Green asparagus with pancetta and scrambled eggs Istrian Recipe

This extraordinarily simple and humble dish is really easy to make and truly sublime. It consists of cooking down the asparagus with some crunchy pancetta and then adding whisked eggs and cooking them to a creamy and smooth consistency, and when served with some fresh crunchy bread, this dish becomes a perfect choice for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

Green asparagus with pancetta and scrambled eggs (Umešana jajca s šparglji) or Green asparagus frittata with pancetta, know locally as Fritaja s špargljo, Fritata s šparglji or Fritaia coi sparesi, are probably the two of the most representative dishes and part of a unique gastronomic offers of Slovenian Istra, so much so, that a Festival called Šparga Fest is dedicated to these two dishes, traditionally using exclusively wild asparagus (divji šparglji).

Wild asparagus, like store bought ones, have a fairly short season, but are more aromatic and they are ready to be picked around Easter period and one can commonly find them growing on the south facing pieces of land close to dry stone walls, on the edges of the forests, among the bushes, and although they are free in Slovenia to be foraged and enjoyed, there is a legal limit of how much wild asparagus someone can pick for personal use and consumption.

This is not quite the case in the United kingdom, where I currently live, as I found out, according to Janet Lister (Wildlife and Countryside Advisor for the National Trust). Wild asparagus, once a plentiful plant, is now a very rare coastal plant that only grows and can only be found in a handful of counties (Glamorgan, Pembrokeshire, Cornwall and Dorset). In fact, it is in decline and classed as an “endangered” species on the GB Red List.

Wild asparagus

In the olden days, along the coats in Slovenia, these green delicacies were only known to the locals who used to invent and create dishes that were born out of necessity, with the ingredients available only during a particular season. This, once again, is a testimony and a reminder of the great resourcefulness of local people, who proved time and time again the ability to find clever ways to overcome hunger.

Nowadays, this type of asparagus has reached such a popularity that the inhabitants from inland Slovenia make a special day trip to the coast to enjoy this truly seasonal speciality.

Green asparagus with pancetta and scrambled eggs is a very much loved dish in many households, and so it is made very often. However, since it can only be made during asparagus season, it is also during this time that it is found in many informal family run restaurants.

I am sharing here the family recipe I grew up with, made with wild asparagus, which was picked by the family during many enjoyable and very memorable walks in nature. In this recipe I have replaced wild asparagus for the cultivated alternative, and you can also transform this recipe into a vegetarian and vegan friendly variation by using and frying the onions instead of pancetta, bacon or lardons. For this recipe you can also use fresh white asparagus.

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Ingredients

Serves 4

• about 500g fresh green asparagus

• 180g roughly, pancetta, bacon or lardons, finely sliced

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 8 fresh eggs

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Wash the asparagus under cold running water and chop each asparagus into smaller sections.

Put extra virgin olive oil in a fairly large frying pan, add finely sliced pancetta, bacon or lardons and fry until fully cooked and slightly crispy.

Add chopped asparagus and cook for a few minutes together with pancetta, until they soften a bit and deepen in colour.

Add small amounts of water, about 50ml at a time, this will help to cook down the asparagus.

Cook the asparagus until they are fully cooked, deepen in colour, and tender but not overcooked and falling apart.

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Cook the asparagus until they are fully cooked and tender but not overcooked and falling apart.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, add sea salt, black pepper and whisk.

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Take the pan off the heat and pour the eggs over the asparagus mixture.

Put the pan back on the heat, stir and cook the eggs to the desired consistency stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula, lifting and folding the egg and asparagus mixture from the bottom of the pan.

Cook the eggs until they are softly set and slightly runny in places or cook further until they reach the desired consistency.

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

Sprinkle with roughly chopped fresh parsley, if desired, and serve hot immediately with fresh crunchy bread.

Just a thought

This dish is not suitable for freezing.

Cooked asparagus and pancetta mixture, without adding the eggs, makes a fantastic base for risotto.

You can also turn cooked asparagus and pancetta base into a scrumptious sauce for a pasta dish by simply adding a bit of single cream to it and dilute it, if it gets too thick, with a bit of water where you cooked the pasta.

