Dry-Cured Ham in Red Wine Sauce Istrian Recipe

This simple, uncomplicated and humble peasant dish must be one of the quickest and easiest recipes ever. You will only need three ingredients to make it, olive oil, red wine and some kind of dry-cured meat, and a couple of minutes to spare to cook it.The recipe originated in the Slovenian region of Karst, and it was prepared in the olden days by the housewives for their husbands upon their return home hungry after working all day in the fields and with the animals, and needed a quick and filling meal.

This dish was cooked using the ingredients that were exclusively homemade, types of dry cured meats changed according to what was available in the households.

It is a very much-loved simple dish that can be found in this region on the menus in local run family rustic restaurants referred to as Pršut z Refoškom, Pršut z vinom or Teranov toč (word vino meaning wine, and Refošk and Teran are the two typical full bodied red wines produced in the Karst region).

It is usually made with Kraški Pršut, a dry-cured non-smoked ham from the Kras (Karst) region in Slovenia, with a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). This region is blessed with a continuous breeze and relatively low humidity, creating perfect conditions for drying meat, a strong tradition that has been kept alive among local people since the earliest settlements.

This is how a well renowned and famous Slovenian polymath John Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor described in 1689 the Karst region and the traditions of its humble culinary customs.

This good people help

themselves as they can live

poorly: they are very happy if they

have a piece of pork fat (which they can digest due to their

ardours work), onion, and a

piece of plain, coarse, brown,

rolled bran bread.

I am sharing here a family recipe for this unique recipe that travel only a few kilometres from inland Karst region to the Slovenian Istrian coast, where it became part of local repertoire of recipes.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a starter

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or olive oil

• 10 thinly sliced dry-cured ham (you can use dry-cured sausage like Italian salami or French Saucisson for example)

• 100ml full-bodied red wine

• knob of unsalted butter, optional

• black pepper, optional

• fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped, optional

Method

Put the olive oil in a fairly large frying pan and heat it up a bit.

Place the slices of dry-cured ham in a frying pan and cook them on a medium heat very briefly, just until they change the colour, it will literally take seconds.

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Then pour the wine and cook for further a minute or two, or until the alcohol evaporates and the sauce thickens slightly. When it is cooked you can add a knob of butter if you wish to make the sauce creamier and richer.

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Season with some black pepper if you wish, however, there is no need to season this dish with additional sea salt as dry-cured ham is already naturally quite salty.

Serve immediately hot or warm with slices of rustic bread or on a bed of soft, cooked polenta.

Just a thought

This dish is best eaten immediately after it has been prepared, and it is not suitable for freezing.

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.

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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.

Easy Lamb Casserole Istrian Recipe

This slow-cooked lamb casserole recipe is absolutely amazing, it is incredibly easy to make using cheaper and tougher cuts of lamb that by the end of cooking become so tender they truly melt into your mouth.

It is a simple dish to put together, perfect for a cosy and satisfying meal, and great to make ahead of time as the flavours will have the chance to mingle, develop fully and intensify.

Along the Slovenian coast you might find this dish in more informal and rustic style restaurants called in local dialect Janje or Jančić na rošto or referred to as Pečeno Jagnje in standard Slovenian.

This very popular and much-loved dish is frequently prepared in the households during the weekends, and when the family and friends get together for special celebrations. It is also a recipe that is understandably appropriate for an Easter menu.

I am sharing here my family recipe with you. It only needs a few basic ingredients and you are ready to go.

You will come back to this recipe time and time again, as the best things about this incredibly flavourful lamb casserole is that the oven will take over and do the work for you.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1kg diced lamb meat of your choice (I used neck fillet). You can use boneless shoulder or leg of lamb, trimmed of excess fat and diced.

• 1 medium onion (about 150g), peeled and finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 3 Tbsp olive oil

• 100 ml white wine, optional

• 100g ripe and sweet tomatoes of your choice, roughly chopped (I used mini-San Marzano tomatoes)

• If you cannot get hold of ripe and sweet tomatoes, you can use high quality tinned chopped tomatoes instead.

• a sprig of fresh parsley, finely chopped

• leaves from a small sprig of fresh rosemary (about 1 Tsp), very finely chopped or ¼ Tsp of dry rosemary

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 250°C static or equivalent.

Trim off the excess fat from the diced meat if necessary to avoid the final dish being too greasy and potentially unpleasant to eat.

Put the olive oil in a fairly large flameproof casserole dish or Dutch Oven.

Add finely chopped onions, crushed garlic, a pinch of sea salt, and gently fry until soft and transparent.

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Place diced lamb meat in a casserole dish and mix with the onions.

Transfer in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

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Remove from the oven and add chopped tomatoes, the herbs, and season with sea salt and black pepper.

Add white wine, if you are including it, and pour enough water to almost completely cover the meat.

Stir gently so all the ingredients are mixed together.

Turn the heat down to 220ºC.

