Croatian Cuisine and a delicious recipe to try

In my home country of New Zealand I have never come across a restaurant specialising in Croatian food.  I have to say there may well be some it's just that I have never seen them.  That's a pity because Croatian food is a delicious mix of flavours, both satisfying and nutritious. The cuisine of Croatia has been strongly influenced by its surrounding neighbours.  As a result mainland Croatia has adapted its recipes and flavours from Turkish, Hungarian and Austrian cuisine while coastal Croatia has adopted the Mediterranean style of cooking.  If you like eating, and let's face it, who doesn't?, Croatia is a great country to visit for a culinary adventure where you can work your way through the different regions enjoying the variety of recipes and flavours.

Mainland  dishes contain ingredients such as lard, spices, black pepper, paprika and garlic while Goulash, a Hungarian dish, is popular all over Croatia. Coastal Croatian cooking, on the other hand,  places a strong emphasis on olive oil, rosemary, sage, oregano, olives and lemon. Pastas and risottos are also popular everywhere in the country. A black risotto made from the ink of cuttlefish is a unique dish worth trying.

These light and fluffy pastries were a gift from our land
 lady in Supetar. 
Just the thing to have with coffee

Main meats are pork, lamb and chicken and, as a country with a long coastline and a large fishing industry, seafood is always on the menu. Croatia is also a country of coffee drinkers so coffee houses are everywhere and the rich brew is usually accompanied by light, crisp pastries. I thoroughly enjoyed the food in Croatia.  I love seafood, coffee and the Mediterranean style of eating but I also enjoy the tasty, satisfying and comforting Turkish, Hungarian style of eating too. What's not to like?

Here is a recipe you can try.   I made this last week and absolutely loved it.  It is delicious!  Give it a go.

PAPRIKAS CHICKEN

Ingredients:

My Paprikas Chicken

1kg chicken pieces

2 large onions finely chopped

10 grams lard

3 teaspoons ground smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon of chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

200 mls white wine

200 mls water

50grams sour cream

Directions:

Melt the lard in a pot

Add the chopped onions and fry until just soft and transparent

Chop the chicken into mouth sized pieces and saute until white

Add wine and simmer for 5 minutes

Add paprika and chilli, salt, pepper and caraway seeds

Add water and simmer very gently for approx 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the water evaporates too much, add more but be careful, you don't want it too runny.

Add sour cream and cook for 3 to 5 minutes

The sauce is very tasty and very runny. Serve with either mashed potatoes or noodles. Good eating! or, as they say in Croatia, Dobar tek!