Croatia

Okay so I am on an Eating Around the World Adventure where we randomly pick a country and eat food from that country for a week. A few of you know my background and have said 'what about Croatia, when are you doing Croatia'. Well as it is a random shuffle I will get there eventually, but now with the hype of the World Cup, where Croatia got to shine in front of the world, I thought I'd give a post about the food I grew up on, food that is already on my blog.

I am an Australian born Croatian, my parents were both born there as was my husband. My father is from the island Lastovo, my mother from Vrsi, Zadar and my husband is from Pula. My husbands parents were originally from Medimurje, so you can imagine the food I have been exposed to. All different, all delicious.

I grew up eating Dalmatian food, met my husband and was introduced to food from Medimurje, made by my mother in law, then went to Pula and got to eat food from there also. Every region has different food, and all of it is truly amazing.

As my husbands parents live in Croatia we visit quite often. Last year we went on a six week holiday there and it was amazing. We traveled through Istra and Dalmacija, it was amazing. The food we ate, so good. The people, the places, truly a country people should put on their bucket list.

Now I know I was not born there, but being Croatian is a feeling. I grew up with a love for a country, for it's traditions, for it's food, all because of my parent's and how they spoke of it, how they raised me, don't get me wrong I love Australia also, but Croatia will always be special to me. On my last visit I would walk around my mum's village and get teary, I would walk and think my mum used to play here as a kid. I visit her village and I belong there, so even though she left in the 60's, when I go back you have a sense of belonging, you have family there.

Watching the World Cup this year was amazing, watching Croatia play, watching them with pride. Watching the country celebrate when the players came home, it was truly special. What was extra special, is my kids had such pride in their background, they showed a love for the country also. That is why I say it is a feeling, something in you, Croatia is in your blood.

Now a lot of the food I grew up on was pre cookbook and the internet era. My mother, God love her, is an amazing cook, the food she made us was delicious. We had such a variety of food, and there was no recipes, she just made things. I am not even close to being that good. To this day I have no idea how she learnt to cook so well, I put it down to loving her family and making sure they had the best. My dad when he was younger cooked also, it was whichever parent came home first from work started dinner, my mum is very organised person.

Dinner time: this was a time my mother said was family time. We always waited for the last person to get home before we had dinner. This is something I now do with my family, we always sit down together for dinner, we eat, we talk about our day, and spend a small time of our day, gadget free, just spending time together.

My husband, he loves to cook also. On days when I don't feel like cooking he'll throw together a meal that is delicious. He loves making soups and stews, but he really can make anything.

So here are things I grew up on, things I was introduced to after meeting my husband. Now some may say not everything is traditional to Croatia, but what I have learnt since starting this little adventure, is that food crosses many borders, so this is more about what people are eating in a country, rather than where it originated.

Scrambled Eggs and Asparagus 
Langusi 
​Chicken Livers and Onions 
​Simple Fried Chicken 
Octopus and Potato Salad
My Mum's Octopus Salad 
Musaka 
Fried Calamari 
Grilled Fish 
Kebabs 
Roast Pork with Sauerkraut 
Mince and Potato Pita 
Mince Stuffed Capsicums 
Sarma 
Mussel Buzara 
Cuttlefish Stew 
Fried Whitebait 
Fried School Prawns 
My Mother in Laws Goulash with Trganci 
My Mother in Laws Cabbage Soup 
Cuz Pajz-Cabbage Soup 
Jota-Sauerkraut Soup 
My Dad's Lentil Soup 
​Pasta Fazol 
Josip's Spinach 
Blitva
Lastovsko Zelje 
Fish Soup 
Chicken Soup with Griz Knedle 
Beef or Lamb Soup 
Beef and Bean Goulash Soup 
Easy Baked Goulash 
Cheese and Zucchini Pita 
Chicken Paprikas with Pljukanci 
Beef Goulash 
Medimurska Gibanica 
Palacinke 
Ricotta Filled Crepes 
Madarica 
​Krempita 
​

Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus: I have lost count how many times my mother in law made us 'jaje i sparoge'. Now in Australia we don't have the wild asparagus that Croatia has, but this is still really, really good with our asparagus, and at certain times of the year we can buy baby asparagus and that is perfect here. This is a Sunday morning breakfast in our house.

