Today's meal is from the beautiful country of #Croatia, and is made up of three dishes, which were each tasty, but this meal overall, was not our favorite of this project. If I were to make it again, I think I would attempt two of the dishes at the most at one time. There were a couple of factors working against me that I would want to mitigate as well:
Here in Germany, there is a significant emphasis on buying only in-season ingredients. If a fresh food is out of season, it is very difficult - if not impossible - to get it. I knew this, but still with my American sensibilities, I thought I could work around the fact that we were a few weeks early for asparagus. I ended up buying the only asparagus I could find in the store, and it was in a jar. I don't recommend doing this! It really ruined what would have otherwise been a delicious fritaja dish. It was worth a try for me, though, and now I know! Fresh is lightyears better, especially when it comes to asparagus. There is no substitute.
I got a tiny bit too ambitious. I think making three dishes, all at once, that I had never attempted before was just a bit too much for me. Maybe if I had a family member join me in the kitchen, it would have worked better, but because I didn't do that, I ended up finishing one dish earlier than I'd liked, and setting it aside for a bit, so it wasn't as warm and fresh when I served it as would have been ideal. Otherwise, with hindsight, I would have opted for up to two dishes in this meal - three turned out to be just too much for me personally to manage.
Anyway, learning opportunities abound! If you are able to address these challenges, I recommend any/all of these three dishes.
Below, I will separate the three dishes into three recipes, so you can choose to make the one(s) that most interest you.
Let's dig in!
FRITAJA SA SPAROGAMA (ISTRIAN FRITAJA)
Serves: 4
Serve with: Grilled Pita
Ingredients:
2 handfuls of FRESH Asparagus
100 grams of Onion, thinly sliced
50 ml Olive Oil
8 Eggs
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
Wash the asparagus under cold running water and dry with a paper towel.
Separate the soft from the hard parts of the asparagus, by flexing stems with your fingers.
Cut the soft asparagus into 3 centimeter pieces.
Fry the onion in olive oil until golden.
Add asparagus and fry for another 5 minutes.
Beat the eggs, add salt and pepper and pour the eggs over the asparagus.
Stir occasionally, and when eggs are cooked.
Serve immediately.
ZAPECENA CVJETACA SA SUNKOM
(BAKED CAULIFLOWER WITH HAM)
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 1 Hour, 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Ingredients:
1 head of Cauliflower
200 gms of Cooked Ham
1 Egg
200 ml Sour Cream
50 gms Grated Gouda Cheese
2 sprigs of Parsley Leaves
Butter
Vegeta
Salt
Directions:
Clean the cauliflower from the hard green leaves and save the young and smaller leaves.
Place the cauliflower head and the leaves in a deeper bowl, pour salted cold water over it and let it stand for 1 hour.
Put cauliflower head and leaves in a deep pot in plenty of salt water and boil for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200 C (390 F).
Drain the cooked cauliflower head and leaves, cool, and chop the cauliflower and the leaves into bite sized pieces.
Cut the ham into small cubes.
Grease a casserole dish and place in layers of cauliflower; leaves and ham.
Pour a mix of sour cream; eggs; Vegata and chopped parsley sprigs.
Arrange pats of butter on top of the casserole and sprinkle with cheese.
Place in preheated oven, and bake for 10 minutes.
Enjoy immediately.
GRANATIR
(POTATO COATED PASTA)
Serves: 2-4
Serve with: Pickles
Ingredients:
300 gms of Pasta of choice
500 gms of Potatoes
Half an Onion
Ground Red Pepper
Directions:
Peel potatoes and dice.
Boil in salt water.
Cook pasta in a separate pot.
When potatoes are well cooked, mash in the manner you would if making mashed potatoes.
Stew chopped onions in oil.
When onions are done, remove from heat and add a teaspoon of ground red pepper.
Add the cooked pasta and mix well.
Serve, and enjoy!
Let me know what you think in the comments below once you've had a chance to try it!
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