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.
My mother in law said she knew how to make them so she made the dough for us and we got rolling.
My mother in law said she knew how to make them so she made the dough for us and we got rolling.
My kids making Pljukanci with their grandmother
Rolling the dough is just like playing with play-doh. You pick off a peanut sized piece of dough and roll it between your palms until it resembles a bean or a worm. You kind of want the ends to be thinner and the middle thicker. But it really doesn't matter.
The dough is made from flour and water, some recipes I found included egg, like a normal pasta. I wanted to keep it more traditional, so kept to a traditional recipe.
The dough is so easy to make, but when it comes to rolling it, although easy, can take some time, so get the kids involved, every kid loves rolling dough.
Once you make the dough, allow it to rest for 30 minutes to an hour, then roll into pljukanci. Once rolled, also leave them for about 30 minutes, to dry out a little, makes them easier to handle.
I will mention I used super fine plain flour for Pasta 'OO'. But i think you can make this with normal plain flour. I haven't tried it, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.
We all loved pljukanci, I knew this was something I was going to have to learn how to make as soon as I got home.
The dough is made from flour and water, some recipes I found included egg, like a normal pasta. I wanted to keep it more traditional, so kept to a traditional recipe.
The dough is so easy to make, but when it comes to rolling it, although easy, can take some time, so get the kids involved, every kid loves rolling dough.
Once you make the dough, allow it to rest for 30 minutes to an hour, then roll into pljukanci. Once rolled, also leave them for about 30 minutes, to dry out a little, makes them easier to handle.
I will mention I used super fine plain flour for Pasta 'OO'. But i think you can make this with normal plain flour. I haven't tried it, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.
We all loved pljukanci, I knew this was something I was going to have to learn how to make as soon as I got home.
So I thought I'd share a small side story about our holiday, food related, of course. When I was in Istra I had found about a restaurant called Konoba Daniela in a google search, and as my real name is Daniela, (Ella is something my family called me growing up as one of my cousins couldn't say Daniela when he was young, he called me Ella, then the whole family called me Ella), I had to go to this restaurant. Can I just say it was amazing, by far one of my favourite restaurants in Croatia. We had Steak Tartare, made at the table in front of you, by Daniela herself, we had Istarski Prsut and Cheese, we had gnocchi, fuzi, pljukanci, house wine that was lovely. Everything was so good and everything was homemade. Here are a few snap shots of us at Konoba Daniela, I love how relaxed we were that day, it was really special.
Everything is Homemade here
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The wine was local house wine
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My daughter ordered Ravioli with a Mushroom Sauce
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My son ordered Pljukanci with a Mushroom Sauce
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Daniela making Steak Tartare for us
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I ordered Fuzi with a Creamy Truffle Sauce
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My son ordered Gnocchi with a Meat Sauce
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My husband ordered Fuzi with a Meat Sauce
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One of the best things about Croatia, if you intend to travel there, is the food. Every region has a different style of food. The Istrians have the pastas, unique pasta that is made there, the pljukanci, the fuzi, the truffles, my goodness the truffle sauces, they have a very Italian take to their food, it is hearty, comforting food. Then you go to Dalmatia where my family are from and you get a lighter, more mediterranean style of food. It is seafood based, it is fresh, it is amazing. Then you go inland and the food is different again. It is a small country with so much to see and so much food to enjoy.
Now back to the Chicken Paprikas and Pljukanci. Once I decided on a recipe for the dough, I decided I wanted to make it with a Chicken Paprikas as it is saucy, but light and would work perfectly with the pljukanci.
I made it with 3 x small spatchcocks or some call it poussin. Now these are really small chickens with the most delicious meat. Now if you don't want to use poussin, you can make it with a normal whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces, it is cheaper and the flavour of the sauce will be the same. The chicken just needs to be about 1.8kg in weight. I like to cook the sauce with whole chickens as a sauce for me is always tastier if the meat has bones on it. If you have really small children you can remove the meat from the bones before serving it to them.
I double the pljukanci quantity, but I make them in 2 individual batches, one batch is just not enough for my family and you have enough sauce for a double batch. Also if you have leftovers, I remove any bones from the chicken, put the meat back into the sauce, then the next day, the kids have leftovers for school lunches.
So if you are like me and love trying new things, give this a go, it is something the kids can get involved with, it is quite easy to make and truly tastes delicious.
I made it with 3 x small spatchcocks or some call it poussin. Now these are really small chickens with the most delicious meat. Now if you don't want to use poussin, you can make it with a normal whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces, it is cheaper and the flavour of the sauce will be the same. The chicken just needs to be about 1.8kg in weight. I like to cook the sauce with whole chickens as a sauce for me is always tastier if the meat has bones on it. If you have really small children you can remove the meat from the bones before serving it to them.
I double the pljukanci quantity, but I make them in 2 individual batches, one batch is just not enough for my family and you have enough sauce for a double batch. Also if you have leftovers, I remove any bones from the chicken, put the meat back into the sauce, then the next day, the kids have leftovers for school lunches.
So if you are like me and love trying new things, give this a go, it is something the kids can get involved with, it is quite easy to make and truly tastes delicious.
