Croatian Food Recipes

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Skampi na buzaru

History
Both Greeks and Romans referred to the region that today is Croatia as Illyria which was inhabited by Illyrians, most likely a generic term for all tribes in the area. Contact with Ancient Greece was frequent who also had a few colonies set up to facilitate trade. The Romans annexed the region in 9 AD, it remained an active part of the empire until its division. After 395 it was first part of the Western Roman Empire but they pretty soon lost control after several invasions from among them Ostrogoths, Alans, Huns, Avars and Byzantines. An immigration during the 5th and 6th century by various Slavic tribes would mix with the then existing population consisting of mainly Romans and Illyrians. Another Slavic (whether they were Slavs is somewhat disputed) people came from the north in the 7th century, it was the Croats. By the late 9th century the Croats had established an independent state, it turned into a kingdom that peaked in the 11th century when Hungarians took over. The centuries following the Croats were granted autonomy and were headed by a so called ban appointed by Hungary. When the Ottoman Turks defeated the Hungarians in 1526 the Croats saw fit to find a stronger ally, thus they agreed to submit to the Austrian Habsburgs in exchange for military protection. During these centuries, especially in larger cities like Split and Dubrovnik, there were constant cultural and economical influence from Italian Venice and the Byzantine Empire. This Italian connection is quite visible in Croatian food recipes from these cities.

During the rule of the Habsburgs there were several wars with the Turks. Important migratory changes occured, many Croats moved out to modern day Austria and many Serbs moved in. Until the start of World War I in 1914 there were many political developments with both Hungary and Austria, though in effect they were more or less under Austro-Hungarian control. Movements for both the creation of a sovereign Croatian or a pan-slavic state grew strong during the 19th century until the advent of the war. In 1918 the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved, Croatia then became part of the newly founded Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In 1941 Germany and Italy invaded Yugoslavia, modern day Croatia became part of a puppet state. Under this government there was a genocide on Jews Romas and Serbs. Resistance against this regime pretty soon grew strong and organized; so called Partizans under the leadership of a Jozep Bros Tito was very much involved in defeating both the Germans and the Italians. After the war the socialist federal republic of Yugoslavia was founded with Croatia as a founding member, its president Tito would remain in power until 1980 when he died. After his passing the stability was slowly lost, in 1991 Croatia declared themselves independent. Pretty soon a bloody war broke out, the main opponent being the Serbs since they did not recognize the Croatian claim to sovereignity. After several years of fighting Croatia were victorious in 1995.

Croatian Cuisine
Croatian food recipes have many similarities to those of neighbouring countries like Hungary and Serbia. There have also been clear influences from Turkey, Greece, Austria and Italy. A lot of the explanations to this are easy to find in the brief history above. Ethnicity play a lesser role since the population is quite homogenously Croatian. Different regions have different cuisines, in its simplest sense you can differentiate two: One is the heavier cuisine of the mainland which show much more similarities to Central and Eastern Europe as well as Turkey. The other is the more lighter cuisine of the coastal regions with similarities to Greece and Italy. Peka baking is a popular cooking method in the coastal regions.

Some Examples Of Croatian Ingredients And Dishes

Sir Means cheese. The yellow types are of the Italian tradition and the white most often West Asian. Paski sir is a famous sheep's milk cheese that goes on export.
Pavlaka Sour cream.
Kackavalj A kind of clotted cream.
Burek A very popular fast food of Turkish origin, filo dough often filled with cheese and meat.
Pogaca Puff pastry type of bread.
Palenta Made from cornmeal (ie. polenta).
Pita This pita is a filled pie made from filo dough. Can be sweet as a starter, dessert or main course.
Prsuta Italian style dried and smoked ham, comes from the Italian word for ham; prosciutto
Kulen Minced pork meat sausage, quite spicy.
Krvavice Blood and buckwheat sausage.
Kobasica Hungarian style air dried sausage.
Panceta Italian style ham.
Svargla Various parts of the pig cooked in its stomach, kind of a pig haggis.
Duvec A meat and vegetable stew.
Sataras A vegetable side dish based on roasted bell peppers.
Ajvar A relish made from red bell peppers, chillies, garlic and aubergine. Ranges from mild to hot. Has its origins in Serbia.
Sarma Grapevine or cabbage leaves filled with a either/and minced meat, rice and vegetables.
Blitva A very common side dish based on mangold.
Cevapcici Is a kind of a kebab; skewered minced meat often served in flat bread, can be prepared from various types of meat.
Gulas The meat and vegetable soup/stew goulash has Hungarian origin.
Jota A bean and pork stew of Italian origin.
Zagrebacki odrezak Wiener scnitzel
Zganci A polenta and buckwheat based dish.
Sauerkraut
Brodet A fish stew.
Skampi Shrimp prepared in wine, garlic and olive oil.
Hadletina 'Head cheese' made from pig.
Fuzi A bow shaped pasta often served with a tomato and veal sauce.
Punjena paprika Bell peppers filled with minced meat.
Pasticada A strong tasting beef stew served with gnocchi.
Corba A word for chowder, come in many forms.
Lignje Fried squid ie. calamari
Salata od hobotnice Octopus salad
Bakalar Dried salted cod prepared in several ways. (bacalhau in Portugal).
Raznjici Charcoal grilled skewered meat, ie. shish kebab.
Krofne A jam filled doughnut.
Baklava Sweet bread made of filo pastry and often filled with walnuts and raisins. Sweetened with honey. Turkish origin.
Palacinke Crepe
Rozata A kind of a creme brulé.
Paprenjaci A traditional cinnamon, walnut and nutmeg biscuit.
Strudla The apple strudel is of Austrian origin.
Ustipci Small filled bread balls.
Kuglof A sweet cake with origins in the German speaking parts of Europe.

Croatian Beverages
Both beer and wine is popular and produced in Croatia. Rakija, a fruit brandy, is the most common strong drink; in particular the sljivovica variety made from plums. The Croatians are coffee drinkers.

Submitted Croatian Food Recipes

- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 200 g finely chopped yellow onion
- 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp of tomato purée
- 1500 g of whole shrimps
- 100 ml white wine
- 100 ml shrimp stock
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and fry the onion until translucent. Stir in garlic and cook for a further minute. Add tomato purée and shrimps and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour on the wine, shrimp stock, season and bring the sauce to the boil. Cook for 20 – 30 minutes (until shrimps are cooked and juices have thickened). At the end, sprinkle chopped parsley over the shrimps. Serve it hot, with polenta, pasta or crusty bread.

Nikolina's Comment: I am from Dubrovnik and so is the recipe. Enjoy in this simple and delicious dish from Dalmatia, southern region of Croatia. Dalmatian cuisine relies mostly on the fresh fish and sea food from the Adriatic sea.Shrimp stew is one of my favorites dishes since it is very delicious, easy to prepare and very healthy! I hope your will enjoy preparing and tasting this dish! I usually prepare this dish when I manage to buy fresh shrimps on the fish market near my home in Dubrovnik. I usually prepare it for family and friends and this dish is usually followed by grilled fish.

My comment: This truly is a great way to prepare shrimp. The dish is just as Nikolina says a good example of the cuisine from Dalmatia. Influences from Italy and Greece are very present in this region. Dubrovnik, in particular, had for many centuries extremely strong ties with Venice, it is reflected in many food recipes from there. Nikolina also has a site called Dubrovnik Travel Experience that provides travel information on the city of Dubrovnik - one of the most beautiful cities in the Mediterranean!