Wine suggestion

Lugana DOC "Le Fornaci" 2021 - Tommasi

Sea Bream broth Istrian Recipe

This clear fish broth is very light and has a very pleasant, delicate and mild fish flavour, it is very nutritious and incredibly easy to make as it consists of cooking fresh whole fish in plenty of water together with the onions, celery, bay leaves, parsley, carrots, black peppercorns and seasoned with sea salt, then strained and served hot with fillets of fish and some cooked white rice if desired.

This fish broth can be as rustic or as elegant and sophisticated as you want it to be, it is a very family friendly dish and perfect for any occasion.

It would be normally eaten as a hot starter, however, you can turn this clear soup into a bit more substantial main course by cooking some white rice separately and add it into a broth, and sprinkle some freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano (or Padano) cheese on top, which is a very customary thing to do along the Slovenian coast, where this type of soup is very much loved by the locals, cooked recurrently in the households and found on menus in fish restaurants (Ribja juha).

This type of broth would be most commonly cooked using fresh whole Sea bream or Sea bass, but other type of fish can be used like Red mullet, John Dory, Small red scorpionfish and similar fish that have a delicate flavour, and you can also mix and match the fish that you like and found available fresh when deciding to cook the broth.

Fish that is quite strong in taste and quite oily, like mackerel, for example, is not the best choice for the broth, also fish fillets are not particularly recommended (although you can use them for practical reasons) as they will give you a slightly blander tasting broth, and that is because the real flavour comes out of the heads and the bones of the fish.

Recipe for this broth is timeless, it has been cooked and loved by the whole family since I was very little and really does take me right back to my childhood when my family used to run a small fish based restaurant.

This type of fish broth would be cooked in large quantities as it is also a fantastic base to use for sauces and for fish and seafood risotto, as it adds bags of extra flavour.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• fresh whole sea bream, one big in size or a few smaller ones (total weight roughly between 400-600g), cleaned, scaled and gutted

• 1 medium onion, peeled and halved

• 1 medium carrot, peeled

• 1 fresh celery stick, washed (with or without the leaves on)

• 2 fresh bay leaves, fresh or dry

• 2 branches of fresh flat leaf parsley, washed (plus some extra when serving the dish)

• sea salt

• few black peppercorns

• extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling, optional

• white rice, optional

• Parmiggiano Reggiano or Padano cheese, freshly grated, optional

Method

Place sea bream in a pan or stock pot large enough to accommodate the fish lying flat (if using more than one sea breams they can overlap a bit but avoid laying them one on top of the other).

Add onion, carrot, celery stick, bay leaves, fresh parsley and a pinch of salt.

Add 2 litres of cold water and bring to boil.

Lower the heat and gently cook for about 1 hour with the lid partially uncovered.

Check occasionally so the broth does not boil too vigorously (this can break the fish into pieces) and skim off any scum if it forms.

Cook the rice as instructed on the pack, if using to add to the broth (a small handful of rice per person).

Carefully remove the fish from the pan, the use of slotted or unslotted turner spatula on each end of the fish will help to lift the fish out of the pan and place it on a big plate or chopping board.

Allow the fish to cool a bit to a manageable temperature.

Clean sea bream by removing the tails, heads, the skin and all the bones in order to obtain small fillets of fish.

Put the fillets in a dish and cover with the aluminium foil to prevent drying and set aside for later use.

Pour the broth through a fine strainer or sieve into another pan.

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Add previously cleaned pieces of fish (small fillets) back into a pan with a filtered broth.

Discard bits and pieces caught in the strainer or in the sieve.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt.

Ladle the broth into serving soup plates or bowls, sprinkle with roughly chopped fresh parsley, drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, add a small handful of cooked rice if desired, and serve hot, immediately with some fresh crunchy bread.

Just a thought

Freshly cooked fish broth will keep in the fridge for a few days in the airtight container and is suitable for freezing.

You can cook this broth using only the heads and the bones of the fish and use the fillets for a different recipe or make a second course with them.