Transfer the casserole dish back into the oven and cook for about 1 hour or until the meat is very tender.

Check the casserole now and again, giving it a good stir making sure there is always enough liquid.

If the casserole gets too dry, top up with a bit more water.

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When the dish is ready you can spoon out any excess oil at the surface of the casserole.

Great served with oven baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, soft cooked polenta, some crusty rustic bread, sautéed peas, and other green vegetables like beans, broccoli, curly kale, and cavolo nero just to mention a few possible vegetables.

Just a thought

This lamb casserole is great for freezing. Once fully cooked, allow it to cool completely, and then freeze for up to three months.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Panada - Venetian Style Bread Soup Recipe

Panada is a bread soup that has porridge like consistency, it is smooth and delicate in flavour, it is perfect for colder months as it is filling, and great when you want to use up and recycle all that stale bread you are not quite sure what to do with it.

It is similar to other types of soups, where stale bread is used as a main ingredient, like Soupe valpellinentze (Valle d'Aosta), Suppa cauta from the Italian island of Sardegna and Tuscan Pancotto (pancotto literally meaning cooked bread) just to mention a few.

In all honesty, this dish would not quite qualify to fall into a category of the most appealing of dishes at a first glance. The recipe for this soup only calls for three main ingredients, stale bread, broth or stock and extra virgin olive oil, and the success of this dish, as it is so simple, really lies in using exceptionally good quality ingredients.

It is hard to imagine that this incredibly humble soup that fed the poorest of the poor was created in today's one of the wealthiest regions of Italy, Veneto. This was not always the case as Veneto used to be one of the least prosperous regions of Italy where people had to be incredibly resourceful and creative with the ingredients they had. This is the dish that older generations, including my nona, remembers with both great fondness and melancholy, as it was prepared very often in their youth, during the World War II, but also during the years that followed.It was ideal for small children and the elderly, and it was traditionally also prepared during the Lent.

My nona shared with me that in Slovenian Istra, Panada (without the use of cheese) used to be a common site on the dinner tables. This would come as no surprise as this part of land used to be ruled by the Serenissima, ‘The most Serene Republic of Venice,’ which significantly shaped the gastronomic habits in this region.

Nowadays, Panada is one of those dishes that most of the younger generation have never heard of or even never tasted. This is an almost forgotten dish, in this day and age, it is a rarely cooked soup in homes, and most certainly not offered, or found on the menus in restaurants.

I am sharing here this much treasured family recipe.

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 400g stale bread (rustic type of loaf is particularly indicated)

• extra virgin olive oil, a generous drizzle or to taste, and some extra to serve

• 1.5 litre beef, chicken or vegetable broth (preferably homemade but you can use a really good quality store bought stock)

• sea salt

• black pepper

• grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese, to serve, optional (you can use any hard cheese you like)

Method

Thinly slice stale loaf of bread.

Place the slices in a pan in layers.

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Cover with beef, chicken or vegetable warm broth or stock, and drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil.

Leave to stand for about 40 minutes and allow the bread to thoroughly absorb the liquid.

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Place the pan on a stove and cook on a very gentle heat for about 45 minutes stirring quite frequently but gently.

When is fully cooked you should end up with a smooth, creamy and velvety bread soup.

Taste and season with sea salt and black pepper.

Serve hot with grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese or other type of hard cheese of your preference, optional, and a drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Just a thought

If you want to make this recipe intentionally, and not because of the left over bread, you can also buy a fresh rustic loaf from the shop and keep it out until it dries a bit, and then use it.

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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

Crispy Fried Squid (Calamari) Recipe

This incredibly popular dish is a real crowd pleaser and will be the talk of the table. It can be served as a starter or as a main course and makes a great party food as its taste is pretty extraordinary.

With a few simple steps and a tiny bit of effort you can tackle this simple and quick recipe at home and end up with crispy calamari to delight your friends and family. There is nothing daunting and tricky about it.

Squid flourish in the Mediterranean and Adriatic sea where for the locals fried calamari are equivalent to British concept of “Fish and Chips”.

Along the Slovenian coast, this dish can be found on the menu in just about every restaurant (Ocvrti lignji or Ocvrti kalamari). It is served with chips and mayonnaise or tartar sauce or a traditional Istrian vegetable side dish made with spinach or chard and potatoes. During hotter months a mixed summer salad could be a great alternative to accompany this exquisite dish.

It is enjoyed as part of everyday meal or as a seafood feast during festivities, very popular on Christmas Eve when traditionally fish and seafood-based menu is served according to the tradition that originates from the Roman Catholic practice of not eating meat on Fridays.

Fried squid can be served on their own or with whitebait or other small fish, prawn tails or shrimp.

I am sharing here my mother's recipe how to make the best crispy calamari!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• about 800g squid, tubes and tentacles, cleaned

• 250-500g plain white flour

• vegetable oil, for frying

• sea salt

• 2 lemons, quartered, to serve

Method

Prepare and clean the squid.

