Dalmatian Cooking

Now Available

Outstanding Dalmatian olive oil is now available for purchase through DalmatianCooking.com. Dalmatian olive oil is a very special natural food, produced from olives grown organically in a pristine Mediterranean ecosystem. It is rich, fruity, bold in flavor and aroma, and yet still perfectly balanced on the palate with an even mouthfeel. It is like no olive oil you’ve had, and after one taste you’ll understand why it’s sprinkled liberally on nearly EVERYTHING at the Dalmatian dinner table.

Also worth mentioning is the culinary tour of Dalmatia offered through the Croatian travel agency Secret Dalmatia. Seats are still available on the June and October excursions, but these tours sell out quickly. This luxury tour package is a veritable feast for the senses that takes you places many tourists never see, and some of the dishes you’ll experience are not typically offered in restaurants. I hope you’ll consider taking this opportunity to see and taste the real food, wine and history of the Dalmatian coast of Croatia.

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Posted in News | No Comments »

Pršut: Dalmatian Cured Ham

Of all the exquisite artisan food produced in Dalmatia, there is none as widely loved that resonates in the hearts and souls of the people like pršut (PURR-shoot). If you’re at all familiar with the prosciutto of Italy and jamon of Spain, you’ll almost know what to expect from pršut – but not quite. True Dalmatian pršut begins with a fresh pork leg that’s cured in pure Adriatic seawater, then pressed between large stones to remove the brine. Next the ham is smoked and hung outside to dry in the blasting Bura winds over winter. Pršut is typically then aged for anywhere from one to three years in dark cellars or attics, where its flavors mellow and mature.

This dry ham is a distinctive experience in flavor, texture and aroma not found elsewhere, an unmatchable product of Dalmatia’s specific climate and ecosystem. Though passable, commercially produced pršut is available for purchase in supermarkets and butcher shops in Dalmatia, many families make and prefer their own. Once you’ve tasted true Dalmatian pršut, homemade with the time and love it requires, you’ll understand why. But since it’s not produced for export, you’ll just have to visit Dalmatia to discover for yourself.

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Posted in Meat, Techniques | 2 Comments »

Travarica: Herb Brandy

Rakija (RAH-kee-yah) is the catch-all term for any kind of spirit distilled from fruit in Croatia, and it pretty much translates to ‘brandy’. Just as there’s apple brandy, plum brandy, berry brandy and so on, varieties distilled from different source materials take more specific names. Here are a few:

šljivovica (SHLEE-vo-vee-tsa) - plum brandy
lozica (LO-zee-tsa) - grape brandy
kruškovača (KROOSH-ko-va-tcha) - pear brandy
rogačica (roh-GAHTCH-ee-tsa) - grape brandy infused with carob pods

In Dalmatia, the king of all rakijas is travarica (TRA-va-ree-tsa), a sophisticated spirit acclaimed as a superb digestive aid and tonic. It is quite simply an infusion of grape brandy and a variety of herbs, and there are as many recipes for travarica as there are people producing it. Some contain as few as 10 herbs, while others can contain 20 or more. Travarica often contains rosemary, chamomile, lavender, rose hips, matgrass, juniper, thyme, currants, mint or sage, but the list of possible additions is practically endless.

Pure grape brandy isn’t widely available, but if you have access to good grappa (Italian grape pomace brandy), making your own travarica is not a complicated undertaking at all, All you need to do is insert the whole, edible herbs, flowers and dried berries of your choosing into a 750 mL bottle, fill the bottle with brandy and allow to infuse for at least a month. Of course, the longer you allow the brandy to take up the essential oils and aromatic components of the plant material, the stronger and more complex the flavor will be.

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Posted in Recipes, Spirits | No Comments »

Bakalar: Cod Stew

The Christmas meal in Dalmatia nearly always includes bakalar, a simple stew of dried cod and potatoes. It’s beyond delectable. The Croatian word bakalar is not only the name of the dish, but also of the fish. It’s a derivation of bacalao, the Spanish word for cod. The highly prized cod fish cannot be gotten from the Adriatic Sea, so it’s imported to Croatia in its durable, salted and dried form from various colder-water locales. It’s assumed that bakalar was introduced to Croatia by Dalmatian sailors who’d been on ships in the North Atlantic, and it’s now a tradition.

To make stewed bakalar, you will need:

1 lb dried salt cod
2 lbs. peeled and large diced potatoes
8 oz. large diced onion
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 oz. fresh parsley, roughly chopped
8 oz. olive oil
salt, pepper to taste

Wash the salt cod well and soak overnight in water. Wash again, then cover with fresh water in a large pot and cook on a low flame until tender, but not falling apart (5-6 hours). Remove the cod from the water (which you will reserve), lay it on a clean cutting board and carefully remove the bones, taking care to keep the meat in large pieces. Quickly saute the onion, garlic and parsley in olive oil in the cooking pot, then add the potatoes and stir until coated with oil. Add the reserved cooking water and simmer the potatoes until tender, then return the cod meat to the pot. Simmer slowly for an additional 20-30 minutes without stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with freshly baked crusty bread for soaking up the broth.

You can, as in most cases, adjust aspects of the recipe to suit your tastes. Like much Dalmatian food, bakalar is a very simple, satisfying and homey dish.

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Posted in Fish, Recipes | No Comments »

Grape Harvest in Marina

Back in mid-September, I had the pleasure of helping with the grape harvest and winemaking in the village of Marina. The grapes belonged belonged to Ljubo, one of the village’s most prolific and respected winemakers, and he had quite an operation in motion. While the grapes were being picked and bagged in the field, they were loaded into the car pictured above and hauled to Konoba Marina, the tavern in the middle of town.

The word konoba means “cellar,” in Dalmatian dialect, and since many small, family-owned taverns actually operate from within wine cellars, the term is used also to refer to such casual dining and drinking establishments. During the grape harvest, when tourist business has all but ceased completely, a local konoba will often revert to its original purpose: making wine!

I’m not certain how many tons of Babić grapes we took turns crushing by hand that day, but the end result would be nearly 1000 liters of wine. Once the fruit was crushed, we transported the mash to a giant vat for fermentation. One of our helpers, Antonija, was kind enough to let me photograph her next to the vat to help illustrate its size for you.

And Robert, proprietor of Konoba Marina, was kind enough to prepare a hearty lunch for the workers that day: a sumptuous roast of veal and turkey with onions and root vegetables under the peka.

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Posted in Fruits, Meat, Wine | 3 Comments »