Wine suggestion

Vino Bianco "Turno Belo" - Movia

White asparagus with hard boiled eggs Venetian style Recipe

This exquisite recipe is so easy and quick to prepare you can hardly call it a recipe. It consist of gently boiling the asparagus and dress them with oil, sea salt and pepper to allow the delicate and mild sweet taste of white asparagus to be fully enhanced and appreciated. Asparagus prepared this way can be served as a starter, main course or as a side dish and is a great meal for vegetarians.

White asparagus grow with the absence of sunlight which prevents the photosynthesis to take place and therefore stops the asparagus turning green in colour.

Back home, where I come from, on the Slovenian coast, this dish, (Beli beluši s trdo kuhanimi jajci / Beli šparglji s trdo kuhanimi jajci) among other asparagus dishes, is very popular during the fairly short asparagus season and the locals make the best of it.

My nona shared with me a very touching story about white asparagus. She very modestly confessed to me that when she was a little girl, her father was the first farmer in the village (Marezige), and the first in the surrounding area to grow white asparagus. She also told me the story that when the asparagus were almost ready to be harvested, he would guard them during the night as these vegetables were very precious source of income for the family and were almost never consumed for domestic use. Only a very small amount of the asparagus, the ones that broke during the harvest, were used by the family for cooking, and this was a real treat for everyone.

White asparagus were, and still are, more difficult and more laborious to grow, therefore they fetch a higher price when they are sold on the market. The asparagus would be taken by my great grandmother to Trieste, just across the border, a big port city with Imperial style cafes, and important theatres where a fairly high number of wealthy noble families used to live, families that could easily afford to buy this type of vegetable and appreciate its gastronomic use.

My nona also told me that the locals used to say that the white asparagus were so cherished they were considered to be vegetable fit for the queen.

Even nowadays, white asparagus, although more accessible, are still pricier compared to the green ones, and they are enjoyed as a “festive food” especially around Easter celebrations when they are in season.

There is a very close geographical proximity between my home town and the Italian region of Veneto, where this flavoursome and elegant dish is typical, (Asparagi bianchi con uova sode alla Veneta) and where in the foothills of the town of Bassano, and along the whole stretch of the river Brenta, the best, renowned, plump white asparagus are produced in terms of size and flavour.

I am sharing here this simple and very much loved family recipe which traditionally calls for white asparagus, and is a very much anticipated vegetable in the spring season. However, if you have difficulty buying them, then just use green asparagus, the dish will be equally delicious.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1kg white asparagus (you can use green asparagus)

• 8 eggs, soft or hard boiled and quartered, sliced or chopped

• extra virgin olive oil (sunflower oil or a neutral tasting oil of your preference)

• sea salt

• black pepper

• red or white vinegar, optional

Method

First of all prepare the asparagus. Chop off the ends which are normally hard, woody and fibrous.

With the potato peeler, peel the asparagus starting from just underneath the tips.

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Place the asparagus in a pan with a small amount of boiling water.

Gently boil for about 10-15 minutes or until just tender. Test by inserting the tip of a small sharp knife into the end of the asparagus as this part takes the longest to cook. The cooking times will vary according to the size and thickness of the asparagus.

With a slotted spoon gently remove the asparagus from the pan and place them, one next to each other, on paper kitchen towel. Allow the asparagus to drain and cool.While removing the asparagus be careful not to break the tips, they cook quicker than the ends and will be much softer, if they do break, however, it is not the end of the world, they will just not look quite as nice on the plate.

Alternatively, you can steam the asparagus or cooked them tied in a bundle and placed upright in a tall pot with two thirds of their length immersed in cold water. Bring the water to boil and cook for about 10-15 minutes (the steam will cook the tips). Remove and untie the bundle.

Transfer the cooked asparagus and lay them on a serving plate.

Place the soft or hard boiled eggs on the top or between the asparagus.

Dress liberally with oil, sea salt and black pepper.

Serve with crunchy bread to soak up the juices.

Just a thought

You can use the water in which you cooked the asparagus as a stock. Just add the ends you cut off the asparagus and the peels and add them to the water, gently boil for about half and hour and strain.

