Grilled Squid (Calamari) Istrian Recipe

Tender and succulent, grilled or pan-fried squid can be enjoyed all year round, but it is particularly popular during the hot weather, it is light and fresh and makes a perfect summer meal.

This classic Mediterranean dish can be served as an appetizer or part of a main dish, and it is incredibly easy and fast to make.

Some people are put off and maybe a bit reluctant cooking with squid maybe as a result of experiencing chewy and rubbery tasting squid.

For the squid to be tender it needs to be cooked very fast for only a few minutes or slow cooked, at least 30 minutes, and seasoned with sea salt at the very end.

Observe these two tricks and successful end result is guaranteed. For a very tender squid I have been suggested to soak the squid in milk prior cooking (I have not tried this yet).

This dish is very popular along the Slovenian coast and can be found on menus in just about any type of restaurant. Locals refer to this dish as Kalamari na žaru or called Lignji na žaru in standard Slovenian.

It is traditionally served with a simple garlic, parsley and olive oil sauce referred to by the locals as Tržaska omaka (Trieste sauce, Triestine sauce or salsa Triestina).

I am sharing here the family recipe for this seriously delicious grilled squid, after you try it, you will be checking out the fish counter for fresh squid a bit more often!

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main with a side dish

• 1kg fresh squid, tubes and tentacles, cleaned (if daunted by the task of cleaning the squid yourself ask your fishmonger to do it for you). Alternatively you can use store bought already cleaned frozen squid, make sure it is defrosted safely before using.

• extra virgin olive oil, a generous drizzle

• sea salt

• black pepper, optional

• 1 lemon, cut in wedges to serve, optional

• For the sauce, optional

• 1 handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 10g) washed, dried and very finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic or to taste, very finely chopped, as finely as you can

• 3-5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Rinse well already cleaned squid under cold running water (make sure you rinse the inside of the tubes as well).

Dry well with kitchen paper and place in a dish, plate or bowl. Add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, toss the squid and leave to rest for about 15 minutes. Set aside.

View fullsize

View fullsize

While the squid is marinating in olive oil make the sauce if using. Place very finely chopped garlic and parsley in a small bowl and add extra virgin olive oil, mix well and set aside until needed. The quantities for this simple sauce in this recipe are approximate and you can adjust it and tweak it to your liking. Add more garlic if you wish, omit garlic altogether if not keen having raw garlic in the sauce, add more oil etc.

Take a griddle or regular non stick pan and heat very well.

When is very hot place the squid tubes and tentacles in a pan and cook for about 5 minutes, two and a half minutes on each side.

If you see the squid is drying out a bit just drizzle or brush a bit more olive oil.Season with sea salt at the very end.

Place the little bowl with garlic, parsley and olive oil sauce on the table, so everyone can spoon a bit of sauce on top of grilled squid if desired, and lemon wedges.

Serve grilled squid with boiled potatoes, chard with potatoes, chips or simply with some rustic bread. You can also serve it on a bed of rocket and make it into a main seafood salad dish.

Just a thought

The sauce should always be offered separately for everyone to be given a choice to spoon it over grilled squid if desired.

If you are left over with the sauce, you can spoon it on other types of grilled or pan-fried fish, great on grilled scallops and other sea food like prawns or langoustines.

Although not part of local costume this sauce can be spooned over grilled meat or pizza.

Sea Bass Baked in Sea Salt Crust Recipe

Cooking sea bass, or any medium to large fish, covered in sea salt is one of the best ways of preparing it. The crust that forms during the baking helps to seal in the fish juices resulting in the fish meat having a very delicate taste and staying very moist and succulent which makes it incredibly flavoursome and deliciously tender to eat.

Sea salt crust prevents and shelters the fish in the oven from direct heat and allows it to bake evenly without the risk of overbaking it and therefore drying the fish. This recipe is also incredibly healthy as there is no need for additional fats or condiments.

This recipe for sure is a real showstopper and meant for special occasions. When you break the sea salt crust in front of your guests you create a bit of drama and bring a bit of theatre to your meal, it will leave them very impressed indeed!

The recipe has a very cheffy feel to it, but on the contrary to what you might think, the recipe is surprisingly simple.

This simple method of cooking the fish has been widely known and practised in various countries in the Mediterranean. It would have been expensive to prepare this dish, as quite a large amount of salt is needed. The dish would have been reserved as a feast dish for prosperous and wealthy, but it is believed that the recipe originated from the people on a more modest budget living in the areas where sea salt was produced.

This way of cooking is very popular in the Venetian area where preparing the fish this way is traced back before the end of the Roman Empire, during which time the salt pans were fully operating in the lagoon of Venice.

This practice of cooking the fish covered in sea salt crust has been also very popular along the Slovenian coastline since the time when La Serenissima (the Most Serene Republic of Venice) occupied this territory which is also blessed with the presence of the salt pans and the abundance of sea salt.

This recipe is not really suggested as your mid-week dinner. The locals would sometimes prepare the fish baked in sea salt crust in the households to mark and celebrate special occasions, but most of the time it would be enjoyed and ordered as a treat in the restaurants specialised in serving fish and sea food where you can find this dish on the menu in Slovenian as Brancin v soli or in Italian (due to present bilingualism) as Branzino al sale.

I am sharing here my family recipe to enjoy.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 2-4 people

• 2 whole sea bass (each weighing about 400g), clean, gutted and ideally not scaled, however, you can use the fish that has been scaled already. Ask the fishmonger to help you with this task if uncomfortable tackling it yourself.

• 2kg sea salt

• fresh rosemary or parsley sprigs, optional

• pepper, optional

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

Gut and clean the fish.

Rinse well the fish inside and out under cold running water and pat dry with kitchen paper.

If you wish you can stuff the inside of the fish belly (cavity) with fresh spring of parsley or rosemary and season with pepper.

Prepare the salt mixture to make the salt crust by putting the sea salt in a bowl and add enough water (about 100ml but you might need a bit more) so the mixture is wet and moist enough to be moulded. A bit like the sand on the beach when you are trying to build a sandcastle, if the sand is too dry or too wet you cannot shape it.

The principal for making sea salt mixture is similar, use a little bit of your judgment how much water you should use.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Line a baking tray (large enough to fit the fish comfortably) with baking parchment.

Put half of the salt mixture into a lined baking tray and flatten to make a bed for the fish.

Place the fish on top.

Cover completely with the remaining salt mixture.

Press with your hands to mould and seal.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes, or until the crust is crisp and lightly golden.

Remove the fish from the oven and bring it to the table in its crust.

Carefully crack the salt crust, remove it from the fish and discard.

Peel and remove the skin from the fish and discard that too.

Brush off any excess salt to avoid getting on to the fish.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Flake the fish from the bone in large pieces and place them onto a serving plate.

Spoon over a simple green sauce made with olive oil and finely chopped fresh parsley, and serve with some boiled new potatoes, spinach or chard with garlic and olive oil, salad, creamed spinach, bean salad, green beans salad, peperonata Istrian style.

Just a thought

You can stuff the cavity of the fish with herbs of your preference like fresh parsley, rosemary or thyme, or garlic and a slice of lemon, or a combination.

Wine suggestion

Vermentino di Sardegna DOC 2023 - Selezione Argiolas

Steamed and Marinated Prawns Istrian style Recipe

This uncomplicated dish with its delicate flavour consists of quickly boiling, chilling and dressing the prawn tails with a simple dressing. This dressing is made with olive oil, finely chopped parsley, finely chopped garlic (optional), freshly squeezed lemon juice and seasoned with sea salt. Black pepper can also be added if desired.

It is perfect to make ahead of time and enjoyed as a starter or as a second course.

Traditionally, this recipe would call for Mantis shrimps (from Latin Squilla Mantis) which is a type of mantis shrimp, fished in the shallow sandy lagoons of the northern Adriatic and Mediterranean during colder months of the year. They represent a real seasonal treat and a type of seafood not typically seen anywhere else. This particular variety of shrimp is also widely used to make risotti, it is delicious in fish stew, and used to prepare pasta sauce.

