| There's a varied and distinctive range of cuisine on offer in
Croatia, largely because the country straddles two culinary cultures:
the fish-and-seafood-dominated cuisine of the Mediterranean, and the
hearty meat-oriented fare of central Europe
Food
Basic self-catering and picnic ingredients like cheese ( sir ),
vegetables ( povrce ) and fruit ( voce ) can be bought at a supermarket
( samoposluga ) or open-air market ( trznica ). Bread ( kruh ) is bought
from either a supermarket or a pekara (bakery). For breakfasts and fast
food, look out for street stalls or snack-food outlets selling burek , a
flaky pastry filled with cheese; or grilled meats such as cevapcici (rissoles
of minced beef, pork or lamb), and pljeskavica (a hamburger-like mixture
of the same meats).
For a more relaxed, sit-down meal, a restaurant menu ( jelovnik ) will
usually include Croatian speciality starters like prsut (home-cured ham)
and paski sir (piquant hard cheese), as well as a range of soups ( juha
). Typical main courses include punjene paprike (peppers stuffed with
rice and meat), gulas (goulasch), or some kind of odrezak (fillet of
meat, often pan-fried), usually either svinjski (pork) or teleski (veal).
Mjesano meso is a mixed grill. Lamb, often roasted, is jagnjetina .
Traditional dishes from the area around Zagreb include purica z mlincima
(turkey with pasta noodles), and strukli (ravioli-like blobs of pasta
dough with a cheese filling). One typically Dalmatian dish is pasticada
(beef and bacon cooked in vinegar and wine). On the coast, you'll be
regaled with every kind of seafood. Riba (fish) can come either na zaru
(grilled) or u pecnici (baked). Brodet is a hot peppery fish stew.
Otherwise, the main menu items to look out for on the coast are lignje (squid),
skampi (unpeeled prawns eaten with the hands), rakovica (crab), ostrige
(oysters), kalamari (squid), skoljke (mussels) and jastog (lobster);
crni rizoto is risotto with squid. No Croatian town is without at least
one pizzeria, often the cheapest place to eat and the easiest, if not
the most imaginative, source of a vegetarian meal.
Typical desserts include palacinke (pancakes), vocna salata (fruit
salad) and sladoled (ice cream).
Drink
Daytime drinking takes place in a kavana (café) or a slasticarnica (patisserie).
Coffee ( kava ) is usually served black unless specified otherwise - ask
for mlijeko (milk) or slag (cream). Tea ( caj ) is widely available, but
is drunk without milk.
Night-time drinking takes place in a growing number of small kafici or
café/bars. Croatian beer ( pivo ) is of the light lager variety;
Karlovacko and Ozujsko are two good local brands to look out for. The
local wine ( vino ) is consistently good and reasonably cheap. In
Dalmatia there are some pleasant whites, crisp dry wines like Kastelet,
Grk and Posip, as well as reds like the dark heady Dingac and Babic. In
Istria, Semion is a bone-dry white, and Teran a light fresh red. Local
spirits include loza , a clear grape-based spirit; travarica , herbal
brandy; vinjak , locally produced cognac, and Maraskino , a cherry
liqueur from Dalmatia.
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