Remove from the squid tube the head, backbone and innards, and separate the tentacles.

(If you are uncomfortable with this task, ask the fishmonger to clean the squid for you).

Wash thoroughly under the cold running water.

Pat squid dry with the kitchen paper.

Cut the squid pouches into rings, roughly about 5mm.

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Put enough oil in a saucepan to come halfway up the pan.

Place on a medium heat and heat the oil for deep-frying to 190°C, if using a thermometer.

(if not using a thermometer, one way to check that the oil is at the right temperature is to drop a small cube of bread into the hot oil, it should become crispy and golden in 1minute)

While the oil is heating, put the flour into a shallow dish, bowl or a plate.

Coat lightly the squid in flour (work in small batches).

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Transfer them into a sieve and gently shake off the excess.

Carefully drop into the hot oil.

Fry in batches (and do not overload the pan) for about 2 minutes or until the squid becomes golden in colour

(dropping bigger batches of floured squid in hot oil can bring the temperature of oil down, the squid will be “cooking and steaming” in oil rather than frying and potentially compromising its crunchiness).

Remove the squid from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Place on the kitchen paper to absorb excess oil and drain.

Sprinkle with sea salt to taste.

Serve with lemon quarters.

Serve as a starter or as a main dish with mayonnaise, garlic mayonnaise, tartar sauce, salad or chips and chard or spinach with potatoes Istrian style.

Fuži – traditional handmade Istrian fresh pasta Recipe

Fuži (together with bleki and pljukanci) is a traditional and very well renowned type of Istrian fresh pasta from Slovenia and Croatia. It uses only two ingredients, it is easy and fun to make, and its shape is really beautiful.

Traditionally it is homemade, and hand rolled with a wooden rolling pin, but these days pasta machine is frequently used for practical reasons.

The origin of the name fuži comes from Latin word fusus, meaning a spindle.

This recipe for fresh pasta is great for the beginners, as there really is nothing daunting about making it, and children love getting involved too.

Generally, when we think of pasta, we have in mind a quick mid-week meal. This type of pasta, however, has been usually made in the households during festivities, holidays or as a Sunday lunch, and it has been traditionally served with chicken or rabbit goulash and sautéed sauerkraut.

It is also very commonly enjoyed with venison stew, braised pheasant, classic beef goulash, asparagus (in Istria wild asparagus when in season), cured ham or pancetta cream-based sauce, mushroom creamy sauce, and of course, the Istrian luxurious white truffle creamy sauce, popular in the autumn.

This pasta is also very delicious paired with any vegetarian and fish-based sauces or any other sauce you might like (different types of pesto).

I am sharing here the recipe for fuži, a fresh homemade pasta that holds a very special place in Istrian gastronomy, and it is frequently found in local restaurants.

Ingredients

Serves 2-4

• 300g plain (all purpose) white flour

• 3 medium eggs

You will also need a wooden kebab stick, or a wooden spoon, to shape the fuži.

Method

Place the flour directly on a working surface, wooden board or a mixing bowl, and make a well in the centre.

Crack the eggs directly into a well.

Using a fork, mix the eggs with the flour, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined, and the dough comes together.

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Transfer the dough onto a working surface and start kneading. It could take around 10 minutes of kneading for the gluten to develop in the flour and to get a smooth and elastic lump of dough.

Wrap the dough tightly with the cling film or a clean cotton kitchen cloth and let it rest for about 30 minutes at the room temperature.

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Unwrap the dough and divide it into 4 pieces. Take one piece of the dough and cover the rest of the dough that you are not working with, with the cling film to prevent it from drying and cracking.

With your hands flatten the piece of the dough you are working with to a thickness of about 0.5cm and lightly dust with flour to prevent it from sticking.

Put the flattened piece of the dough through pasta machine on the widest setting. If you don't have pasta machine, use a rolling pin.

Fold the dough in half, keep rollers on the widest setting, and roll the dough again through the pasta machine.

Flour as needed to prevent sticking, and keep rolling pasta dough through pasta machine reducing the width of the rollers one setting at a time.

Continue rolling until pasta dough has been rolled through the thinnest setting.

At this stage you should end up with a very thin pasta (lasagna) sheet.

Place pasta sheet on a working surface.

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With a sharp knife (I used pizza cutter wheel) cut the pasta sheet into 4cm (1½ inch) squares.

Take a wooden kebab stick (some prefer to use the handle of a wooden spoon) and place it on the edge of the pasta square.

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Gently roll the stick to get a shape of a fuži, then remove the stick.

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Repeat the process with other pasta squares (during this process try to avoid a lot of flour as this will prevent the opposite sides of the pasta square to stick together).

The idea behind shaping this pasta is that the opposite ends of the squares/diamonds are folded over each other, overlapping slightly, and sticking together forming a hollow shaped fuži.

Repeat the process with other pieces of dough.