This seafood delicacy is very much valued and appreciated along the north Adriatic coast from Venice to Trieste in Italy, in nearby inland towns, and along the Slovenian coast, where Mantis Shrimp is known as morska bogomolka or morska bogomoljka or in local dialect as kanoče (strong influence from nearby Venice, where these types of shrimp are referred to as canoce, also spelt canocce).

In Italy, this particular type of shrimp has many names, in standard Italian it is called Cannocchia, pannochia or cicala di mare, which literally translates into cicada of the sea.

I am sharing here the family recipe for this simple dish that can be prepared ahead of time and be ready when you are. Enjoy it with some rustic bread to soak up the juices.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500g prawns

For the dressing

• 5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or to taste)

• a small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 3g), finely chopped

• small clove of garlic, peeled and very finely chopped, optional

• lemon juice, to taste, optional

• sea salt

• finely ground black pepper, optional

Method

Wash the prawns (or mantis shrimp, if you can get hold of them) under the cold running water.

Place them in a fairly large, shallow pot lying side by side, preferably in a single layer.

Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.

Add a pinch of sea salt and bring to boil, then turn the heat down.

Cover with the lid and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the prawns turn pink in colour.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Remove from the pot and let them cool a bit, i.e. enough to handle them.

Remove the tails from the shell.

Place cleaned prawn tails in a serving dish in a single layer.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Prepare the dressing by putting in a small bowl finely chopped garlic (if using), fresh flat leaf parsley, extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of half of lemon juice or to taste, sea salt to taste and finely ground black pepper to taste (optional).

Mix well so all the ingredients incorporate well.

Spoon over the cooked prawn tails and serve immediately with some fresh crunchy bread and some lemon wedges (optional).

View fullsize

View fullsize

If made in advance, cover with the cling film and put in the fridge.

Take out of the fridge half an hour before serving and add a little more extra virgin olive oil if needed, sprinkle with some freshly chopped parsley.

Serve with some bread to soak up the juices.

Clear Beef Broth Soup Recipe

Beef broth is a strained, thin, clear type of a soup, cooked with meat, vegetables and fresh herbs. It is incredibly easy to make, and therefore, a perfect recipe for the beginners.

This soup is very comforting, hearty and delicate but incredibly flavoursome. It can be eaten as a hot starter or as a first course meal, instead of other types of soups, pasta, risotto or gnocchi dishes.

It is also recurrently used as a stock, to make risotto dishes for example, and in countless other recipes.

This is a staple dish in Slovenia where it is almost impossible to imagine a traditional family Sunday lunch without it. It will be prepared and served also during holidays including Christmas, New Year, Easter, and to mark special family celebrations. It is one of the basic dishes in Slovenia together with clear chicken or vegetable broth, and every household will have a little secret how to make the best one.

Slovenian households will almost always have some stored in the fridge or in the freezer, and you will have no trouble finding it on almost every menu as Goveje juha.

If you happen to fall ill with the cold or a flue in Slovenia, you will most surely be offered a hot clear broth to make you feel better as it is used like a “magic cure”.

Along the Slovenian coast the use of fresh marjoram will distinguish this broth from other regional varieties of the recipe found in neighbouring Italy and Austria for example, where this soup is also very popular and very much-loved dish.

I am sharing here my family recipe for this delicious soup.

Ingredients

It will make about 2 litres of broth.

• about 800g beef meat (cheaper cuts like shin of beef/shank or shoulder/beef clod are normally used, these types of meats are quite tough but when slowed cooked over a low heat will result in tender, moist and rich in flavour). You can use chicken meat, with most of the skin removed, or a combination of chicken and beef.

• about 450g oxtail or beef bones (beef marrow bone rings), optional

• 1 parsnip, washed and peeled

• 1 carrot, washed and peeled

• 1 medium onion, peeled

• a piece of celeriac (about 80g), peeled, optional

• 1 celery stick, washed

• a few celery leaves, optional

• a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley sprigs (stalks included), washed

• a few sprigs of fresh marjoram, optional

• a few whole black peppercorns

• sea salt

• 4 l cold water

Method

Cut the onion in half and place the two halves of the onion in a small pan (flat sides facing down) without adding any oil or other types of fat.

Fry for a few minutes until blackened slightly, then set aside.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Wash the meat and the bones, and place them in a fairly large pot (big stock pot is ideal if you have one).

Add all the washed and prepared vegetables, and the herbs.

Add the black peppercorns, water and bring to the boil.

View fullsize

View fullsize

With the slotted spoon skim the foam from the surface.

Lower the heat to a minimum and partially cover with the lid.

Check the broth now and again and make sure it is not boiling aggressively, it should simmer very gently for about 3 hours.

Skim regularly the foam from the surface.

When the broth is cooked add sea salt to your taste.

Remove all the vegetables, the meat and the bones from the pot and set aside.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Filter the broth, if you want to end up with a very clear soup (this phase is optional if you do not want a “muddy” looking broth).

Place the colander, lined with clean kitchen towel, muslin cloth, or cheese cloth, over another large pot (big enough to contain all the broth) and gently pour,or ladle, the broth into the lined colander.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Beef broth can be enjoyed clear, on its own, or with a small, shaped pasta (like little stars or orzo pasta), egg type noodles (like vermicelli or tagliolini pasta), croutons, shredded pancakes, grated egg based pasta dough, semolina dumplings, little tortellini, capelletti or passatelli, and Austrian style bread dumplings, just to mention a few.

Vegetables and herbs removed from the broth get normally discarded (except the carrot, parsnip and other root vegetable, which sometimes are cut into smaller pieces and put back into the broth when served).

Meat can be shredded back into the broth, or sliced and eaten as a main dish separately, traditionally it is accompanied by horseradish cream sauce, freshly grated horseradish, mustard, mayonnaise and pan-fried potatoes with onions and pancetta.

Just a thought

You can store the broth in the fridge for 2/3 days. Make sure you cool it first completely and then store it in the fridge, leaving the broth in a pot or transferring it into an airtight container.

You can also freeze the broth for up to 3 months.

Venetian style Rice and Peas Recipe (Risi e Bisi)

This springtime speciality dish Risi e Bisi, meaning rice and peas in Venetian dialect, originated in the north-eastern region of Veneto in Italy. It is a dish that has been long disputed in the culinary world whether it is a very ‘runny’ risotto or a very ‘thick’ soup, and hence whether you should eat it with the fork or with a spoonBeing a risotto or a soup, this dish is absolutely delicious, incredibly satisfying and deeply rooted in the history of the region. It has such a profound cultural significance to the point of being celebrated by the Venetian poet Domenico Varagnolo:

To bless the holy spring,

which makes a garden a paradise,

all I need is a soup bowl,

a soup bowl of our own risi e bisi...

There, in hundreds of tiny little globes,

I savour a tender green jewel of the earth

scattered in a white sea of tender smiles.

Risi e Bisi was one of the key dishes, among a menu of more sophisticated foods and fine wines, that used to be served at the Doge's banquet (Doge is the highest official of the republic of Venice for more than 1,000 years, from the 8th to the 18th century, and symbol of the sovereignty of the Venetian state) on April 25th to mark and celebrate Venice's patron Saint, St. Mark, the Evangelist, since he is the saint who evangelised the people of the Veneto.

This traditional dish served on a feast day also marked the period approaching Easter, the end of winter, and the arrival of Spring, which provided the very first peas in the new season, renowned for being small, sweet and tender.

This dish has been very popular and very much loved along the Slovenian coastline where it is known as Rizi e Bizi. This should come as no surprise since this area is bordering with Italy and was once dominated and ruled by the majestic La Serenissima (‘The most Serene Republic of Venice’) which left behind a significant “foodprint” in the region.

A pea and rice dish is a very family friendly meal and was cooked by my mother on a regular basis when the peas where in season and at their best. Shelling the peas was worth the effort since the final dish is divine in its simplicity and humbleness.

This recipe has remained one of the top favourites among family and friends. Try to make it and you will understand what the fuss is all about and why the Doge requested it every year at his palace...

This is not the dish I would normally cook in springtime as peas are a long way off in the UK where I currently live, but are widely available a bit later in the season. It is well worth waiting for them, and you will end up with unbeatable (late) summer or early autumn supper!