Recipe
Recipe adapted from www.borrowedsalt.com
Serves 6-8
Pljukanci:
2 cups plain flour Pasta Tipo OO
1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon salt
Serves 6-8
Pljukanci:
2 cups plain flour Pasta Tipo OO
1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon salt
Chicken Paprikas:
3 x 600g poussin or spatchcock
1/4 cup plain flour
Olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 red capsicum, chopped
2 teaspoons (5g) ground paprika
175ml white wine
800g diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon chopped oregano or thyme
1 teaspoon vegeta
Salt and White Pepper, to taste
Extra oregano, for garnish
3 x 600g poussin or spatchcock
1/4 cup plain flour
Olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 red capsicum, chopped
2 teaspoons (5g) ground paprika
175ml white wine
800g diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon chopped oregano or thyme
1 teaspoon vegeta
Salt and White Pepper, to taste
Extra oregano, for garnish
For the Pljukanci: Place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add half of the hot water and give it a stir with a fork or use your fingers. Now, add the remaining water, a little at a time, mixing in the water into the flour.
Once all the water has been added, I tip the mixture out onto a clean bench, and knead the dough for a few minutes until you have a smooth, soft dough. If the dough is sticking to your hands or the bench too much, add a little more flour, but only enough where it is not too sticky.
Note: for my family, I now make another batch of the dough, as one batch is just not enough.
Cut a piece of cling film, place the dough in it, cover and leave on your kitchen bench, while you start the chicken paprikas sauce.
Once all the water has been added, I tip the mixture out onto a clean bench, and knead the dough for a few minutes until you have a smooth, soft dough. If the dough is sticking to your hands or the bench too much, add a little more flour, but only enough where it is not too sticky.
Note: for my family, I now make another batch of the dough, as one batch is just not enough.
Cut a piece of cling film, place the dough in it, cover and leave on your kitchen bench, while you start the chicken paprikas sauce.
Cut up the each poussin into 6-8 pieces, place in a plastic snap lock bag, add flour, close bag and shake to coat the chicken pieces with the flour.
Heat a large cast iron pot over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, working in batches, sear the chicken until the skin is golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onions and saute for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and capsicums, saute for a further 2 minutes. Once the onions have begun to soften and are translucent, add the paprika, stir through for 30 seconds.
Add the wine, tomatoes, chopped oregano, vegeta, season with a little salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Now add the chicken back to the pot, add enough water to the sauce so that all the chicken is just covered with the liquid. Cover and cook over a low heat so it gently simmers for 30 minutes, you don't want a rolling boil, just a few small bubbles rising to the surface every now and then. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue cooking for another 1 hour. Once the lid is off and the sauce starts to reduce, you will need to stir it every now and then to ensure it doesn't start to catch on the bottom and begin to burn. This is especially important in the last 30 minutes of cooking time. The sauce is ready when the chicken is tender and cooked through. Taste for seasoning, add a little more vegeta also if needed.
Heat a large cast iron pot over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, working in batches, sear the chicken until the skin is golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onions and saute for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and capsicums, saute for a further 2 minutes. Once the onions have begun to soften and are translucent, add the paprika, stir through for 30 seconds.
Add the wine, tomatoes, chopped oregano, vegeta, season with a little salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Now add the chicken back to the pot, add enough water to the sauce so that all the chicken is just covered with the liquid. Cover and cook over a low heat so it gently simmers for 30 minutes, you don't want a rolling boil, just a few small bubbles rising to the surface every now and then. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue cooking for another 1 hour. Once the lid is off and the sauce starts to reduce, you will need to stir it every now and then to ensure it doesn't start to catch on the bottom and begin to burn. This is especially important in the last 30 minutes of cooking time. The sauce is ready when the chicken is tender and cooked through. Taste for seasoning, add a little more vegeta also if needed.
Back to the Pljukanci: Pinch off peanut sized pieces of dough and roll between your palms or against the table to make skinny pieces that look like thin green beans, tapered at each end. Place the pasta on a large floured sheet of baking paper and let it rest for about 30 minutes to an hour.
Once the sauce is nearly finished: Fill a large saucepan about 2/3 full with water. Bring to the boil, season with one tablespoon salt. Once boiling, add the pljukanci, cook for about 5 minutes until the centres are cooked through. They tend to rise to the surface once cooked, as they rise I allow for about 1 minute more of cooking. The cooking time varies as they are handmade and yours might not be exactly the same size as mine.
I tend to use a slotted spoon to remove them, that way as they rise you remove the cooked ones and the water drains through the spoon, and you place the pljukanci straight into your serving dish. If you don't have a slotted spoon just strain through a colander. Drain but do not rinse them.
Once all the pljukanci are in your serving dish, pour a ladle full of sauce on them and stir it through, this stops them sticking together. Then add the remainder of the sauce and garnish with extra oregano.
I tend to use a slotted spoon to remove them, that way as they rise you remove the cooked ones and the water drains through the spoon, and you place the pljukanci straight into your serving dish. If you don't have a slotted spoon just strain through a colander. Drain but do not rinse them.
Once all the pljukanci are in your serving dish, pour a ladle full of sauce on them and stir it through, this stops them sticking together. Then add the remainder of the sauce and garnish with extra oregano.
Enjoy!