Medimurski ​Langusi: Another recipe that my mother in law taught me. This is like a little fried bread. It has a crispy outside but the middle is so soft and fluffy. We love it for breakfast and each of us like it with a different topping. I like it sprinkled with caster sugar, my kids all love it smeared with nutella and my husband (and boys) love it with jam.

Chicken Livers and Onions: A simple dish, perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This is something my husband and I grew up eating.

Simple Fried Chicken: Here is another of my mum's recipes that my kids and nieces love. When my mum makes this all her grandchildren love it, it goes very quickly, they call it KFC, Kata's Fried Chicken. Why do I call it Croatian, because the only seasoning is Vegeta.

Octopus and Potato Salad: This is my mum's octopus and potato salad recipe, this is food I grew up on. I cannot begin to tell you how good this is, I love every single mouthful. My mum has taught me how to make the most tender octopus, it melts in your mouth, now I am happy to share this with you.

My Mum's Octopus Salad: My mum is a great cook, and her octopus salad is by far the best one I have ever tried. The octopus is so tender the way she cooks it, you actually can't believe it can be so soft.​ If you would like to cook octopus, but are unsure how, try this, I have never had softer octopus ever.

Musaka: Here is another family favourite in our house. This recipe is so simple, yet very flavoursome. This is like a potato bake with mince in it.

Fried Calamari: This is my kids favourite way to eat calamari. Serve fried calamari up as party finger food or with a salad for lunch or dinner, this is delicious and just needs to be made. This is simple, it is tasty and for me far better than the store bought processed one that seems to have a string in the middle that I can never actually bite through.

Barbecued Grilled Fish: The Croatians love their fish, and grilled fish is something they love, living on the water, how could they not. You can barbecue whole fish or slices. We also grew up with a love of seafood, we prefer to barbecue the whole fish, if a snapper or bream for instance, but every now and then my husband buys a large Red Emperor or a large Snapper, where we slice it and cook it sliced. Delicious.
I love to chop up garlic and parsley, cover with extra virgin olive oil, then pour that over the fish, once it is cooked.

Shish Kebabs-Raznjici: These are great at any barbecue, Croatians, make these all the time, well at least we do. You can season/marinade them however you like, I actually love them made from either pork neck or chicken thighs with either onions or capsicums between the pieces of meat, season well with salt and white pepper and that's it. Simple, yet so tasty. If you can't barbecue, you can fry them if needed. Now we eat them straight off the stick with a salad, but you could easily put them in a wrap and eat it that way.

Roast Pork Belly with Sauerkraut: This a dish my mother has been making us for years, we absolutely love the combination of pork and sauerkraut. Simple and delicious.

Mince and Potato Pita: This is layers of filo pastry scattered with a mince and potato filling. I love to make this at parties as finger food or I make it as a light dinner teamed with a green salad. Simple and delicious.

Punjene Paprike-Mince Stuffed Capsicums: This is another recipe from my mother. She made this for us when we were growing up. These capsicums are my families version of comfort food. 

Sarma: For years I was going to Croatian weddings and I would have Sarma. This is not food I grew up on at home. When I was little, my mum made Stuffed Capsicums a lot, but never Sarma. After I got married and left home, my mother learnt how to make Sarma, she likes trying new things, as I do now, and this is how she makes it and now I do to. We all now love it and it is extremely popular at parties when she makes it.