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 kg fresh young peas in their pods, shelled (can use 400g of frozen petits pois)

• 1.2 litres good vegetable, chicken or beef stock

• 4 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 small onion (about 100g), peeled and finely chopped

• 50-100g pancetta (salt-cured pork belly) or ham, cubed

• 250g risotto rice like Vialone Nano, Arborio or Carnaroli

• 40-50g Parmiggiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, freshly finely grated

• small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley leaves (about 15g), finely chopped and some extra for garnish

• a knob of butter, optional

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Before starting to make the risotto have your boiling hot stock ready to hand for later.

Pour the oil in a low-sided pan, add finely chopped onions and cubed pancetta.

Cook for a few minutes until the onions become soft and translucent and the pancetta begins to release its fat.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add the peas and the chopped parsley, sauté for a few minutes, stirring constantly and making sure that the mixture does not start to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Season with black pepper and add roughly a glass of stock.

Cook the mixture over a fairly high heat so that the liquid evaporates quickly.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add more stock and the rice. Cook, stirring constantly to prevent sticking to the pan, until the first amount of liquid is absorbed.

Start gradually adding ladles of hot stock, one at a time, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding more.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Cook on a medium heat, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is cooked and ready, and the mixture has a distinctly runny consistency.

Finish the dish with a typical Italian “mantecare phase” (when the rice is cooked, remove the saucepan from the heat, add a knob of butter (if using), and finely grated Parmiggiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese. Stir quite vigorously with a wooden spoon to obtain a creamy consistency).

Taste and adjust the seasoning with black pepper (if using) and the sea salt, but the latter might not be necessary since the stocks from the stores, generally speaking, pancetta and the cheese contain salt already.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Serve immediately while still hot and distinctly runny in consistency.

Ladle onto the plates and sprinkle with some roughly chopped fresh parsley to garnish (optional).

Just a thought

A variation of this recipe, which further refines the dish, involves the use of the empty pea pods which get washed, placed in pan with a plenty of cold water and boiled for roughly an hour.

Then they get drained in a colander and the inside of the shells get scraped with the spoon obtaining the green paste which is added to the onion, pancetta, pea and parsley mixture.

I have not been familiar with this process and made aware that this is only done if the peas are organically produced.

Apparently, all the pesticides residues concentrate on the inside of the pea shell and the farmers are very keen on the use of the chemicals as peas are particularly susceptible to pests.

Wine suggestion

Soave Classico DOC "Vin Soave" 2022 - Inama

Classic Tomato, Cucumber, Pepper and Onion Summer Salad Istrian Recipe

This colourful cucumber, tomato, pepper and onion salad is very refreshing, and it is made during the summer when the vegetables are at their best and in abundance.

It is absolutely delicious, so easy to make, it hardly takes any effort.

It is traditionally served as a side dish to accompany grilled meats, but can be enjoyed as a main meal on a hot summer's day when you want to keep things easy.

To make it more substantial, I simply toast a piece bread, cut it into cubes and mix it into the salad (resembling a concept of Italian, Tuscan, Panzanella salad).

If you ever had a chance to travel along the Istrian coast or Dalmatia (in Croatia) and asked in the restaurant for a side salad, it is most likely that you were brought this one. It is an absolute classic during the summer season as the vegetables in this salad have a very high content of water and therefore the salad is very cooling.

This type of salad has been on the dinner tables of the locals – well, since forever, during the summer months almost on a daily basis.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4 (as a side salad)

• 1 yellow bell pepper (can use orange, red or green bell pepper)

• 1 medium-large cucumber

• 2-4 tomatoes (depending on the size, I used vine tomatoes each weighing roughly 170g) Make sure you use in season, ripe and juicy tomatoes (can use San Marzano tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beef tomatoes, grape tomatoes or a variety of your preference).

• red onion or salad onion (about 40g), sliced

• a few fresh basil leaves, torn, or dry oregano (optional)

  For the dressing

• extra virgin olive oil, generous drizzle

• red or white wine vinegar, a drizzle

• sea salt, to taste

• black pepper, to taste

Method

Peel and slice the cucumber into coins and place into a big salad bowl.

Cut the tomatoes into wedges and add to the bowl.

Slice the bell pepper and the onions and put into the bowl.

Mix gently all the vegetables.

Add a generous drizzle of olive oil, a drizzle of vinegar, season with sea salt and black pepper.

For extra dimension, in terms of flavour, sprinkle the salad with a bit of dried oregano or with a few freshly torn basil leaves.

Toss and serve.

Summer Risotto with Fresh Tomatoes Istrian Recipe

This light and fresh summer risotto is made with juicy and ripe tomatoes that are in season, and it is a great alternative to a very much loved and more common pasta with tomatoes sauce.

It is low in budget, healthy, incredibly easy and simple to make, an ideal solution for a midweek lunch or dinner, it can be served as first course or as a main paired with grilled or pan fried fish or meat.

During the whole of the summer season, and especially during the summer holidays, my mother would make this colourful risotto quite often, this is the time of the year when the the tomatoes are at their peak, the ripest and the sweetest, and they are in abundance.

I am sharing here my mother's recipe for this humble and delicious summer tomato risotto served with freshly torn fragrant basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil, you will come back to this recipe time and time again.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 onion (about 100g), peeled and finely chopped

• 500g vine tomatoes or other variety of ripe and sweet tomatoes, washed and roughly chopped

• 300g risotto rice (like Vialone Nano, Arborio or Carnaroli)

• a few fresh basil leaves

• 1 litre of hot vegetable broth or stock (you can use instant vegetable stock powder)

• a bit of fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

• sea salt

• ground black pepper

• a handful of Parmiggiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, finely grated, optional

• a knob of butter, optional

Method

Before starting making risotto have your boiling hot vegetable stock ready to hand for later.

Put extra virgin olive oil in a pan, add finely chopped onions, a pinch of salt, and sauté for a few minutes on a gentle heat until cooked down and soft.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add roughly chopped tomatoes, a few basil leaves, put the lid on and cook for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally. The tomatoes should be fully cooked and broken down.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add the rice and toast it for a few minutes, stirring constantly to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Pour or ladle a bit of hot vegetable stock and cook until the first amount of liquid is absorbed.

Start gradually adding ladles of hot stock, one at a time, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding more (you might not need all the stock).

There should be enough liquid just to cover the risotto, the Italians say that a risotto should be smooth and runny enough to be described as all'onda, on the wave.

Cook on a medium heat, siring almost constantly, until the rice is cooked al dente (meaning fully cooked but still a bit firm when bitten).

It should roughly take between 15-18 minutes for a risotto to be cooked.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with black pepper (if using) and sea salt, but this might not be necessary since the stocks from the stores generally speaking contain salt already.

Stir in finely chopped fresh leaf parsley.

For even creamier texture and a slightly richer flavour you can finish cooking the tomato risotto with a typical Italian mantecare phase (as soon as the risotto is cooked, remove the saucepan from the heat, add grated cheese and a knob of cold butter to the risotto, and stir with a wooden spoon quite vigorously).

Serve immediately while the risotto is still hot and a bit runny in consistency.

Ladle the risotto onto the plates and sprinkle with some roughly chopped fresh parsley and a few basil leaves for garnish and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Wine suggestion

Alto Adige Valle Isarco Müller Thurgau DOC "Sass Rigais" 2021 - Manni Nössing

Austrian Style (no mayo) Potato Salad Recipe

This recipe for Austrian style potato salad uses sliced boiled potatoes and a simple dressing made with olive oil and vinegar and no use of mayonnaise, which makes it very light and fresh.

It can be enjoyed as a main dish and it is most commonly pared with a famous Wiener schnitzel and breaded fillets of fish.

Great dish to add into your picnic baskets and great side dish to barbecued meat, fish and vegetables, and a great addition to any selection on a buffet table.

This potato salad is best made ahead allowing the potatoes to soak and absorb the light vinaigrette, this makes it very juicy and succulent.

The beauty of this salad is that it can be enjoyed and eaten warm, at a room temperature or chilled in the fridge (perfect for hot summer days).

In Slovenia, up and down the country this is a dish (Krompirjeva Solata) that is prepared in the households and canteen on a regular basis and sometimes found in local family run restaurants.

I am sharing here the recipe for this humble and very tasty potato salad that has been prepared and enjoyed for generations in my family.

