pistachios, butter, raisins, with the addition of lemon, cinnamon, and a very sweet syrup-like topping - sherbet (sugar, water, honey, lemon).

For vegetarians and vegans

We have something for everyone - vegans, vegetarians, and vegetable lovers- we offer a large selection of delicious specialties, including various dishes made from healthy organic vegetables grown in the traditional way. You only need to emphasize which diet you are on when booking the arrangement. For mushroom lovers, there are various forest mushrooms from this region such as boletus, chanterelles, oyster mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, etc.

If we had to describe our cuisine in just a few words, it would be local food and specialties, organic food, and traditional dishes. Whether you came alone, with friends, relatives, family, or as part of a team building activity with colleagues, when you get hungry after an exciting rafting trip on the Tara and in the evening with the company and a good time by the fire, we will honor you with a real feast. Warm veal stew, various appetizers such as dry meat dried in a special way, cream, prosciutto, homemade cheese, sweet and savory tasty morsels, and gourmet sausages, as well as brandy made from plums, pears, vines, quality wines with geographical origin and much more what we haven't listed awaits you in our camp on the bank of the Drina river.