Mussel Buzara: This is one of those dinners where you get to eat with your hands, my 9 year old loves them so much because they taste great, but also because he can eat with his hands. It is a quick and easy recipe that tastes so good with very little effort. You actually don't get full on the mussels, it is the crusty Italian Bread that is the filler, it is used to soak up all that gorgeous sauce. 

Cuttlefish Stew: When I first got married my mother taught me how to make this cuttlefish stew. My family absolutely love it. This is her recipe. It amazes me how well she cooked, as she taught herself how to cook, she made up recipes and everything she made was brilliant.

Since I got this recipe from my mother my husband has taken over making it from me. Every time we have cuttlefish he now takes charge in the kitchen. He has added anchovies and chilli to my mum's recipe and improved the recipe, even though it was already brilliant. He loves this recipe.

Fried Whitebait: or fries with eyes as I read recently. This is a popular Croatian snack. Some may think it's grouse, but when cooked properly, they are delicious, team it with lemon or aioli and you have a great little snack.

​Here is the recipe:

Serves 4

500g whitebait
1/4 cup plain flour
Vegetable Oil, for deep frying

Lemon Slices, to serve
Garlic Aioli, to serve

Heat oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer to 180C.

Place the flour in a mixing bowl and toss in a few whitebait at a time. Coat the whitebait, shake off any excess flour and place on a plate. Don't pile them on top of each other, or they will stick together.

Add the whitebait to the hot oil in small batches and cook for around 4-5 minutes, or until the fish turn golden brown. Place on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

Season with salt and pepper, serve whitebait with lemon slices and dip into garlic aioli.

Fried School Prawns: Ok this one is not for everyone, my mother included. My father introduced this to us. This is school prawns, dusted in plain flour (and chilli powder, if you like), then deep fried until super crisp, I stop frying when the oil stops sizzling. Then you eat them whole, shells, head and all. My youngest loves this. Serve this with a Garlic and lemon yoghurt, delicious. If you're like my mother, you can peel them.

My Mother in Laws Goulash with Trganci: My mother in law makes these trganci when we go on holidays to visit them, they are like dumplings. My husband and kids love them. So when my sister in law came to visit us once, she showed me how to make them. She doesn't measure anything when she makes them, it is all done by feel, I however, weigh everything every time, for me it ensures they turn out right every time. ​The goulash, my family love this. It is my mother in laws recipe. When she was on holidays here a few years ago, as she was cooking I was taking notes on how to make it. It takes a few hours from start to finish, but it is well worth the effort.

Bake Marija's Zelje: When I got married, I watched my mother in law make this and I wrote what she was doing so that I could make this for my husband. As my in laws live in Croatia, I wanted to cook my husband things his mum made for him. Since then this has been something that I regularly make for my family. My kids love this to, they grew up on this kind of food. My youngest, when he was 5 years old and in kindergarten, told his teacher (when asked what his favourite food is) he said his favourite food was Cabbage Soup. I'm pretty sure it is not your standard answer for a 5 year old. It still is his favourite.

Cuz Pajz: This soup is one of the first things my mother in law ever cooked for me. My husband's family love to eat soups, nearly every day there is some sort of soup served in their house, either a broth or something like this, thick and hearty.

Jota- A few years ago, my husband has started making his own sauerkraut. So with his last batch I decided to make this sauerkraut soup. This is a family favourite, you will see a few chunky bits of sauerkraut, that is on purpose, as my family like it chunky, rather having it shredded super fine. Teamed with smoked ribs or a ham hack, simply delicious.

My Dad's Lentil Soup: I'm always in awe of people like my parents. They grew up living in a village in Croatia, were not wealthy and although had home cooked meals everyday, the choice was nothing like we have today.

They came to Australia, married, worked to support their family and cooked dinner for us every day. It was a rare occasion that we had take out. This soup was something my dad made for us, besides barbecues this was his signature soup. He was a great cook when he was younger, now he leaves the cooking to mum.