Just a thought

Fuži can be made ahead of time and frozen. Make sure you place and spread the uncooked fuži in a single layer (so they do not stick together) on a floured baking tray (sheet), wooden board or similar. Place them in the freezer for at least 20-30 minutes, and once frozen separately, put them into freezing bags. When you want to cook them just drop them frozen directly into boiling salted water without defrosting them first.

You can also store already cooked fuži. Cook fresh pasta as soon you make it, drain it and place it in an airtight container, drizzle with a bit of oil and gave a container a little shake. Let it cool completely, cover with the lid, and store in the fridge for a couple of days (the pasta will turn slightly greyish in colour, do not get alarmed, this is perfectly normal).

You can also dry the pasta. Place freshly made fuži onto a floured baking sheet or wooden board and cover the shaped pasta with a clean kitchen towel and let them dry for a few days. Give fuži a gentle toss now and again. Store in a paper bag or in a jar.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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

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).

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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

Chicken Stew with Simple Dumplings (Obara) Istrian Style Recipe

This dish must be one of the most comforting foods ever. It is rustic, homely, authentic, it showcases true simplicity at its best, and best of all it is incredibly easy to make.

Onions, celery, carrots, and pieces or chunks of chicken are slowly cooked until the vegetables are completely soft and the chicken slightly browned. Then the water, fresh marjoram, and the seasoning are added, and the stew is then gently boiled for less than an hour. The simple dumplings are then cooked in the hot stew giving it a slightly thicker and velvety consistency.

This dish is part of the traditional Slovenian cuisine (known as Piščančja or Kokošja obara or simply known as Obara) and is very popular up and down the country, with a different regional variations along the way. An array of vegetables (peas, celeriac, cauliflower, leeks etc.) and herbs (thyme, bay leaf, parsley) can be added to the stew. It is cooked in households on a regular basis and can sometimes be found in rustic style restaurants, and then it is eaten as independent meal (main dish).

My paternal grandmother (nona Nada) and my maternal grandfather (deda Anton) made the very best, and they always took a great care and pride to cook one of the humblest peasant dishes.

They both told me that this stew was made from the old chickens that no longer laid the eggs – so everything was used, and nothing was wasted. The meat was quite hard, and tuff and it needed hours of cooking in order to become more tender, but it did provide a very flavoursome and tasty stew. It was then served with simple flour dumplings floating elegantly on top, and sometimes an egg would be added to the basic flour batter for extra richness (one of the variations on the dumplings recipe calls for semolina flour).

This stew is one of the top favourite dishes in the family, and here I am sharing the recipe of my grandparents from Slovenian Istra.

The recipe for the dumplings used for this stew are inspired and originated from Austrian style gnocchi called Nockerel (the batter is made with eggs and flour, then they are cooked in hot boiling water and eaten as a main dish with different sauces, beef goulash being the most common one).

This gastronomic influence will come as no surprise as Slovenia is geographically very close to Austria and was once also ruled by the Austro- Hungarian Empire.

Recipe

Ingredients for the stew

Serves 4-6

• 1 big onion (about 220g), peeled and finely chopped

• 1 carrot (about 100g), peeled and finely chopped or finely grated

• 1 celery stick (about 40g), finely chopped

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

• 700g roughly of chicken meat like tights, drumsticks, wings, breast

  (chicken pieces that you choose can be on the bone or without, with the skin or skinless, bear in mind that the skin will give the stew more flavour but can also make it too oily and greasy and potentially unpleasant to eat).

  For this recipe I used ½ of the whole chicken and cut it in smaller random sized chunks and removed most of the skin.

• 1 generous Tbsp fresh marjoram, very finely chopped (you can also use dry marjoram)

• 1 Tbsp white flour

• 2 litres of water

• sea salt

• black pepper

  Ingredients for the dumplings

• 200g white plain flour

• 150ml roughly water

• sea salt

Method

Place the olive oil in a stewing pan and add finely chopped onions, celery, finely grated carrots, and the chicken meat.

Season with sea salt and black pepper and cook altogether, very slowly on gentle heat, stirring quite frequently until the vegetables cook down completely and become soft and the chicken is lightly brown and caramelized on the outside. This could take up to 45 minutes, but it is crucial for the success of the dish.

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Sprinkle with flour and stir, then add the water, chopped marjoram, and bring to boil.

Turn the heat down, partially cover with the lid, and cook gently for about 45 minutes.

While the stew is cooking prepare the batter for the dumplings.

Put the flour in a bowl and add a pinch of sea salt.

Gradually start pouring the water and mix with the fork until you get the consistency of a quite thick pancake batter. Beat the batter until it gets quite stiff and lump free. Set aside and leave to rest until the chicken stew is cooked.

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

Remove the chicken pieces form the stew. Remove the skin and the bones.

To make the dumplings dip the spoon into the gentle boiling chicken stew (this should prevent the batter sticking to the spoon).

