DALMATIA ON A PLATE
In his new cookbook, Dalmatia, Melbourne chef Ino Kuvačić shares dishes infused with the flavours of the southern Croatian coast.
In his cookbook, Dalmatia, Ino Kuvačić shares dishes infused with the flavours of the southern Croatian coast.
My love and appreciation for food and wine runs deep – my maternal ancestors were one of the largest wine-merchant families throughout the 18th and 19th centuries in coastal Croatia.
I was born and raised in Split, Dalmatia’s largest city, probably best known for the 4th-century Roman emperor Diocletian’s palace, which forms much of the city centre. I spent my childhood years living between the old family home in Split and our holiday house on the nearby island of Šolta.
Some of my most profound childhood memories are of wine-making and olive-picking in my family’s vineyards and olive groves. My father’s ancestors were proud Croatian farmers, working the dry Dalmatian land, which consists mainly of rock and only a little soil. They weren’t able to produce much, but what the harvest lacked in quantity, it made up for in quality and flavour.
So many of the recipes in this book are dishes that I grew up eating and watching being prepared by my family, especially my grandmother Tomica and her sister Ljube. I’ve tried to stay as true as possible to them and if there’s something I would like you to take away from this book, it’s the feeling of honesty and warmth – and of course the importance of using produce of the highest available quality, which has always been the backbone of my cooking.
I hope you enjoy this journey through Dalmatia’s cuisine and some of my own personal culinary memories.
Scampi in garlic, white wine and tomato
Škampi na buzaru
“This is one of the most-loved dishes in Croatia,” says Ino Kuvačić. “It’s a typical fisherman’s recipe – simple but delicious. If I have a special dinner party guest I want to impress, škampi na buzaru is definitely on the menu. Once you try it, you’ll realise what all the fuss is about. Scampi from the Adriatic Sea are of exceptional quality. There’s a whole culture around eating scampi. Use your fingers to take them from the shell and then take your time eating them – they’re so full of flavour and every single bit is delicious. Soak up the juices with crusty bread.”
Serves 4
100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 kg scampi (about 12)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
250 ml (1 cup) dry white wine
125 ml (½ cup) tomato passata
1 tbsp dry breadcrumbs
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Crusty bread (optional), to serve 1 Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat, being careful not to let it start smoking.
Add the scampi and sauté them on each side for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic and cook for few seconds (be careful not to let the garlic brown – it will make the dish taste bitter). Add the white wine, passata and breadcrumbs and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for another 15 minutes, shaking the pan frequently so the scampi don’t stick to the bottom and burn. If the sauce is too thick add a touch of water.
2 Sprinkle with the parsley and serve with the crusty bread. Provide finger bowls of water and lemon for your diners – this dish can get messy. Note Scampi may need to be ordered ahead from your fishmonger.>
“So many of the recipes in this book are dishes that I grew up eating. If there’s something I would like you to take away from this book, it’s the feeling of honesty and warmth.”
Duck with sauerkraut
Patka sa zeljem
“This is a dish to satisfy your heart and soul during the colder months,” says Kuvačić. “The rich flavour of the duck complements the sauerkraut perfectly. It’s not difficult to make and it can keep in the refrigerator for a week. This kind of dish always tastes better the next day, so I recommend cooking it the day before. You can serve it with mashed potato or just some good crusty bread.” If you’re making your own sauerkraut (see the recipe at right), start six weeks ahead.
Serves 4
1 kg duck, bones in, cut into 8cm pieces
(or cook a whole duck)
2 tsp paprika (hot or mild)
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
50 ml extra-virgin olive oil
100 gm pancetta, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
500 gm sauerkraut (recipe at right) 2 dried bay leaves
1 cinnamon quill
500 ml (2 cups) vegetable stock
1 Season the duck with paprika, nutmeg and salt. Heat the olive oil in a cast-iron pan or claypot over high heat. Add the duck and sear until golden brown (2-3 minutes each side). Transfer the duck to a plate. Add the pancetta to the pan and sauté until golden brown (2-3 minutes). Add the garlic and sauté for a couple of seconds, then add the sauerkraut and sauté on low heat until nice and golden (10-15 minutes).
2 Return the duck to the pan with the bay leaves, cinnamon and vegetable stock. Braise on low heat, or bake in the oven uncovered at 190C for 1 hour. If necessary, add more vegetable stock to loosen the mixture a little. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and serve straight from the pan.
Sauerkraut
Kiseli kupus
“Sauerkraut is very popular throughout Central Europe and there are hundreds of recipes for it,” says Kuvačić. “It can be braised, eaten raw with salads, cooked with sausages or used in hearty soups. These days, sauerkraut and other fermented foods are regarded as superfoods and you can buy fancy sauerkraut in organic shops. It’s easy to prepare yourself – unless your Croatian family, like mine, prepares 50 kilos by hand, and then it’s hard work. Every year my father makes his own sauerkraut in a huge barrel.” This sauerkraut takes nearly six weeks to ferment.
Makes 1kg
1 kg cabbage, very finely sliced
1 carrot, grated
2 tbsp polenta
50 gm salt
1 tbsp cumin seeds or fennel seeds
1 Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined. Begin transferring the mixture to a large, sterilised glass or plastic jar (see cook’s notes p176) a handful at a time. After each layer of cabbage, press down on it with your fist until the liquid is released and comes to the top. Keep adding the cabbage, continuing to press after each addition so all the liquid ends up at the top of the jar.
2 When all the cabbage is pressed in the jar, cover the jar with plastic wrap and seal with a lid to ensure it’s airtight. Store in a cool, dark place for 40 days. After opening, eat the sauerkraut within a few weeks.
Pork, pasta and bean soup
Pašta fažol
“Pašta fažol is by far Croatia’s most popular dish. Continental Croatians call this hearty dish ‘grah’, but don’t include pasta,” says Kuvačić. “In Dalmatia, though, the dish is a more Mediterranean version. This rich soup is a soul-warmer and you can serve it as an appetiser or as the main meal with good bread and a nice Dalmatian wine. The secret ingredient to making this delicious meal is the pancetta fat and garlic paste. It’s crucial to soak the dried beans overnight, then blanch them in water to remove the toxins – your stomach will thank you.”
Serves 4 (pictured p106)
500 gm dried beans such as cannellini and
borlotti
4 dried bay leaves
200 gm smoked pork shanks or ribs
(see note)
2 litres (8 cups) beef stock or water
1 onion (about 200gm), coarsely chopped 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
150 gm smoked flat pancetta with lots of fat
8 garlic cloves
100 gm dried pasta (rigatoni or small tubetti)
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Soak the beans overnight. The following day, drain them and put them in a large saucepan with
“This is a dish to satisfy your heart and soul during the colder months.”
the bay leaves. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Drain, but don’t season the beans yet.
2 In another large saucepan, put the pork shanks, stock or water, vegetables, tomato paste and the red meat trimmed from the pancetta (reserve the fat). Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low. Season with sea salt and freshly ground back pepper, and simmer until the meat is tender and vegetables are soft (1 hour).
3 Meanwhile, finely chop the white fat of the pancetta and blend it in a food processor with the garlic to a smooth paste.
4 After the soup has been cooking for 1 hour, remove the pancetta meat (reserve for another use or chop and return it to the soup if you prefer) and add the blanched beans and garlic paste. Simmer until the beans are soft and starting to break up (30 minutes). If you want to thicken the soup, scoop out a couple of cups of the soup (including vegetables and meat), blend in a food processor, then return this to the pan before adding the pasta.
5 Add the pasta and cook, adding more water or stock if necessary, until al dente (5-10 minutes). Garnish with parsley and serve.
Note Smoked pork is available from select supermarkets, delicatessens and butchers.
White baccalà
Bakalar na bijelo i na crveno
“It’s traditional in Catholic European countries to have baccalà while fasting during Lent,” says Kuvačić. “It’s also usually eaten on Fridays, especially on Good Friday and Christmas Eve. It’s regarded as a clean food for the soul by the Catholic clergy. There are hundreds of recipes for baccalà throughout Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Croatia. For my family, Christmas Eve is unimaginable without baccalà on the table – its scent fills the house, announcing that a feast is about to begin. My family prefers air-dried (unsalted) Norwegian cod, which is superior in quality and price. Salted Portuguese cod is also good and a lot cheaper. Serve it at the start of a meal with toast.” Start this recipe three days ahead to soak the baccalà.
Serves 4
500 gm baccalá (see note)
1 kg waxy potatoes, such as Desiree, sebago
or Nicola, peeled and roughly chopped 1 garlic bulb, cloves separated and peeled 100 ml milk
250 ml (1 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional) 1 Soak the baccalà in cold water for 3 days, changing the water every day, then drain. Cook the soaked baccalà in salted water until it softens and the skin starts to break up (about 30 minutes). Take the fish out of the water (reserve the water) and flake the meat from the skin and bones.
2 Cook the potatoes in the baccalà cooking water until soft and starting to break up. Strain the potatoes, reserving the cooking water.
3 Cook the garlic in the milk over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Strain and reserve the garlic and milk separately.
4 Combine the baccalà, potato and garlic in a bowl and mash, slowly adding the extra-virgin olive oil. Add a little of the reserved garlic-infused milk and a little of the potato cooking water if necessary to work the mixture into a creamy paste. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, add the parsley, if using, and serve. Makes 2 litres. White baccalà will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for three to four days.
Note Baccalà is available from select fishmongers.>
Peka
Peka
“This is a very specific way of cooking, found only in Croatia,” says Kuvačić. “Most Croatians have a komin – an outdoor, open wood-fired oven with bricks on the bottom and a peka (a cast-iron bell-shaped cover) hanging next to it. A peka is also used to bake a special kind of bread we call brašenica, and seafood can also be baked under a peka – most famously octopus. We light a fire on the brick bottom and, when the wood or coal is burnt and only hot coals are left, we start to cook. If you don’t have this equipment, cook the dish in the oven, covering the baking tray with foil. It will still taste great, but won’t have that special smoky flavour of true peka.”
Serves 4
50 ml vegetable or olive oil
100 gm lard
400 gm waxy potatoes, such as Desiree, sebago
or Nicola, cut into wedges
6 shallots, halved
1 eggplant, thickly sliced
2 capsicums, cored and halved
4 garlic cloves
1 rosemary sprig
1 kg meat (beef, veal, chicken or lamb),
in one piece
1 Grease a roasting tin with oil and lard. Place the vegetables, garlic and rosemary in the tin, put the meat on top, then season to taste. If you’re cooking this in a wood-fired oven, put the roasting tin on the hot bricks in the oven and cover with the peka or other metal lid (see note). Cover with hot coals and ashes and cook for 1 hour.
2 Remove the coals and ashes and open the peka to check it. Gently mix the vegetables and turn the meat so everything is evenly cooked and coloured. Cover again with the peka, coals and ashes, and cook for a further 20-30 minutes. It should take about 1½ hours all together to cook. If the meat is still not tender, cook it a bit longer. Season to taste and serve.
Note If you’re doing this in the oven, place everything in a heavy baking tin and cover with foil. Bake at 220C for about 1½ hours. Remove the foil for the last 20 minutes to brown the meat.
Stuffed bread from Vis
Viška pogača
“Vis, an island in the Adriatic Sea, was founded in 397BC by the ancient Greeks from Syracuse, which is known today as southern Sicily,” says Kuvačić. “Viška pogača actually resembles some Sicilian dishes cooked today. I can imagine that this savoury treat was made in a similar way 2,400 years ago – except with no tomatoes, which were only introduced to Europe in the 17th century. In the Vis town of Komiža, this pastry is often still prepared the ancient way without tomato, but with the addition of olives.”
Serves 4 (pictured p107) 80 ml ( 1/ cup) olive oil, plus extra for greasing 3
6 onions, thinly sliced
6 large tomatoes, cut into 1cm dice
3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
100 gm anchovy fillets, chopped
Dough
500 gm plain flour
10 gm fresh yeast (or 5gm died yeast) 10 gm salt, plus extra for scattering 80 ml ( 1/ cup) olive oil
3
1 Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add the onions and sauté until translucent (10 minutes). Add the tomato and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, then cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then stir in the parsley and anchovies.
2 For the dough, put the flour, yeast, salt and 300ml water in an electric mixer – or in a bowl if you’re using a hand-held mixer. On medium speed, mix the dough for about 20 minutes, then add the olive oil and mix for 5 minutes. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a clean cloth or plastic wrap and stand in a warm spot (22C-28C) until it doubles in size (30-40 minutes).
3 Oil a 20cm baking tray. Divide the dough in two. Roll out the first piece of dough to a thickness of 1.5cm and the dimensions of the baking tray, 1cm of overhang all around. Place the dough on the baking tray, leaving the extra dough overhanging. Spread the filling over the dough. Roll out the second piece of dough the same way, then place it over the first with the filling. Twist the edges to seal, prick with a fork and let it sit for
20-25 minutes in a warm place.
4 Preheat the oven to 180C. Brush the top of the dough with water and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until golden brown (25-30 minutes). Cover the pogača with a clean cloth and leave it to cool, then cut it into squares or triangles and serve.
Pear strudel
Štrudla od kruške
“Strudel is a Central European dessert of Hungarian origin. Since Croatia was once a part of the Habsburg Empire, it’s a favourite national dish for us as well,” says Kuvačić. “There are many versions and techniques for making strudel. One classic filling is apple and sour (morello) cherry, but you can also use savoury flavours, such as goat’s cheese, spinach or ricotta. Most people in Croatia make their own pastry, but you can also use pre-made puff pastry. Pear strudel is a favourite of mine, and it goes very well with chocolate, so I recommend serving it with a chocolate sauce. It’s also good with ice-cream.” Serves 6
115 gm caster sugar
1 kg pears, peeled, cored and cut into
1cm dice
1 tbsp lemon juice
40 ml kruškovac (Croatian pear liqueur; see
note), dark rum or calvados
95 gm brown sugar
200 gm butter, melted
100 gm sponge fingers, such as savoiardi or
lady fingers, roughly crushed 100 gm walnuts, crushed
95 gm dried figs, chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 60 gm sultanas
12 fillo pastry sheets
50 gm dried breadcrumbs
Olive oil spray, for greasing Icing sugar mixture, for dusting Ice-cream (optional), to serve
Chocolate sauce
200 ml heavy cream
50 ml milk
200 gm dark chocolate, coarsely chopped 20 gm Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 For the chocolate sauce, combine the cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to just below boiling point. Remove the pan from the heat and gently whisk in the chocolate and cocoa, whisking until smooth. Leave to cool. Chocolate sauce will keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.
2 Heat a large frying pan over high heat and, when it’s very hot, add the sugar and cook until it turns a deep golden brown (2-3 minutes). Add the diced pear and lemon juice, and sauté, stirring with a metal spoon, for about 5 minutes, then stir in the liqueur and remove the pan from the heat. 3 Place a third of the sautéed pears in a food processor and add the brown sugar and half the melted butter. Purée until smooth. Stir this mixture back into the remaining pears. Add the sponge fingers, walnuts, dried figs, cinnamon, nutmeg and sultanas. Mix until well combined, then set aside to cool.
4 Preheat oven to 200C. Place a sheet of fillo pastry on a work surface and brush with a little of the remaining melted butter. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp of breadcrumbs. Top with another sheet of fillo pastry, brush with butter sprinkle with 1 tbsp of breadcrumbs and continue layering until you have six layers. Spoon half the pear mixture along the length of the pastry, leaving a 3cm border at the short ends. Fold the ends in and roll up the strudel. Lift it carefully onto a baking tray, cover with a clean cloth and repeat with remaining fillo and filling. Spray both with olive oil and bake until the pastry is golden (25 minutes). Stand for 10 minutes, then dust with icing sugar, drizzle with chocolate sauce, slice and serve.
Note Croatian pear liqueur is available at select bottle shops such as Dan Murphy’s.