You will end up with a delicious and delicate asparagus flavoured stock to be used for asparagus risotto, minestrone primavera or asparagus soup.

If you are not using the stock straight away it is perfect for freezing.

Wine suggestione

Collio Sauvignon DOC 2020 - Schiopetto

Venetian-style Calf's liver with caramelised onions Recipe

Venetian style liver with onions, Fegato alla Veneziana, consists of thinly sliced liver cooked very quickly and combined with soft, mellow, sweet and caramelised onions, and gently sprinkled with fresh parsley, with white wine being sometimes added to balance the flavours.

It is nowadays acclaimed dish worldwide and it is one of the most classic and traditional Venetian dishes, but is has very humble and modest origins as it was created out of necessity and hunger which originally drove people to eat inner organs of fowls and beasts with great enjoyment.

If you ever had a chance to visit Venice and wondered around the calli (very narrow streets in Venice) you will be able to notice that just about every authentic family run restaurant will display on its menu Fegato alla Veneziana.

Venetian-style calf's liver is a recipe that not only is a staple dish in Venice, but also in the whole region of Veneto. It is also so popular “across the border” in Slovenian Istra, where I come from, that it has become part of a very strong gastronomic tradition there (Polenta z jetrci, Palenta z jetrci or Polenta e fegadini). This is quite understandable since its local recipes and eating habits were significantly shaped by the very lengthy presence of The Most Serene Republic of Venice in the region.

This dish, in its simplicity, when cooked properly, is simply divine, and might be enjoyed even by those who normally are not so keen on liver and thought they did not like it, and that is simply because organ meats unfortunately are very often not very well prepared and overcooked, a process which toughens the texture of the meat and accentuates the “mineral, or irony” taste of the organ meat.

Calf liver, compared to other types of liver, is delicate in flavour, tender and has a very high content of iron.

I am sharing here the recipe that has been in the family since forever - so, just try it, and I am sure that this dish will be nothing like any other liver dishes you might have had in the past and disliked. I encourage you to be brave and open minded, but if your aversion to organ meats is really strong you might just want to skip this post.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500g very fresh calf's liver, trimmed and sliced into thin strips

• 500g onions, peeled and thinly sliced

• 8 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (you can use neutral tasting oil of your choice or butter or a combination)

• 100 ml white wine (optional)

• handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 5-10g), roughly chopped

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

If you are bothered by the slight bitter flavour from the liver a great way of reducing it, is to soak the liver in a dish or bowl of milk for about 1 hour, or overnight. Discard the milk after the soaking process.

Put extra virgin olive oil and thinly sliced onions in a fairly large frying pan and add a generous pinch of sea salt.

Slowly cook the onions on a gentle heat, stirring occasionally, until very soft, translucent, well wilted and caramelised. In order to prevent the onions getting too much colour and brown regulate the heat and maybe add a bit of water or wine to help the onions to wilt well and caramelize better. Be patient, this process might take up to 40minutes but it is crucial for the success of this dish.

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When the onions are cooked completely and ready push them on the side of the frying pan and turn up the flame. Add the strips of liver and over high heat sauté and cook quickly just for a few minutes, mixing and turning liver strips regularly, until they loose their raw colour. Mix the onions and liver together.

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Add finely chopped parsley, taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.

Transfer cooked liver onto a serving plate, lightly sprinkle with roughly chopped fresh parsley and serve warm immediately.

If using white wine, deglaze the frying pan by pouring a good splash of wine and scrape up with the wooden spoon all the bits that have formed. Reduce the wine to the consistency of a syrup and pour over the liver.

Serve on soft cooked creamy polenta, grilled polenta, mashed potatoes or simply a nice crunchy bread to soak up the juices.

Just a thought

If you happen to have some left over cooked livers you can make a very delicious and economic liver pâté.

Simply weight the amount of left over livers, chop them very finely (if you like small bits in your pâté) and add the same same amount of very soft unsalted butter. Mix together and here is your Venetian style liver pâté, delicious spread on crostini (toasted bread).

If you prefer the pâté with a very smooth consistency place both livers and butter into a small food processor and mix until the mixture resembles smooth paste (you can also use a hand blender).

Wine suggestion

Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore DOC 2019 - Speri

Green Asparagus Risotto Venetian style Recipe

Green asparagus risotto with its pale green colour, is elegant in appearance, sweet and nutty taste of the asparagus makes this classic risotto delicate, simple, and clean in flavour, but a surprisingly tasty rice dish. It is creamy and very satisfying. This risotto celebrates the best of spring vegetable, making it a perfect choice for a quick week night dish.

The preparation and cooking of this risotto is particularly simple and quick, perfect for just about any occasion. It covers informal and more rustic eating settings, where risotto is served in a bowl and eaten with a spoon, as well as more formal settings, where risotto can be placed onto big white plates with maybe Parmiggiano Reggiano shavings, which can impress your slightly more demanding quests.

Asparagus risotto is very popular on the Slovenian coast, where I was born and grew up, and this is no surprise as the Veneto (region in Northern Italy) is where the greatest variety of risotto dishes can be found, and is a short car drive from my home town.

Asparagus back home is a very much celebrated spring vegetable and used to make a lot of different dishes, minestrone primavera, asparagus frittata, cooked asparagus with hard boiled eggs, sautéed asparagus with scrambled eggs, just to mention a few. Very frequently the bought variety of asparagus would be replaced by the wild variety since like mushrooms, it is also found in nature (without any concern about poisonous varieties!), and is very keenly foraged by the locals during their pick season in mid spring.

As a child I have vivid memories going with my mother to the market and seeing beautifully displayed bunches of asparagus which were than purchased to make the risotto.

I am sharing here my mother's recipe for the asparagus risotto with which I grew up, she told me that when I was little I used to pile a substantial amount of cheese on my risotto, making a mountain of cheese, apparently, I loved it that way, maybe not so appealing now...

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 200-300g green asparagus

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

• 1 onion or shallots (about 80g) peeled and finely chopped

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 litre hot vegetable or chicken stock (you can use Instant vegetable or chicken stock powder)

• fresh flat leaf parsley, a handful (about 6g), finely chopped (plus some extra for garnish, optional)

• sea salt

• Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese, finely grated (about a generous handful or to taste)

Method

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

Wash the asparagus and pat dry them with the kitchen paper towel.

Cut off the tips of the asparagus and set aside.

Chop the stalk sections of the asparagus.

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

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Add chopped sections of the asparagus, not the tips, and cook for a few minutes together with the onions until they soften a bit and deepen in colour

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

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Pour or ladle ½ litre (500ml) of hot vegetable or chicken stock and add chopped parsley.

Cook until the first amount of liquid is absorbed then start gradually adding ladles of hot stock, one at a time, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding more.

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

Add the tips of the asparagus a few minutes before the end of cooking time.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt, but this might not be necessary since the stocks that come from the store generally speaking are salty already!

Serve immediately while the risotto is still hot and rather liquidy.

Ladle the risotto onto the plates, sprinkle with freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese and garnish with some roughly chopped fresh parsley.

Just a thought

For even creamier texture, you can finish cooking the asparagus risotto with a typical Italian mantecare phase. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add grated cheese and a bit of cold butter or cream to the risotto when is almost finished and stir with a wooden spoon quite vigorously in order to develop that delicious creamy texture.

Dandelion Salad with hard boiled eggs, boiled potatoes and crispy pancetta Recipe

This very healthy and nutritious but incredibly tasty salad is made from young and tender dandelion leaves and enriched with hard boiled eggs, cooked potatoes and crispy pancetta that give us extra energy for the long spring walks in the nature and for completing all those chores in the garden and inside the house.

This salad can also easily become vegetarian and vegan friendly by simply omitting some of the ingredients.

Dandelion leaves, with their verdant colour, can be eaten cooked (customary on the Slovenian coast) or raw, they have a pleasant bitter taste, a bit like peppery rocket salad, and they should be picked small and tender before the plant blooms, then they turn seriously bitter.

