Montenegro is small enough that the whole cuisine changes over an hour's drive. The coast cooks fish and shellfish with olive oil and garlic; the mountains cook lamb, cheese and cornmeal. Both are simple, salty and designed to be eaten with bread, and both are better than a country this size has any right to.
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The national lager, brewed in Nikšić since the nineteenth century and on tap in almost every café inland.
It is the default beer of the country and the brewery is the town's main employer. The unpasteurised draught version inland is noticeably better than the bottled export, and it is drunk alongside rakija rather than instead of it.
Smoked, air-dried ham from the village of Njeguši above Kotor. Saltier and smokier than Italian prosciutto.
It is cured in the mountain air and then cold-smoked over beech, which is why it is darker and more assertive than the Dalmatian version. It is a protected product, sliced thin, and served with cheese and olives as the standard mountain platter.
Polenta cooked with cheese and cream, stirred until thick enough to cut. Mountain food, and it fills you for a day.
It is made in a copper pot with cornmeal stirred into boiling water, then cheese and kajmak folded through. The consistency should be firm enough to slice, and it is often served with a pool of cream and some cured meat on the side.
A hard sheep cheese from the same village, usually kept in oil, sharp and salty.
It is aged in wooden vats and then stored in olive oil, which keeps it moist and deepens the flavour. Paired with the pršut from the same village, it is the defining food of the Montenegrin mountains.
Carp, eel and trout from Lake Skadar, grilled or cooked in a paprikash.
The lake is the largest in the Balkans and the fish is genuinely local rather than imported. Grilled carp with garlic and olive oil is the standard, and smoked carp is sold along the lakeside roads.
Mussels or prawns cooked in white wine, garlic and breadcrumbs. The Boka Kotorska way with shellfish.
The breadcrumbs are the thickening agent — they soak up the wine and garlic and become a loose sauce rather than a garnish. Mussels from the Bay of Kotor are farmed in the sheltered water and are the best in the Adriatic.
Fried dough, served with honey or cheese, eaten at breakfast and during festivals.
The dough is a simple yeasted batter dropped into hot oil, and they are eaten immediately. In the north they come with kajmak and honey; on the coast they are sweeter, with jam.
Grape or plum brandy, usually homemade, served in small glasses before eating.
Loza is the grape version, kruna is made with herbs, and the homemade bottles are considerably stronger than the commercial ones. It is drunk before the meal rather than with it, and it is considered rude to refuse the first glass.
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