Simply scoop up with a side of a teaspoon a bit of batter and gently drop it in the stew (dipping the teaspoon into the hot stew will help the batter just slide off the spoon, if it does not, help yourself with another spoon).

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Repeat the process and drop the dumplings into the hot stew one by one until you finish all the batter.

Cook the dumplings for about 5 minutes in gently boiling stew (do not boil the stew aggressively).

Put back in the stew the pieces of chicken (free of bones and skin) and serve hot immediately.

Just a thought

This stew, like most stew and soups, is best made in advance.

You can keep cooked chicken stew in the fridge in an airtight container for about two days.

This dish freezes very well.

Dumplings can be made using buckwheat flour instead of white plain flour and the amount of water needs to be adjusted accordingly (different types of flour absorb different quantities of liquid).

Dumplings can also be made using the eggs. Crack one egg into a bowl and whisk gently. Add a pinch of sea salt, plain white flour and water as needed to obtain a fairly thick batter.

You can also use two eggs and white flour without the addition of water.

Wine suggestion

Alto Adige Pinot Grigio DOC "Porer" 2021 - Alois Lageder

Meat Patties Istrian Style Recipe

These comforting, satisfying and sinfully delicious meat patties are a real crowd pleaser; they are crunchy on the outside, moist, tender and juicy on the inside.

They have a rustic appearance and are made with minced beef and pork combined with stale pieces of bread previously soaked and softened in milk, and fresh parsley, marjoram, onions, garlic, sea salt and black pepper are added to flavour and season the meat mixture which is then shaped into patties and shallow fried.

These meat patties can be served as a starter or as a main meal, great as a sandwich filler and brilliant to take on picnics.

This recipe represents one of the most popular family dishes in Slovenia, made and enjoyed on a regular basis as a midweek meal or a weekend lunch or dinner and it is particularly loved by the children.

This is a staple dish along the coast of Slovenian Istra, it is called by the locals Polpete, a dialect word very clearly influenced by the neighbouring Italian Polpette, that have some regional variations from North to South of Italy (the meat mixture would almost always include some kind of grated cheese, Parmiggiano Reggiano and Grana Padano are the two types of cheeses most frequently used).

Istrian polpete distinguish themselves from other variations by using fresh or dry marjoram, a herb that very commonly grows and thrives along the Slovenian coast with its mild Mediterranean climate, and characterizes quite specifically many savoury dishes in Istrian cooking, offering distinctive flavour.

I am sharing here this simple but special recipe for this scrumptious meat polpete that have been made and enjoyed in my family for generations, as a child I could never had enough of them.

Some things in my family just never change...

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 250g minced beef

• 250g minced pork

• 2 soft white baps or some stale bread (roughly 130g)

• 150ml milk

• 1 Tbsp fresh marjoram, finely chopped (can use dry marjoram)

• a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 15g), finely chopped

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

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and pressed

• 1 medium egg

• sea salt

• black pepper

• white dry breadcrumbs for coating the patties (roughly 150-200g)

• oil for frying

Method

Cut or tear with your hands white baps (or any other type of stale bread you are using) into small pieces and put them into a bowl.

Pour over the milk, mix well and leave to soak for a few minutes until the bread is completely softened (if necessary, squeeze out gently with your hands excessive milk).

While the bread is soaking in milk, prepare the meat mixture.

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Put both minced beef and minced pork in a fairly large bowl. Add finely chopped onions, crushed garlic, finely chopped fresh parsley and marjoram, egg, generous pinch of sea salt, black pepper and softened pieces of bread.

With your hand mix very well all the ingredients, almost using a squeezing action, to thoroughly combine the mixture (if you end up with bigger bread pieces just break them with your fingers).

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Shape the mixture into patties (I ended up with thirteen meat patties).

Coat in breadcrumbs and press a bit so the breadcrumbs adhere well, shake off gently any excessive breadcrumbs.

Repeat the process until you have used all the meat patties.

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Pour the oil into a large frying pan, about 1 cm, enough to cover the bottom of the pan and heat it over a medium heat (how much oil you need will depend on how big your frying pan is).Cook breaded patties over a medium heat, turning once or twice, until crisp and golden brown.

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Transfer fried meat patties into a dish lined with kitchen paper to allow excess oil to be absorbed.

If the patties are lined in a layer, make sure you put a kitchen paper between each layer.

Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold with mashed or oven roasted potatoes, a side salad or a side vegetable dish of your choice.

Just a thought

You can store cooked patties in an airtight container in the fridge for about two days.

If you wish to prepare this dish in advance, it is a good idea to store the uncooked and not fried breaded meat patties in an airtight container in the fridge, and just before frying, “refresh” the breadcrumbs coating by covering the patties in breadcrumbs once again, this will give you a crunchy coating.

If you are not in a rush, it is a good idea to chill the meat mixture in the fridge for a bit, (about 30 minutes or more) this will make it easier to handle and to shape the patties.