To this basic potato salad you can add hard boiled eggs and other types of raw vegetables, this is not however the way it is traditionally eaten.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 500g waxy potatoes (like new or baby potatoes, Jersey Royal, Charlotte and similar, they have smooth and dense flesh that holds its shape when cooked; for this recipe I used miniature potatoes)

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 50ml white wine vinegar (can use cider vinegar)

• onion (about 30g or to taste), peeled and finely chopped, optional

• fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped roughly or finely to your preference

• 100ml cold water

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Wash the potatoes, place them into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to boil, cover with a lid and simmer until the potatoes are fully cooked and tender (for small, baby potatoes it should take between 8-12 minutes).

Alternatively, you can cook the potatoes with your preferred method like steaming or microwaving.

Drain well and peel the potatoes when still warm (as soon as you can handle them).

Slice them and transfer into a serving salad dish.

Pour over cold water and let the potatoes cool completely (pouring cold water over warm potatoes stops the potatoes absorb too much dressing, therefore the potato salad stays nice and moist).

View fullsize

View fullsize

While the potatoes are cooling, prepare the dressing.

In a small bowl pour olive oil, vinegar, sea salt, black pepper and whisk well. Add finely chopped onions.

Pour the dressing over sliced potatoes and mix very gently so the potatoes do not break completely (some will break, and this is normal).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Taste and adjust the seasoning, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.

Mackerel in a Pan with Olive oil, Lemon juice and Fresh parsley Recipe

Mackerel, or any other type of fish, cooked in a pan with olive oil, fresh parsley, lemon juice and a splash of water is probably the simplest fish-based recipe, and it is absolutely perfect for all of those who are slightly intimidated and generally not too confident cooking with fish.

It is a no-fuss dish and a great choice for a quick and uncomplicated rustic lunch or dinner, it is very nutritious and healthy as it contains beneficial fats (omega-3 fatty acids).

This dish is of Venetian influence and the success of it lies in seasoning well the fish and using the freshest and best quality ingredients you can find and afford to buy.

Mackerel is an inexpensive, affordable, massively underrated fish, and far too often overlooked by the shoppers, maybe perhaps it is an oily fish that carries a slightly stronger and distinctive flavours compared to some other fish.

In this one pan recipe the fresh and citrusy ingredients like parsley and lemon juice, cut through the richness, “oiliness” and “fishiness” of the mackerel, and when combined with the juices released from the fish during the cooking process. This combination of the flavours produces the most stunning plate of food.

I am sharing here this very simple family recipe, which is an absolute winner. Fish cooked this way has been prepared and loved in my family for generations using different types of fish depending on what was found fresh in the fish market on the day.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1kg fresh mackerel, gutted, cleaned, washed, and dried (the fishmonger will be happy to do this for you, alternatively you can use the fillets).

  For this recipe you can easily replace mackerel for other types of fish or fillets of your choice like sea bream, sea bass, sardines, trout, and monkfish to name just a few.

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about10g, plus some extra for serving), finely chopped

• lemon juice of ½ lemon or to taste

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Season the outside and the inside (the cavity) of the mackerel with sea salt.

Put the olive oil in a pan (big enough to accommodate the mackerel).

Place the whole fish or the fillets in a pan in a single layer.

Sprinkle with fresh parsley, add the lemon juice, a splash of water and black pepper to taste (optional).

Cover with the lid and cook the fish on a gentle heat for about 25 minutes (if using the fillets cooking time will reduce to about 15 minutes).

View fullsize

View fullsize

To serve, lay the whole mackerel, or the fillets, on a plate and pour the juices they have released during the cooking process, over them.

Best enjoyed warm with some crunchy rustic bread, boiled potatoes, cooked rice, grilled polenta, and a side salad of your choice.

Wine suggestion

Venezia Giulia Bianco Sivi IGT 2018 - Dario Princic

Grilled Polenta Recipe

Polenta, despite being offered and marketed as one of the fairly recent gastronomic fashions in high end restaurants around the world, has incredibly humble origins, it represents a staple peasant food that fed the poorest of the poor.

Grilled polenta slices taste great, they are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and will have a very light smoky flavour when barbecued, they are very easy to make and incredibly practical and convenient, as polenta mixture can be prepared ahead of time.

Polenta is incredibly versatile, in fact, there is nothing really that does not go with grilled polenta, it is one of the best side dishes you can pick to go with your grilled or barbecued meat, fish or vegetables.

Grilled polenta slices topped with vegetables (sautéed mushrooms, peppers, courgettes), different types of cheeses, cured meats and spreads make the most sophisticated appetizers and finger food to be served with drinks.

Polenta in Slovenin Istra is traditionally enjoyed with different meat, fish or bean stews, and Venetian style liver. What is wonderful is polenta with creamed salted cod, and even a simple fried egg can accompany humble polenta.

Polenta used to be also eaten for breakfast, however, this gastronomic ritual from the past has nowadays almost disappeared. Only a handful of elderly people would still have it as the first meal of the day, perhaps as a nostalgic reminder of their youth.

My nona told me that cooled and set polenta would be cut into smaller pieces, put into a bowl, then some milk would be added, and a pinch of sea salt to counterpart the natural sweetness of the milk. This provided a very nourishing morning meal. I guess it was like an old-fashioned concept of bowl of cereal with milk.

Polenta is also incredibly popular in the neighbouring region of Friuli, in Italy, where maize flour cooked in milk, speciality from the region called Suf, used to be eaten either for breakfast or as an evening meal, this dish provided a nutritious and easily digested plate of food.

Nowadays, polenta, being soft cooked, hard cooked or grilled, it is still very much loved and is a recurrently cooked dish in almost every household for unpretentious mid-week meals, or during festivities. Its popularity has never decreased and reflects a true identity of the local people and is deeply rooted in the gastronomic traditions of the area.

I am sharing here the recipe for this polenta dish where hot cooked runny polenta would be traditionally poured on round wooden boards, and not into loaf tins like I do for practical reasons. When polenta was completely cooled and set so it becomes firm it would then be cut into strips or random shaped chunks, and then quickly pan fried (only left over polenta used to be grilled).

Recipe

Ingredients

• 250g yellow or white polenta (instant polenta) maize flour

• 1 litre of water

• sea salt

Method

Before you start cooking the polenta prepare the loaf tin. With a brush (or just with your hands and fingers) slightly oil the loaf tin, this will prevent polenta from sticking.

Pour the water into a pan and bring to boil (to speed up the process you can use hot boiling water directly from the kettle).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Lower the heat and gradually start slowly pouring the polenta into a hot water, whisk constantly.

Cook and whisk until the mixture begins to thicken and becomes smooth in consistency with no lumps. Follow the instruction how long to cook the polenta (timing may vary a bit, mine took about 10 minutes).

During the cooking process polenta mixture will create air bubbles that will pop (a bit like tiny volcanos erupting, be careful not to burn yourself).

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Pour cooked polenta into a loaf tin, smooth the top with the back of the spatula or a wooden spoon. (you can pour the cooked polenta into a baking tray, previously lined with backing parchment, spread it and flatten it, when the polenta is completely cooled, cut it in whatever shape you like, strips, triangles, rounds or use cookie cutters of your choice).

Allow the polenta to set and cool completely at a room temperature or put it in the fridge to speed up the process.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Tip the polenta onto a chopping board (it should be completely moulded into the shape of your loaf tin).

Cut the polenta loaf into 1-1.5cm (about ½ inch) slices.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Preheat a non-stick griddled pan (indoor grill pan) or a regular non-stick frying pan over a medium high heat for a few minutes.Place polenta slices in the griddled pan and charcoal grill on a fairly high heat for a few minutes. Do not move the polenta around., let the polenta slices sizzle in the pan undisturbed (do not overcrowd the pan and work in batches).

Turn the slices the other side and grill for another few minutes. Be patient with this process, only turn and flip the slices after you have tested the edges, flip the slices when the polenta easily lifts off the grill pan.

Polenta slices should have grill marks when fully grilled and have crispy outside layer.

Serve hot immediately.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Just a thought

This is a very convenient dish, you can make polenta mixture about up to two days before you actually need to grill it.