Pasta Fazol: If my dad had lentil soup, my mum had pasta fazol. This was as a kid and still is one of my favourite things to eat. Now my kids love it to. I love food that is handed down generation after generation.

Josip's Spinach: This spinach is named after my husband. His mother taught him how to make it and he has been making it this way for years, it is our families favourite way to eat English Spinach. Although I know how to make it, I find it always tastes better when he makes it-it means less work for me, as we usually have it with BBQ fish, so I get a night off cooking when he makes it, as he does the BBQ also.

I am lucky that my husband enjoys cooking also. Quite often, weekends especially, he is in the kitchen with me and we cook together. He is the no measure just throw it in kind of a cook, I'm a recipe kind of a gal, so when he cooks something it can always be interesting trying to remake it.

Blitva: This is a traditional side dish in Dalmatia. I love it with fish. This is something I grew up on, this is something I love.

Here is the recipe:

1 bunch silverbeet
300 g potato
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, optional
salt and pepper, to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to taste

Wash and cube the potatoes, then place in a pot, cover with cold water, add salt and bring to boil.

Wash the silverbeet, remove the stems and chop the leaves into 3-4 pieces lengthwise. You can add the stems, I quite like them.

When the potatoes are about 10 minutes away from being cooked, add the silverbeet on top of the potatoes.

Cook until the potatoes are done and the leaves are a lovely rich green colour and have wilted. 

Drain, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, add crushed garlic, if using, season with salt and pepper.

Lastovsko Zelje: Ever since I was a little girl my dad has made this salad. Usually it is made with my uncle's home grown Lastovosko Zelje (cabbage like they had on the Island of Lastovo), but as my uncle's live 4 hours away from my dad now (and we live in Australia, so I can't buy that type of cabbage leaves), I have started using cavalo nero also known as Tuscan cabbage or kale as it is very similar and more readily available. Of the two cavalo nero is the better option as it is closest to my dad's cabbage, but Kale is great also, more readily available and cheaper. Broccoli leaves work well also, but you need to grow your own, as the green grocers don't sell broccoli leaves.

Fish Soup: Here is a recipe I really don't like, I never have. I am posting it as it something my mum has made for as long as I can remember, it is something I grew up on.  Now I grew up on it, but never liked it, you may wonder why then post it, I'm posting it as my parents love it, my husband loves it and my kids love it.

This soup is something my mum taught me, I have been making it myself for 18 years now (since I got married) and it really is something my family loves.

Chicken Soup with Semolina Dumplings: This is something you will find in every Croatian house regularly, good old fashioned Chicken Soup. It is the start to most meals. My mother always made it with store bought vermicelli, here I have made the recipe with semolina dumplings which my mother in law taught me how to make. They are super easy to make and great to eat, but what I love is if you have run out of vermicelli, you can always whip up some dumplings.

Beef or Lamb Soup: Made exactly the same way as the chicken soup just now I use Beef Spare Ribs or Veal Shanks for the beef version or if making the lamb version I use Lamb Shanks or Shoulder. We love the meat as a meal, so cook it until it is soft and falling off the bone, this with a green salad I find delicious. 

Beef and Bean Goulash Soup: My family love this, when I make this the whole pot goes. It is so simple to make, and I mean ridiculously simple. It is one of those dishes that after a little preparation, it cooks itself. This gets made a lot when my husband plants beans in our garden.

Easy Baked Goulash: Well this recipe is from one of my Croatian Cookbooks, it is called Zapeceni Gulas and when I saw the picture in the book I had to try it, it just looked so good. As soon as this goulash goes into the oven the house had the most delicious aroma going through it. I honestly hoped it would taste as good as it smelt, and it did. This goulash was delicious, every single bite was so good. The meat was soft and tender, the potatoes cooked, but kept there shape, and it was different to my normal stews, this had a very small amount of tomatoes in it, this makes for a completely different stew, it was delicious.