Meat mixture or raw, uncooked breaded patties are suitable for freezing (safely defrost and refresh the breadcrumbs coating before shallow frying, this is done because the breadcrumb coating gets a bit wet and soggy when you defrost the patties).

Wine suggestion

Dolcetto d'Alba DOC "Barturot" 2021 - Ca' Viola

Viennese Style Breaded Pork Escalopes Recipe

This dish from Vienna that has conquered the world is a total crowd pleaser, one of the most loved ones, and is an instant hit. It consists of dredging meat escalopes into a flour, then dipping them into whisked eggs, coating them in breadcrumbs and quickly shallow fried them until golden and crispy which makes them utterly scrumptious and irresistible.

Breaded meat escalopes are ideally eaten hot as soon as they are fried with some mashed potatoes, a seasonal salad, or Austrian style potato salad. They can also be served with boiled potatoes and some melted butter, and freshly chopped parsley, and a wedge of a lemon (optionally squeezed on escalope once fried). They are also incredibly delicious at the room temperature and offered as a part of a buffet, and they are also great used as as a filler in a sandwich (add a bit of fresh rocket salad and spread a slice of bread with a bit of mayonnaise, and you have a sandwich that is to die for).

This dish can be made ahead and stored which makes it a an ideal picnic food, and if you bring this dish with you on a picnic, you will stand out from the crowd, and there will be no chance of you bringing back home any leftovers...

This dish is typically found in the territories that once belonged to Austro-Hungarian Empire, including all the regions of Slovenia, where I come from, (referred to as Dunajski Zrezek or Pohani zrezek na dunajski način in standard Slovenian). This dish is so much adored that it is almost classed as a national dish. It is found on the menus in just about every restaurant and is prepared on a weekly basis in many households.

Breaded pork escalopes are also very strongly present among other imperial dishes in the neighbouring city of Trieste in Italy, and the surrounding areas where they are called by the locals Wiener Schnitzel (also spelled Wienerschnitzel, this is, however, a protected term by Austrian law and should be exclusively used when veal is used to make this dish). In the rest of the Italy this dish is known as Bistecca or Cotoletta alla Milanese, and this is where it could potentially get very confusing...

The origin of this gorgeous plate of food is very much disputed, it is believed that Wiener Schnitzel cames from Milan, in northern Italy, very close to Austria (it was part of the Habsburg Austrian Empire in the mid-nineteenth century). However, sometimes the credit for its creation goes to the Spaniards (Wiener Schnitzel was introduced by the Spanish Troops of Charles V to Vienna via Italy), and another fascinating theory suggests a Turkish origin of the dish.

I think I will not enter any more into this dispute regarding the origins of the best known speciality of Viennese cuisine, and one of the national dishes of Austria, and leave it to the expertise of culinary historians.

My mother has made this dish time and time again, the success and excitement are always guaranteed!

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4 pork escalopes, each weighing roughly 130g (for this recipe you can use different types and cuts of meat, chicken or turkey breasts and lamb cutlets for example work well)

• all purpose (plain) flour, enough for coating about 100g

• 2 medium eggs, slightly beaten

• dry breadcrumbs, enough for coating, about 100g

• sea salt

• black pepper, optional

• 1 lemon, cut in 4 wedges, optional, for serving

• sunflower oil or other neutral tasting oil for frying

Method

Pound thoroughly the meat cutlets (not too thin) using the flat side of the meat mallet.

Season the meat on both sides with sea salt (and black pepper, optional).

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Prepare three dishes for flour, eggs and breadcrumbs.

Put the flour in a wide shallow bowl, dish or on a large plate (I just use a piece of baking paper, fold it when I finish, and use it the next time).

Put the eggs in another shallow bowl or dish (big enough to accommodate the slice of meat) and whisk lightly.

Put the breadcrumbs in a third shallow bowl, dish or big plate.

Start the breading process.

Dredge each slice of meat into flour making sure everything is coated and gently shake off the excess.

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Dip the floured slice of meat into a whisked egg, turn to coat, make sure all the sides are covered in egg, and let drip off any excessive egg.

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Coat in breadcrumbs and press a bit so the breadcrumbs adhere well and shake off gently any excess breadcrumbs.

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Repeat the process until you have used all the meat slices.

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Pour the oil into a large frying pan, about 1cm, enough to cover the bottom of the pan and heat it over a medium heat (how much oil you need will depend on how big your frying pan is).

Once oil is hot, add breaded meat slices, one or two at the time without overcrowding the pan.

Fry roughly for about 2 minute on each side or until the breadcrumbs turn golden-brown in colour.

Transfer fried escalopes into a dish lined with kitchen paper to allow excess oil to be absorbed.

If the escalopes are lined in a layer, make sure you put a kitchen paper between every layer.

Just a thought

I have shared here the basic recipe for breaded pork escalopes, but if you wish to take this recipe up a notch, you can add some fresh finely chopped flat leaf parsley in whisked egg and some grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese or some dried herbs of your choice in the breadcrumbs.

You can store crispy breaded pork escalopes in an airtight container in the fridge for about two days.

This dish is not suitable for freezing.

If you wish to prepare this dish in advance, it is a good idea to store the uncooked and not fried breaded slices of pork in an airtight container in the fridge, and just before frying, “refresh” the breadcrumbs coating by covering the slices in breadcrumbs once again, this will give you a crunchy coating.

A vary tasty variation of this dish that is vegetarian friendly is using mushrooms, aubergines or courgettes instead of the meaty element.

Wine suggestion

Etna Nerello Mascalese DOC "Passorosso" 2020 - Passopisciaro

Spinach Roll made with Potato Gnocchi Dough Istrian Recipe

This classic dish is absolutely perfect in its simplicity, it is Austro-Hungarian in origin, and it represents a great comfort food. It is also vegetarian friendly, and looks quite impressive, but in reality is not that difficult to make. What you need is a bit of extra time to spare in the kitchen. It is the dish that will with no doubt impress your family and friends, whether you serve it as a warm starter or as a main dish.

Potato gnocchi dough roll is filled with spinach, boiled, sliced and traditionally served with the gravy or the juices left after roasting a piece of meat, different types of meat ragù, sage butter sauce and freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese, and it can be served in a less traditional way with a tomato sauce.

This dish is typically found in the territories that once belonged to Austro-Hungarian Empire, including Slovenian Istria, where I come from, neighbouring city of Trieste in Italy and the surrounding areas and it used to be prepared exclusively during the festivities. My nona told me that the characteristic filling for this dish along the Slovenian coast would be caramelized onions and pancetta a no use of ricotta cheese in the spinach filling.

This special plate of food is a perfect example of ‘recipes without the borders’ in terms of the ingredients and the name of the dish itself, a true testimony of a gastronomic osmosis between different border cultures.

The name of the dish in standard Italian is Strucolo, which is the Italianization of the Slovenian word štrukelj, which itself has originated from a German word strudel. In fact, in German this dish is known as savoury Potato and spinach Strudel, and has very often a ricotta cheese and sliced cooked ham as a filling.

What is particular about this dish is the way it is cooked, the roll gets wrapped in an old piece of kitchen cloth “straza in the local dialect” and then gently boiled in hot water, hence its name Strucolo de spinaze in straza (Rotolo di spinaci cotto nel canavoccio in standard Italian).

Sadly this dish is very rarely found in the restaurants and almost exclusively prepared in households with a wide variety of fillings, (sautéed mushrooms and sliced cooked ham) and very often fresh pasta is used instead of potato gnocchi dough, and there are also a number of sweet variations using different types of fruit and nuts.I am sharing here my nona's recipe for this very special and traditional spinach roll made with potato gnocchi dough and simple spinach filling that still today is prepared during festive periods or to mark a special occasion.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 people

For gnocchi pasta dough

• 500g floury, yellow fleshed potatoes e.g. King Edward, Maris Piper, red skin potatoes (avoid new potatoes and choose the potatoes that are more or less the same size)

• 150g all purpose flour, plus some extra

• 1 small egg (can use just egg yolk of a medium or big egg)

• sea salt, a pinch

For spinach filling

• 450-500g fresh baby spinach, thoroughly washed

• 15g butter

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• sea salt

• nutmeg, grated

For sage butter sauce

• a few fresh sage leaves, roughly torn

• 150g butter

• Parmiggiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, finely grated, for serving

Recipe

Method

Potato gnocchi dough

Wash the potatoes, with the skin on,  under cold running water.

Place the potatoes, with their skin on, in a pot or in a large saucepan, add plenty of water so the potatoes are completely submerged in the water and bring to boil (you can use boiling hot water directly from the kettle to reduce cooking time).

After the water has come to a boil,  cook for about 20-30 minutes or until tender.  Cooking time will obviously vary depending on the size of the potatoes you are using. You  can check that the potatoes are fully cooked by inserting the toothpick into the potato, it should easily enter the pulp of the potato.  Alternatively, you can steam the potatoes or cook them in the microwave oven.

While the potatoes are cooking prepare the spinach filling (see below).

When the potatoes are cooked, drain them in a colander and let them cool enough to handle, then remove the skin.If the potatoes are still quite warm to handle, the best way to remove the skin is to stick the fork through the potato and peel it using a knife.

On a working surface or on a large wooden board (you can use a pasta board if you have one), pass the potatoes through a potato ricer.

Make a well, add the flour and a pinch of sea salt.

Make another well in the middle of the flour and crack the egg in it.

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With the fork slightly whisk the egg inside the well, and as you do so pick up the flour as you go around the well.

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Mix together and form a soft dough which should not stick to your fingers or the surface. If this is the case add a little flour at a time.

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Spinach filling

Put the washed spinach in pot with hot boiling water and blanch it for a few minutes.

Drain in the colander and let it cool down a bit. When cold enough to handle, squeeze out by hand as much as liquid as you can.

Place the spinach on a chopping board and finely chop.

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Put the butter and olive oil in a non stick frying pan and let the butter melt. Add the spinach, a pinch of sea salt and a good grating of nutmeg.

Sautéed for a few minutes, stirring frequently then turn the heat off and set aside.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Allow to cool completely.

Cut a piece of a non stick baking parchment into a 50 x 40cm rectangle and place it on the working surface and sprinkle it lightly with the flour.

Place the gnocchi dough on the baking parchment and, with the help of slightly floured rolling pin, spread out the gnocchi dough roughly in the shape of a rectangle 38 x 29cm.

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Spoon the spinach mixture over the dough and spread it evenly.

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With the help of baking parchment start rolling up the dough into the shape of a log from a long end (as if you were making a Swiss roll).

Press down each end to seal, and wrap the paper around the roll.

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Tight the ends with the kitchen twine, alternatively you can wrap the roll in an aluminium foil to help the roll keep its shape.

Place the roll in a pot, making sure you choose the pot big enough to accommodate the roll sitting horizontally without bending it (use a fish pot if you have one or an oval shape pan).

Fill it with water, can be boiling hot straight from the kettle, so the roll is almost completely submerged, the water should just cover the roll.

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Bring to boil, turn the heat down, cover with the lid, and gently simmer for 30 minute.

Remove the roll onto a chopping board and allow to cool for a few minutes.

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Cut the twine, unwrap the roll and remove the baking parchment.

Slice the roll with a very sharp knife (slicing will be easier if you wet the knife with cold water).

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Place the slices onto serving plates and spoon over a few tablespoons of sage butter and sprinkle with plenty of Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese, and a little bit of finely freshly grated nutmeg, this is optional but it really does enhance the delicate flour of the dish.

Alternatively you can also gratinate the dish. Arrange the slices in a previously buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with plenty of Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese, spoon over a few tablespoons of melted butter and gratin in a previously hot oven at 200C, for about 20 minutes, or until nice golden in colour. This is a great option if you want to make the dish ahead of a time (simmer the roll, wrap it in aluminium foil and keep it in a fridge for up to a day before slicing and baking).

Sage butter

Put the butter in a small saucepan, heat it gently and add the sage leaves. Cook on a gentle heat until the butter begins to colour and the foam has subsided.

Wine suggestione

Colline Pescaresi Passerina IGT "Chronicon" 2021 - Zaccagnini

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

Golden Prawn Tails Istrian Recipe

This dish is a real seafood delicacy, and a real treat, made with prawns or langoustines tails, which are sweet, delicious, and cook in minutes. Tails are coated in flour and egg, and then very briefly deep fried until golden, this a one of the top crowd pleaser dishes, never seems to be enough of them to go around.

Golden prawn or langoustine tails are easy and quick to prepare, a perfect warm starter, makes the best finger food for any party or celebration, and works well as a main course too.

Back home, on the Slovenian coast, this dish is traditionally made with precious and expensive langoustine tails, rather than prawns, it is therefore a celebratory dish enjoyed during the festivities and to mark special occasion, it is more like a restaurant meal treat, a favourite of mine when I was a child. You will find this dish in seafood restaurants, škampi na pariški način, which literally translates to langoustines “Parisian style”. My extensive research brought me no answers as to why the name of this dish is called what is, and so if anyone is reading this blog and knows the answer I would love to hear it!

Golden langoustine tails is most definitely one of the top family favourites, and here I am sharing my mother's recipe.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 700g roughly, prawn or langoustine tails (can use frozen and previously defrosted)

  If you are buying fresh whole prawns or langoustines, you will need around 1200g (they need to be cleaned, peeled and deveined).

• 100-150g plain white flour, for coating

• 1-2 eggs, lightly beaten

• sea salt

• black pepper

• oil for frying

• juice from ½ - 1 lemon, optional

• some fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped, optional

Method

Tap dry you prepared prawn or langoustine tails with kitchen paper or clean kitchen towel.

Place the flour in a bowl or shallow plate.

Crack the eggs into a bowl or shallow dish, add a pinch of sea salt and whisk gently.

Coat prawn tails in the flour and shake off the excess.

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Dip in egg mixture, turn to coat, letting excess egg drip back into the bowl before putting it into oil.

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Lower coated prawn tails into a hot oil and fry briefly until fully cooked through and golden brown in colour. That's it!

With a slotted spoon, transfer fried tails onto a plate or a dish previously lined with kitchen paper to allow excess oil to be absorbed.

Remove the kitchen paper and place your golden prawn tails onto a plate or serving dish.

Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper and roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, and if you wish to add some freshness to the dish, give them a squeeze of lemon juice.

Best served hot immediately with some mayonnaise or tartar sauce.