Although not done traditionally, you can cook the polenta with a stock of your choice for extra flavour and you can also add some grated cheese of your choice to a hot polenta mixture.

Sautéed Leeks Istrian Recipe

This dish is simple and rustic, and is made with humble leeks, a vegetable that is very often overlooked, but in this recipe they proudly take central stage, and take no time or trouble to cook.

Raw leeks are almost inedible but when cooked they become sweet, mellow, and taste delicious on i their own as a side dish or used as a base for risotti or soups. Sautéed leeks are also fantastic as a filling, together with some cheese, for a grilled sandwich.

Leeks are omnipresent at vegetable markets but they are at their best during the coldest months of the year, October through May, and better yet, they are packed with nutrients and antioxidants.

I am sharing here my mother's recipe for this incredibly easy way of cooking the leeks. This vegetable side dish would be on our dinner table quite often during colder month when perhaps the range of vegetables on offer to buy was slightly more limited compared to the variety you can find during warmer months of spring and summer.

Try to make it, you might start reaching out for this humble and inexpensive vegetable a bit more often, if you are not doing that already...

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a side dish

• 900g - 1kg leeks, cleaned and chopped or sliced

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Tbsp butter

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Rinse the leeks under cold running water and pat dry with a paper or clean kitchen towel.

Place the leeks on a chopping board and with a sharp knife cut off the dark green leaf ends of the leek and the muddy tip of the roots (keep the green ends for the stock if you wish or discard).

Cut each leek in half from top to bottom and slice further into thin stripes.

Place sliced leeks into a colander and wash thoroughly under the cold running water. Leeks need a good cleaning before using, as dirt often gets stuck between the layers of leaves as they grow.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Put the butter and the oil in a frying pan, heat it up a bit and allowing the butter to melt.

Transfer the leeks into a pan, add sea salt and black pepper .

Cook on a medium heat, stirring now and again, for about 10-15 minutes, or until the leeks are cooked to a desired consistency (some prefer them very soft and others quite crunchy with a bite).

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.

Sea Bass Risotto Istrian Recipe

Sea bass risotto is light, creamy and flavoursome, it is made with very simple and delicate in flavour ingredients.

This dish is a true testimony to honest and uncomplicated cooking. It might not be the most colourful dish, it is modest, and humble in its appearance, but it most surely delivers in flavour. It will delight all the generations around the dinner table and will be enjoyed by the most reluctant fish eaters due to its very mild “fishy taste”.

This Venetian inspired risotto is made with fresh sea bass, a very much appreciated fish. It is one that is considered to be a real delicacy, and is very often represented in the antique mosaics by the Romans. A good quality fish stock is pretty much essential to the success of this risotto. Home made fish stock is very easy and quick to make, it is fresh, resourceful, sustainable and incredibly satisfying and economical since you are using up every part of the fish.

What are the origins of this type of risotto? The fishermen sold the precious filets of fish in the market, and so to provide for their families, they used the left-over bones and heads, which they cooked to form the most delicious stock that was then used for cooking this type of risotto.

Venetian style risotto is very popular along the Slovenian coast, where I come from, an area once part of ‘La Serenissima,’ the Most Serene Republic of Venice. Sea bass or sea bream risotto is found in most good fish restaurants and cooked in local households on a regular basis.

I am sharing here my family's recipe for this rustic fish based risotto, that can equally, and proudly sit on elegant plates during a more formal dining setting.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

Fish Stock

• 500g roughly, sea bass or sea bream (1 big fish or two smaller in size) washed, cleaned, gutted and scaled (fishmonger will be happy to do this for you)

  You can use other type of sustainable white fish like hake, pollack, and flat fish, avoid oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna, as they are too fatty and will make your stock greasy and unpleasant.

  You can make the stock using just the bones, again only from the white fish. You will need about 1kg of these, the fishmonger will sell them very cheaply or even given for free.

• 1 small bay leaf or ½ of big one (fresh or dry)

• a few whole black peppercorns (about 6)

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled

• 1 carrot (about 40g), peeled

• stick of celery (about 40g)

• 1 shallot or a piece of anion (about 40g)

• small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, washed

• extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle

• sea salt

Risotto

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 shallot or onion (about 40g), peeled and finely chopped

• 300g risotto rice (like Vialone Nano, Arborio, Carnaroli)

• fish chunks removed from previously cooked sea bass or sea bream

• 1 litre of hot fish stock

• knob of butter

• handful of freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, optionala

• small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 4g), finely chopped

Method

Fish Stock

Start by preparing the fish stock.

Place the fish in a pan, big enough to accommodate the fish lying flat (if using 2 fishes lie them next to each other or one on top of the other).

Add a few black whole peppercorns, clove of garlic, bay leaf, a generous pinch of sea salt and about 1.5 litres of cold water.

Bring to boil, turn down the heat, cover with the lid, and gently cook the fish for about 10-15 minutes.

When almost cooked, remove from the water, place on a big plate and allow to cool a bit.

When cool enough to handle, remove the skin and the fish meat from the bones in medium size chunks, put them in the bowl, cover so the fish pieces do not dry, and set aside for later use.

Put the head and the bones back in the pot, in the same water in which the fish was cooked.Add a carrot, celery stick, shallot or onion, fresh flat leaf parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Cover with the lid and gently simmer for about 30 minutes.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Place the fine sieve over a saucepan and pass the stock through a sieve. Discard the head, bones and cooked down vegetables.

Put the saucepan with the stock back on the stove, on a very minimum heat, put the lid on and keep it warm and ready to hand for later use.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Risotto

Place the oil in a pan and gently sauté chopped shallots or onions until soft.

Add the risotto rice and toast a bit, stirring constantly to avoid sticking to the pan.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add the fragments of sea bass or sea bream.

Start gradually adding ladles of hot fish stock, one at a time, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding more.

There should always be enough liquid just to cover the risotto.

Cook on a medium heat, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is cooked al dente, meaning fully cooked but still a bit firm when bitten.

Removing from the stove, add a knob of cold butter and a handful of freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese and finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley. Stir with a wooden spoon, quite vigorously, in order to develop its delicious creamy texture.

The risotto should be smooth and runny enough to be described by the Italians as risotto all'onda, meaning risotto on the wave.

Serve immediately while the risotto is still hot.

Just a thought

To cut the corners, you can make this risotto by using fresh sea bass or sea bream fillets and using a high quality store bought fish stock.

Sea bass risotto will keep in the fridge for a couple of days in an airtight container.

It can be enjoyed at room temperature as well, and is not suitable for freezing.

Wine Suggestion

Soave Classico DOC "Calvarino" 2020 - Pieropan

Peas with Ham Istrian Recipe

This mouthwatering recipe for peas with ham is easy, uncomplicated and super fast to prepare, as it can be made in no time at all, with fresh or frozen peas.

With this Italian style dish, referred as Piselli con prosciutto cotto, you might win over the most reluctant vegetable eaters.

It can be served as a side dish or as a main with boiled, oven roasted or mashed potatoes, fried or hard boiled eggs, a salad, or simply with plenty of fresh, crunchy rustic bread.

My mother used to make peas with ham very often when I was little, as this vegetable dish is particularly appetizing for small children because of the “sweetness” of the peas and cooked ham.

I am sharing here her recipe with which you can delight all generations around the dinner table with this fresh and very pleasant dish.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 shallots or onions (about 75g), peeled and finely chopped

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 500g fresh or frozen petits pois, defrosted (can use garden peas)

• 150g thick slice of cooked or roasted ham, diced

• 200ml vegetable, chicken stock or water

• handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 7g), finely chopped

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Place the oil in a frying or sauce pan, add the onion, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.

Cook for a few minutes on a gentle heat until soft and translucent.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add the peas, stock or water, and cubed ham.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes until the peas are tender and almost all of the liquid has evaporated.

Stir in fresh chopped parsley, adjust the seasoning, and serve hot immediately.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Just a thought

For this dish you can use pancetta, bacon or lardons instead of cooked or roasted ham, in which case you sauté the meaty element together with the onions first and then follow the other steps of the recipe.

Sliced Fennel and Rocket Salad with Olive Oil and Lemon Dressing Istrian Recipe

This simple and fresh salad makes a full-flavoured side dish and will sit nicely along side any main course. It is quick and easy to make, all you need is a few fennel bulbs, rocket leaves and uncomplicated olive oil and lemon dressing. It can also be enjoyed as a main salad if you are looking for a nutritious and light meal recipe.

Raw fennel can be quite fibrous, but when sliced very thinly and mixed with some salad leaves it really makes a wonderful salad.

Wild rocket has been used as a culinary herb since Roman times, and this peppery leaves was a little known weed.

Fennel and wild rocket salad has been popular along the coast of Slovenian Istria, where I come from, long before wild rocket became “fashionable” and mass produced for the supermarkets and food stores.

Along the Slovenian coast and inland Istria wild rocket grows naturally on the fields and other areas with dry and poor soil (close to typical Istrian dry stone walls), and has been foraged by the locals since – well, since forever, and they mixed wild rocket leaves with other types of salad leaves to make a variety of different salads. My 96 year old nona remembers very vividly picking it.

View fullsize

View fullsize

I am sharing here this traditional and unpretentious shaved fennel and rocket leaves salad recipe that will bring freshness to your dinner table, and for extra flavour and a bit of crunchy texture you can top this salad with walnut kernels or lightly toasted pine nuts.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 2 fennel bulbs

• pack of rocket leaves (about 60-100g)

• juice of ½ of lemon, or to taste

• extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle, or to taste

• sea salt

• a handful of walnut kernels, optional

Method

Wash fennel bulbs under cold running water and dry them with kitchen paper or kitchen towel.

Place the bulbs on the chopping board and cut off the hard hollow stalks from the bulb which are quite tough and very fibrous.

Cut the feathery fronds from the stalks if you are using them for this dish for adding extra flavour and garnish.

Trim off a thin layer of the root end of the bulb (the base of the fennel bulb).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Thinly slice the bulb using a sharp knife or ideally mandoline slicer, if you have one.

Transfer the fennel slices into a big salad bowl and add rocket leaves.

Season with sea salt, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

Toss together, taste, and adjust the seasoning.

Sprinkle and scatter a few walnut kernels and fennel fronds, if using.

Serve immediately directly from a salad bowl or pile onto plates.

Stuffed Squid Istrian Recipe

Stuffed squid is a light and delicate fish based dish packed full of flavour, with simple ingredients being used for the stuffing mixture to maximise the scent and flavour of the squid.

This is a very tasty seafood recipe, perfect for any occasion and any season, and makes a fantastic centrepiece, you will surely impress your family and friends.

Works for both rustic style eating or slightly more formal and elegant dining, whether for big parties or small groups alike.

Squid is a highly popular ingredient in Istrian cooking, it is used to make rosotti, fish soups and stews, grilled and deep fried squid are very much loved.

Stuffed squid represents one of the most quintessentially Istrian seafood based dishes, it is made in the households, maybe not perhaps as your average mid week supper but prepared during the weekends or festivities or to mark a special occasion. Along the Slovenian coast stuffed squid would be traditionally briefly cooked in white busara sauce (simple sauce made with olive oil, hint of garlic, white wine and fresh parsley), as supposed to the red busara sauce variation where tomato element is added to the basic white busara sauce.

This is the dish that would be prepared and cooked instead of a meat roast, and also commonly found on the menus in the restaurants (polnjeni kalamari or nadevani lignji, calamari ripien).

Stuffed squid has been very much loved in the family, my father especially adored cooking this dish, and here I am sharing his recipe, serve this dish to your guests and and you will most certainly not fail to impress.

Recipe

Ingredients

• about 1 kg fresh medium size squid

  (the sacks of the squid should be long between 13-15cm, if they are too short and small you will find it a bit tricky to fill, very big squid not particularly suitable for this recipe), bodies and tentacles separated, if using frozen squid, defrost first

• about 80g dry breadcrumbs

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus some extra

• 1 small clove of garlic, peeled and very finely chopped

• small handful (about 3g) fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped, plus some extra for the sauce

• 50ml white wine, optional

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Clean and prepare the fresh squid and separate the tentacles. When cleaning the squid be careful not to damage the pockets (sacks), as the filling might come out during the cooking process.

If uncomfortable tackling this task, your fishmonger will be happy to do it for you.

Tap dry cleaned squid pockets with kitchen paper.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Start by making the stuffing.

Place the oil in a large non stick frying pan. Weight the squid tentacles, then chop quite finely and add to the pan. Cook for a few minutes, add white wine if using, and cook further until all the wine evaporates.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Turn off the heat and add an equal wight of breadcrumbs.

Add finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, crushed garlic and season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Mix well so all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning, set aside.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Stuff the squid sacks with the mixture, using the teaspoon, not too full, or they can potentially burst during the cooking.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Close the openings of the sacks with cocktail sticks (toothpick).

View fullsize

View fullsize

Use the same non stick large frying pan and pour a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Gently fry stuffed squid in batches, if making large quantity, (do not overcrowd the pan) for about a minute or so on each side until they start to colour.

If you have leftover stuffing mixture, add it to the pan.

Add a touch of water, cover with the lid (ideally a lid with a steam whole) and cook on a gentle heat for about 20 minutes.

Move them around gently, now and gain, taking care not to break them.

View fullsize

View fullsize

During the cooking a small amount of the filling will come out and become part of a delicious sauce that should not be too thick nor to watery.

If your sauce is too watery, cook for a short while until the sauce thickens to your desire, if on the other hand you think the sauce is too thick for your liking, just dilute a bit by adding a splash of water.

View fullsize

View fullsize

When the squid is cooked , remove the cocktail sticks (toothpicks).

Sprinkle with some extra roughly chopped parsley and serve hot with some fresh crunchy rustic bread, toasted bread, bruschetta or soft cooked or grilled yellow or white polenta.

Just a thought

You can add a bit of freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese to the breadcrumb mixture.

Sometimes when you buy frozen squid, they come with no tentacles. In this case you can replace the tentacles for the filling with 1-2 thin slices of finely chopped Prosciuutto crudo (Italian dry ham). Be mindful of the seasoning as the prosciutto crudo is quite salty.

It is quite common also to use parboiled white rice (cooked al dente) instead of dry breadcrumbs to make the filling, and you can also substitute bread crumbs with some old and stale bread (no crust) soaked in a bit of water, squeeze well to remove the excess, 1 lightly beaten egg.

This dish is best eaten fresh, when just cooked, but can be stored in a fridge for a day or two at most, in an airtight container, and it is not really suitable for freezing.

If you do want to be ahead of time you can clean the squid and make the filling a day before and store them overnight in the refrigerator in an airtight container or covered with cling film.

You can add some chopped tomatoes to the white busara sauce if you prefer red busara sauce variation.

Wine suggestion

Collio Friulano DOC 2019 - Borgo del Tiglio

Borlotti Beans Stew with Soft Cooked Polenta Istrian Recipe

Borlotti beans stew with soft cooked polenta is one of the most humble, hearty and comforting dishes that originated as peasant dish. It is full of flavour, makes a robust meal, and is made with simple, inexpensive ingredients. 

This stew is one of the staple dishes of Slovenian Istra, and locals call it Fežu in Palenta in the local dialect, and is similar to a typical Istrian bean soup Pasta e Fasoi, but is a distinct dish that goes back generations. 

My nona very modestly confessed that her grandmother's bean stew was quite renowned as the  best in the village, and the family thought so too. She used their own produced borlotti beans that they harvested at the end of the summer and dried, so the beans could be used during colder month to make this warming stew. These days if you ask for this dish in restaurants you are likely to be disappointed since it is exclusively made in households. It is a bit of a hidden treasure among other dishes belonging to what the Italians call cucina povera.

This quintessentially Istrian bean stew is flavoured with Istrian Pestat or Taca, a paste made with lard or pancetta, garlic, fresh flat leaf parsley and sea salt. Pestat does not make the stew greasy, and is also a fantastic spread on fresh rustic crunchy bread, or a slice of toasted bread. 

My nona told me that using a pestat  was a way of enriching the flavour of what could potentially be bland tasting stews and soups.  Pestat was used instead of precious cuts of various meats, that would otherwise give the most wonderful taste, but was reserved for special occasions and most certainly not added to everyday meals. 

This incredibly understated dish is a big hit every single time. 

 Recipe

Borlotti Beans Stew

Ingredients 

Serves 4-6 

• 500g dry borlotti beans, soaked 

• 1 medium potato (about 200g),  peeled and cut in half 

• 1 carrot (about 70g), peeled 

• ½ bay leaf, fresh or dry 

• 100g pancetta (can use already sliced pancetta)

• 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and pressed 

• fresh flat leaf parsley, a handful (about 7g), finely chopped 

• sea salt 

• black pepper 

• extra virgin olive oil, for serving, optional 

Soft cooked Polenta 

Ingredients 

• 250g polenta 

• 1250 ml water 

• sea salt 

Method 

Put dry borlotti beans in a big bowl, add plenty of cold water and leave them to soak overnight. 

The following day drain them in a colander and rinse well under the cold running water. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Cut the pancetta into small pieces and transfer into a small food processor, add crushed garlic, finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley and a pinch of sea salt. Blitz all the ingredients together until you obtain a paste like consistency. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Istrian Pestat (Istrian Pesto)

Put the soaked beans in a big pot, add the pancetta paste, potato, carrot, bay leaf, a generous pinch of sea salt and a bit of black pepper. 

Add about 2 litres and a half of cold water. 

The pancetta paste will most probably float in a water as a big lump, do not worry, this is normal.

Take a fork and break the lump of pancetta paste pressing it against the wall of the pan until you break it completely and give a good stir, so all the ingredients mix together. 

Bring to boil, turn the heat down, partially cover with the lid and cook on a very gentle heat for about 2 hours, giving a stir now and again.

View fullsize

View fullsize

After this time the bean stew should have a nice velvety consistency that is not too liquidy or too thick. 

Serve hot with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, with some rustic crunchy bread, or as it is traditionally served, on a bed of soft cooked polenta. 

Soft Polenta 

Put the water in a medium-size sauce pan and bring to boil, add a pinch of sea salt. 

Turn the heat down and start slowly pouring the polenta into a simmering water, whisking constantly until there are no lumps and the mixture thickens. Polenta cooks in minutes. 

Polenta thickens as it sits, if you are not serving it immediately, you can reheat it by whisking in a bit more water or stock to make it smooth and creamy again. 

Just a thought 

For this recipe, instead of making pancetta paste, you can use a piece of ham hock, pig's trotters, a whole piece of pancetta, and add crashed garlic and finely chopped fresh parsley separately into a cold water together with the beans and other ingredients. 

For this recipe it is very important that all the ingredients are added to cold water, especially the pancetta paste that will, during the cooking process just simply melt into a stew, giving it the most wonderful aroma and delicious taste, without making it greasy or fatty. 

On the contrary, if you add the pancetta paste when the water is already very warm or hot, the pancetta paste  will not dissolve but will stay in a lump, which you can break into smaller pieces, but the final dish should not have bits of pancetta paste. 

Borlotti bean stew will keep in the fridge for a few days and freezes very well. Keep in mind that when you defrost it, or simply refrigerate it and then reheat , it will most probably thicken up quite a bit. You can keep it thick or or just dilute it by simply adding a bit more water in order to obtain the desired consistency. 

Wine suggestion

Salento Rosato IGP "Coré" 2021 - Coppi

Sautéed Mushrooms with onions, garlic and fresh parsley Istrian Recipe

Sautéed mushrooms in olive oil with onions, garlic and fresh parsley is super delicious in its simplicity, it is vegetarian and vegan friendly, and one of the most versatile dishes.

The Slovenian coast, where I come from, this is the most traditional way of eating sautéed mushrooms. It can be served on a bed of soft cooked or grilled polenta or with scrambled eggs and some rustic crunchy bread to go with it.

This nourishing delicacy with its intense flavour is a fantastic side dish alongside roasted chicken, pan fried chicken breast, steaks or other grilled meats.

Mushrooms, in terms of flavour and texture, are a great substitute and alternative to a meat dish and therefore make a very satisfying main course served with mashed potatoes or cooked rice, on toasted bread or bruschetta, as topping on a pizza, as a base for a risotto, a soup, a stew, or a sauce, used in a sandwich, and is a great topping for a canapé.

This dish would be traditionally cooked with wild mushrooms picked by the locals in the late summer and in early autumn in the fields and in the shadows of the dense woods and forests.

Most commonly picked mushrooms would be porcini, chanterelles and parasols, the latter being a real treat when coated in breadcrumbs and shallow fried. Wild mushrooms would also be preserved in olive oil, dried and frozen to be enjoyed during the months when they are no longer in season and impossible to forage.

Slovenians are a very keen and passionate mushroom hunters and local authorities impose increasingly strict limitations about the quantity of the mushrooms allowed to be foraged.  

I carry with me very fond  childhood memories of long walks with my maternal grandparents, close relatives, or family friends, and returning home with a wicker basket full of wild mushrooms. It was rather magical, despite the fact, that as a small girl, I never quite managed to encounter in the woods any wizards, elves, or dwarfs featured in many European folk tales for the children.

I am sharing here this simple but super tasty recipe that you can make with wild or store bought mushrooms.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 800-900g mixed mushrooms of your choice (I used a combination of chestnut mushrooms, baby button mushrooms, Oyster, Shiitake, King Oyster and Portobello mushrooms), cleaned and sliced

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• onion (about 90g), peeled and finely chopped

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

• fresh flat leaf parsley (about a handful),  finely chopped

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Put olive oil in a fairly large shallow cast iron dish or frying pan, add finely chopped onions, crushed garlic, a pinch of sea salt and cook for a few minutes on a gentle heat until the onions become soft and translucent, stirring occasionally.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add sliced mushrooms and stir in with the onions and garlic. Add sea salt and black pepper.

Cook the mushrooms on a medium heat, for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, or until all the liquid evaporates and the mushrooms are fully cooked, but still firm (al dente).

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Turn the heat off and sprinkle with finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley.

Serve hot or at room temperature on a bed of soft cooked or grilled polenta, mashed potatoes, on a toasted bread or bruschetta, as topping on a pizza, as a base for a risotto, a soup or a sauce, and excellent with scrambled eggs and some rustic crunchy bread. 

Just a thought

Keep sautéed mushrooms in an airtight container in the fridge for no longer than 2-3 days.

This dish is not suitable for freezing.

Djuvec Rice with Bell Peppers and Tomatoes Istrian Recipe

Djuvec (frequently spelled Ðuveč and pronounced Joo-vetch) is a one pot rice dish, and a bit of a hidden gem in the gastronomic world.  It is very commonly found in South-Eastern Europe in countries like Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and other Balkan countries, and  perhaps it is not very well known to the rest of the world. 

This vegetarian and vegan friendly dish is one of my absolute favourites, it is incredibly simple and quick to make, healthy, and is really delicious. It is also a very practical dish. It can be prepared ahead of time, and it makes a fantastic addition to more familiar picnic foods and buffets at parties. 

Djuvec is always a big hit with friends and family at the barbecue gatherings, as it is  traditionally served at a room temperature as a side dish, and makes a great paring to pan fried or grilled vegetables, fish or  different type of meats like Ćevapčići (small pieces of rolled grilled mince meat) and Ražnjići (grilled pork meat on skewers). 

It can also be served hot or warm as a main mail, maybe with a side salad, as an alternative to a tasty, and perhaps,  more frequently cooked, well known and much loved a classic Italian risotto. 

It is often made during the summer, end of summer and early autumn with main ingredients being onions, red, orange or yellow bell peppers and tomatoes, and often peas, ajvar (sweet roasted red pepper spread) and powdered paprika is added to a basic recipe to create a very common variations of this dish. 

I am sharing here my mum's super delicious one pot pepper and tomato rice dish that she used to make time and time again, just try it, I promise you, you will came back to this “off the beaten track recipe” that my family and my friends simply adore, and cannot get enough of it. 