Cheese and Zucchini Pita: One of my favourite things to eat is Pita, I love it, it is party food, it is dinner, it is lunch, it is delicious leftovers, it is anytime food.

Chicken Paprikas with Pljukanci: When we were on holidays recently in Croatia my husband wanted to go to a restaurant to eat Pljukanci, I had no idea what it was. He told me it was a hand rolled pasta that was a specialty in Istra, a region in Croatia where he is from. They were delicious, as soon as we got back to Australia, I learnt how to make them. Here I team it with a Chicken Paprikas for an absolutely delicious dinner my family loves.

Beef Goulash: Beef Goulash, this is food from my childhood. Now I'm married with 3 kids and this is now their food from their childhoods. I love it. Food that I grew up on, my husband grew up on, and now my kids will grow up on. I am a true fan of simple cooking, I love when I only have to spend a few minutes preparing things, a bit of starter cooking and then you just allow something to simmer away for about 2 hours, and dinner is done. Some may not like that idea, but I find it very relaxing and I just love the aroma that spreads through the house as a stew cooks.

Medimurska Gibanica: When I got married my husband and I went on our honeymoon to Croatia. My mother in law is an amazing cook and one day she introduced me to this gorgeous dish. It is like an apple and ricotta strudel, only in a slice. 
This is a dessert that I serve when we have a light dinner. It can be served hot or at room temperature, it is loved by both my family and friends.

Palacinke: Croatians call crepes 'palacinke', and I don't know anyone that can't make them, it is the go to dessert for many households in Croatia, because of the simple ingredients used to make them.
Crepes are probably my families favourite thing to eat. My kids when I make them graze on them all day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. They LOVE them. 
As for the fillings, if I'm going sweet, I love lemon and sugar, that is my favourite. My kids love nutella. My husband loves his Croatian plum jam. It is endless the amount of things you can do with a simple crepe. I use this recipe to make the Smoked Salmon Pancake Rolls on this site. I love them filled with a sweet ricotta mixture that I bake. I also use crepes instead of cannelloni shells when making my spinach and ricotta cannelloni crepes, and most recently I use crepes in my savoury crepe recipe. So a simple crepe can be sweet or savoury.

Ricotta Filled Crepes: This is a recipe my mother in law taught me. In my own recipe 'book' I have at home of all the things I cook (it is actually several folders of typed up recipes my family love, all in plastic sheets), it is actually called 'Baka Marija's Palacinke sa sirom'. It is a dessert I never get sick of, it is something I truly love eating.

Madarica: This to me is by far the greatest slice ever to be made. No slice comes close, for me, to perfection as the madarica does. The layering of biscuit and chocolate custard, topped with chocolate, simply amazing. This is a very traditional Croatian slice. This is a must at any festive Croatian occasion.

Krempita: I finally got around to making a Krempita. This is the Croatian version of a Vanilla Slice.
It is fabulous, now I know why you can find this dessert all over Croatia in every cafe or cake shop you go to. The custard is probably the best custard I have ever eaten. It is so light and the lemon zest through it makes it unbelievably delicious.
I used store bought puff pastry, feel free to make your own.
This is the perfect dessert to serve at a dinner party. It looks like it is big and heavy, yet one spoonful and you realise it is so light and just beautiful.

Food is important to Croatians, it isn't just about eating to stay alive, it really is about bringing the family together over a meal, you eat, you talk, you laugh.
​

When Croatia comes up on my next random shuffle, here are some of the recipes that will be making that post. This is food I've made, I just haven't had a chance to blog it yet. There is also so much more food I still want to try, so stay tuned there is so much more Croatian food that 'Aj Lajk' and I have to make.

My Mum's Napolitanke:

Sporki Makaroni

My mum's Bakalar: 

Peka

Green Beans and Potatoes:

Leso Riba:

My Mother in Laws Pecene Lignje:

Cabbage Salad

Savor:

Restani Krumpir

Sauerkraut: