Gastronomy & Istria

A combination of tradition and modernity, a blend of flavor and scent, an experience that lasts.

Each place has its own something that is known for, something that man carries with him and does not forget ….

We present Cuttlefish salad, Istrian maneštra, Istrian soup and Cukerančići, which are specific to Istria

Cuttlefish salad– the traditional dish of the Istrian coast

Ingredients – 4 people

• 1,5 kg fresh Cuttlefish
• 200 ml olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 leaves of Laurel
• Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Put cuttlefish in salty water with 2 laurel leaves until they soften, soften, drain, soak and chop them in pieces. Put them in a bowl, add salt, pepper, sliced garlic and olive oil.

The Istrian maneštra –a traditional dish served in Istria at all seasons, is only changing a bit of a combination of vegetables that will be found in it.

Ingredients:

• Prosciutto bacon or 200-250 g of bacon
• 250 g of raw bean
• parsley
• 2 carrots
• 2 ports
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of barley
• 400 g of corn
• 4 potatoes
• 1 tomato
• the spit pin
• salt and pepper

Preparations: Put all these ingredients in a large cooking pot, pour water to cover all the ingredients, and boil for 120 minutes each time.

Istarska Supa –

one of the most recognizable elements of Istrian cuisine, in the way that a piece of cut loaf of bread 1 cm thick is peeled on the grills, and in the bukaleta (the bacon in which it is prepared and made soup drink) put sugar and pepper , so it floats with oil (mandatory in olive oil).

The mixture is poured into warmed wine and stirred. Baked bread is half boiled in wine and served.

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cukerančići –

There is no significant family celebration or holiday season in Istria without these traditional cookies. They were obliged on weddings, baptisms, indispensable for Christmas, Easter or other festivities. Today, you can find them as part of traditional gastronomic offers in hotels and restaurants, especially in the offer of taverns and country houses in the interior of Istria. Simple and delicious cookies inviting you to remember some good old times and the warmth of the family home. Sugarcanes are named after sugar (Istrian name for sugar) because still hot cookies are cooked in brandy or white wine and then abundantly rolled into sugar crystals

Ingredients:

For dough:

• 1300 g of smooth flour
• 6 eggs
• 0.3 dcl Istrian brandy (lozovača)
• 300 g of sugar
• 2 dl of milk
• 125 g margarine
• 125 g butter
• 1 dcl of sunflower oil
• 3-4 bags of vanilla sugar
• a bit of salt
• 1 lemon crust
• 1 bag of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda

For sauce:

• istrian brandy (lozovača)
• or white wine (Istrian Malvasia)
• crystal sugar

Preparation:

Mix the butter and margarine in the bowl mixer. In the second bowl, mix the eggs with room temperature, sugar and vanilla sugar until the sugar is melted and the eggs reach the foam and add a scalloped lemon and brandy. Place the flour in a large bowl, add some salt, processed butter, margarine and oil, and half of the mixture of eggs and sugar, stir lightly and mix it in a compact mix.
Heat the milk in the pot, mix the baking powder and soda bicarbonate (or ammonia for the cakes), mix it to form the foam to be poured into the dough, add the remaining egg and sugar mixture and mix it all together in the dough.

From the dough, roll off the 3 cm roller cutters and cut into 2 cm lengths and mold them into the horseshoes, crochet one side to the trunk at 3 or 4 places
Bake at 190 ° C for about 15 minutes
When roasted, fry the dessert in brandy or white wine and pour into sugar.