Recipe

Ingredients 

Serves 4-6 

• 3 Tbsp virgin olive oil or olive oil 

• 1-2 onions (about 250g), peeled and finely chopped 

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed 

• 2 red bell peppers (about 400g), wash, dry, remove the seeds and white filaments and cut into small cubes (for this recipe you can also use yellow or orange bell peppers or a combination) 

• few vine tomatoes or other types of ripe and sweet tomatoes (about 300g) washed, quartered and roughly chopped 

• 1 Tbsp tomato paste 

• 300g long grain rice 

• 600ml vegetable stock or instant vegetable stock powder 

• sea salt 

• black pepper 

• fresh flat leaf parsley for serving, roughly chopped, optional 

Method 

Place olive oil in a fairly large shallow cast iron casserole dish or frying pan, add finely chopped onions, crushed garlic, a generous pinch of sea salt and  cook for about 10 minutes on a gentle heat until the onions become soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add small cubes of bell peppers and stir in with the onions and garlic, cook further for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Transfer roughly chopped tomatoes to the pan, add tomato paste, mix and cook for 10 minutes or so  or until the tomatoes are soft and cooked down, stirring occasionally. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Add the rice to the pan, stir with the onion, pepper and tomato mixture 

Toast the rice for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Pour vegetable stock in the pan and bring to boil. 

Turn the heat down to a minimum, put the lid on and cook for about 20 minutes without stirring. 

Halfway through cooking time, very gently move about the rice with the fork. 

Serve hot or at room temperature. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Sprinkle some roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, optional.

Just a thought 

This dish is not suitable for freezing and will keep in an airtight container in a fridge for a few days. 

Wine suggestion

Alto Adige Valle Isarco Kerner DOC 2021 - Pacher Hof

Sautéed Aubergines with garlic and parsley Istrian Recipe

This simple and rustic aubergine side dish is light and full of flavour. It can also be enjoyed in less traditional way, spread on bruschetta, toasted bread, as a topping on a pizza, and it can be mixed with rice, or used as a base for a pasta sauce. 

Sautéed aubergines in garlic and parsley infused oil is an unpretentious dish, very easy to make and typically prepared in the households along the Slovenian coast, where my nona lives. She told me that her family had a lovely vegetable garden where aubergines grew during the summer months and early autumn. The best ones were picked and sold on the market, just across the Italian border, in Trieste, where they fetched good money. Only the wonky and imperfect ones, but most certainly not less tasty, were left behind for domestic use. They were cooked in delicious home-made extra virgin olive oil flavoured with garlic and fresh parsley and accompanied by potatoes or polenta. 

This is not the dish that you would normally find in restaurants, with the glimpse of sadness in my nona's eyes, and a slight sense of embarrassment, she explained to me that this dish is “too simple” and  is part of what  “the modern world” defines as “the food of the poor” (more widely known as the Italian concept of Cucina Povera). However, it is slightly intriguing, since without her realizing it, this is precisely one of the kinds of dishes that are becoming increasingly popular and appreciated by many people. 

What is interesting about this dish is that visually cooked aubergines resemble more closely mushrooms than aubergines. This is why Italians call a very similar and typical aubergine side dish from the Campania region in southern Italy, Melanzane a Funghetto (Mushroom-style aubergines ). 

I am sharing here my nona's recipe for this delicious and humble sautéed aubergines with garlic and  fresh parsley. 

Ingredients 

Serves 4 

• 1 kg aubergines 

• 5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled 

• handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 13g) plus some extra for garnishing,  finely chopped 

• sea salt 

• black pepper, optional 

Method 

Wash the aubergines and dry them, remove the stem. 

Cut each aubergine into quarters lengthwise and check for the amount of seeds. If there is a considerable amount of seeds, eliminate and remove the central part containing the higher concentration of the seeds.   

Cut the rest of the aubergine into a fairly small and thin regular-sized chunks. 

Transfer the aubergine pieces into a colander, sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and place it over a bowl or into the sink so the bitter juices can drain away (avoiding the aubergines to taste bitter) during a sweating process (about 30 minutes).  This phase will help to loose the liquid avoiding the aubergines tasting bitter.   Squeeze very gently. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Pour the oil in a fairly large frying pan and sauté a whole garlic until golden in colour . 

Stir in chopped parsley and add aubergine pieces. 

Mix well so all the aubergine chunks are coated in oil and parsley. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

Simmer in an open pan, on a fairly gentle heat, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking at the bottom of the pan and burn, or until they release most of their liquid and the skin starts to have the same kind of texture as mushrooms. The aubergine pieces should be nice and  soft but not mushy. 

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper. 

Fish out and remove garlic clove, discard. 

Sprinkle with a bit of roughly chopped fresh parsley. 

Serve hot, warm or at a room temperature. 

Just a thought

Aubergines cooked this way are mainly served as a side dish but they can also be enjoyed in less traditional way, spread on bruschetta, toasted bread, canapes, as a topping on a pizza, and they can be mixed with rice, or used as a base for a pasta sauce. 

Wine suggestion

Collio Friulano DOC 2021 - Ronchi di Cialla

One Pot Roasted Octopus with Potatoes and Vegetables Istrian Recipe (Octopus Peka)

One pot roasted octopus with potatoes and vegetables called Octopus Peka (dish found in Slovenian and Croatian Istria and along Dalmatian coast in Croatia) is seriously delicious, very aromatic and one of the easiest and simplest recipe for a one pot roast where the preparation for it requires minimal effort but the finished dish is a serious show stopper, and although this dish is very rustic and formal, for locals it feels very special and celebratory, as it is usually prepared for a large number of people, for friends and family to mark a special occasion

The word Peka, in Slovenian (also called črpinja) and in Croatian, refers to a large metal baking dish with a lid that resembles a bell-shaped dome but it is also a name given to the finished dish (lamb peka, octopus peka etc.) cooked with this very ancient method (in an open fireplace) and the oldest roasting technique which ensures the slow and even cooking as hot coals and embers are placed on top of the dome.

Most of us do not have a possibility to make this dish with the authentic and traditional peka method, but I am sharing here the recipe that would come as close as you can get to the “real deal octopus peka” using Dutch oven, cast iron casserole dish, even a baking tray and some aluminium foil will do.

Serve this dish hot, place the pot in the centre of the table and make sure there is plenty of crunchy bread to soak up the juices, prepare a mixed salad to accompany the dish, and you are ready to go.

I am sharing here this traditional one pot roasted octopus using potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic as basic selection of vegetables, together with fresh fennel bulb that can be replaced by courgettes, aubergines, and bell peppers. Play around and use the vegetables, or a combination of vegetables that you like or prefer. There really is no wrong or right way here, the most important thing is that you enjoy the dish!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• octopus, cleaned, 1 big or a few smaller ones, about 2kg in weight (fishmongers will be happy to clean it for you).

• For this recipe it is best if the octopus has been previously frozen and then thawed, or buy an already frozen octopus if you can.

• 1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

• onion (about 150g) peeled and cut into chunks

• carrots (about 280g) peeled and roughly cut into chunks

• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled

• tomatoes (I used 6 mini San Marzano Tomatoes), you can use other variety of small tomatoes or use one bigger in size and cut into chunks

• one fresh fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into chunks. You can also replace fennel with other vegetables, such as courgettes, aubergines and bell peppers, or you can use fennel in addition to other vegetables. Few black pitted olives are a tasty addition too.

• 50ml white wine, optional

• extra virgin olive oil, a very generous drizzle

• one small sprig of fresh or dry rosemary

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Place clean and defrosted octopus (or octopuses) in a pan, put the lid on and cook the octopus on a medium-low heat for about 30 minutes. There will be quite a lot of liquid coming out of the octopus. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200C static or equivalent.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Put all the vegetables in a Dutch oven, baking dish or tray, and very generously drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Season with sea salt and black pepper and mix well.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Place previously cooked octopus on top of the vegetable and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Put the lid on and roast for 60 minutes.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Take the lid off and roast for further 10 minutes, or a bit more if there is still a lot of liquid. This will partially depend on the type of vegetables you are using and personal preference.

You want enough liquid so the final dish is juicy and moist.

Place the dish at the centre of the table, so everyone can help themselves, with some crunchy bread to soak up the juices and maybe a nice fresh salad.

Just a thought

This dish is best served hot immediately.

It can be reheated but the dish will be slightly drier as the potatoes and other vegetables will soak up all the juices, although it will still be tasty though.

This recipe is not suitable for freezing.

Wine suggestion

Vitovska 2019 - Čotar