Explore the sublime flavors of Croatia with our top selection of delicious recipes. If you visit Croatia, you’ll quickly learn that the country’s cuisine has diverse influences—including Italian, Greek, Turkish, and Hungarian. Areas such as Istria, Dalmatia, and Dubrovnik all boast regional dishes and cooking techniques of their own.
Step into your kitchen and try your hand at these 3 mouth-watering Croatian recipes, then talk food with your Croatian matches!
Istarska Jota
Croatia’s national dish. A classic Istrian hotpot perfect for a romantic dinner.
Ingredients
Pork spare ribs (800g)
Beans – cannellini or pinto (300g)
Sauerkraut (500g)
Pancetta chopped (150g)
Potatoes cubed (300g)
Vegetable stock (500ml)
5 garlic cloves minced
2 bay leaves
Parsley chopped
Salt and ground pepper
Method
- Soak beans overnight
- Drain off sauerkraut
- Grind pancetta, garlic, and parsley into a pesto
- Boil spare ribs with sauerkraut for 15 mins
- Boil beans in a separate pot for 30 mins
- Combine ribs, sauerkraut, and beans.
- Add pancetta pesto, potatoes, bay leaves, salt & pepper
- Cook for 20 mins until potatoes are soft
- Serve spare ribs alongside bean hotpot
Brodet
Taste the Adriatic with this delicious fish stew from the island of Hvar.
Ingredients
Sea bass or cod in portions (1kg)
Mussels and shrimps
Chopped tomatoes (500ml)
Glass of white wine
Fish stock (500ml)
Handful of raisins
Olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
2 onions chopped
15 garlic cloves minced
Parsley chopped
Bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Method
- Marinate fish in lemon juice and garlic for 1 hour
- Fry onion in casserole dish until soft
- Add fish and cook gently
- Add garlic and bay leaf
- Add tomatoes, wine, raisins, and stock and bring to boil
- Cook without a lid for 45 minutes on low heat
- Add mussels and shrimps 15 minutes before serving
- Add parsley and serve
Pašticada
A hearty beef casserole from the Dalmatian coast.
Ingredients
Beef topside (1kg)
Dried prunes or figs (100g)
4 carrots (sliced)
Tomato puree (100g)
1 bottle of good red wine
1 glass of dessert wine such as Prošek
Olive oil
2 large onions chopped
4 garlic cloves minced and 5 cut into matchsticks
Fresh rosemary
Bay leaf
Ground nutmeg (1 teaspoon)
Method
- Marinate beef overnight in red wine, onions, garlic mince, nutmeg, and rosemary
- Remove beef from marinade and insert garlic matchsticks into cavities cut all over beef joint
- Sear beef in olive oil
- Heat red wine marinade and add tomato puree
- Add beef back to marinade and continue cooking
- Add dessert wine, carrots, prunes, bay leaf
- Season well and oven cook on low for 2 hours
- Slice beef. Serve in sauce with gnocchi on the side