When foraging for dandelion try to avoid the areas close to busy roads, lanes popular with dog walkers (no need to go into too much detail as to why), and fields close to farms that have potentially been sprayed with pesticides or fertilizers and antibiotics which get absorbed into the plant.

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To pick dandelion you can use a small knife and cut around the plant root and then pull it out of the ground or just simply tear the leaves off the plant.

Dandelion is very rich in vitamins and minerals, very good for our body, and yes it might be a bit bitter, but it is this bitter substance in the dandelion leaves that helps to optimise the function of the gallbladder and the liver. They contain a lot of potassium which is very beneficial for the kidneys, and iron which enriches our blood and helps to purify it. .

This is of no coincidence since dandelion salad is very popular in early spring (around Easter), not only because this is the right time to pick the leaves, but also because this salad is also traditionally eaten with eggs, a symbol of purity, rebirth, and rejuvenation.

In Slovenia, where I come from, picking dandelion leaves in spring time during long walks and returning home with a free lunch or dinner is a great pastime, and almost an obsession.

But there is another tradition that is deeply rooted and much anticipated, especially with the children. It is colouring and decorating Easter eggs, and lots of them, they would be beautifully displayed in small wicker baskets and than used, yes, you guessed it, in the dandelion salad and of course other dishes.

I am sharing here the family recipe, that includes the use of crunchy pancetta or ocvirki (very commonly used in Slovenia, they are small pork cracklings in lard, usually home made, kept in glass jars in the fridge).

A small amount (about 2Tbsp) of pork cracklings in lard will be placed in a small frying pan and warmed up, by doing so, the lard melts and the cracklings get very crunchy, all of this would then be added to the dandelion salad substituting the oil and the pancetta.

If you never have this salad before, try it and play around with the ingredients to suit your taste, keep the ingredients you like and omit the ones you are less keen on. You can also forage a smaller amount of dandelion leaves than indicated in this recipe and mix with other salad leaves.

Have a go and make this super salad, next time you look at the dandelion you will not see it as a annoying weed...

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 100-150g freshly picked young dandelion leaves, trimmed and picked through

• 4 eggs, hard boiled

• potatoes (about 400g) cooked and peeled (you can use baby potatoes or new potatoes with the skin on)

• 150g pancetta rashers (sliced pancetta) or streaky bacon, smoked or unsmoked

• extra virgin olive oil (or other type if prefer)

• vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar, you can use red or white wine vinegar or cider vinegar works well too)

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and very finely chopped, optional (I did not use garlic I this recipe)

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Start by preparing all the ingredients needed for the salad.

Place the potatoes in a pot, cover with water, bring to boil and simmer until cooked.

Cut pancetta rashers or streaky pancetta into small pieces, place them in a small pan and gently fry until very crisp. Remove them from the pan, and place on to kitchen paper so they can drain, and the excess fat can be absorbed. Let the rashers cool and set them aside.

Cook the eggs in a small pan of simmering water until hard boiled, cool, peel and cut into quarters.

Clean dandelion leaves, wash and dry thoroughly (use salad spinner if you have one).

Wine suggestion

Collio Friulano DOC 2021 - Pighin

Cooked ham in bread dough Recipe

Cooked ham in bread dough is a real show stopper and a crowd pleaser, this recipe goes back to medieval times when it was customary cooking various types of meats in bread dough.

This dish consists of a piece of ham being cooked first and then wrapped in bread dough and baked in the oven allowing the aroma and the flavours of the ham to travel into the dough during the baking process.

On the Slovenian coast, where I come from, there is no Easter without this dish. This baked delicacy is so deeply rooted in Slovenian gastronomic culture that it is traditionally cooked and eaten around Easter period (with freshly grated horseradish or horseradish cream and mustard) and served as part of Easter breakfast on actual Easter day, in just about every corner of the country, together with hard boiled eggs, Pinca (Easter sweet bread) and Potica (traditional Slovenian festive nut roll).

This dish is also typically found in Trieste, and province of Trieste in Italy, in local osterie (informal, usually family run eating places serving simple local specialities), on a daily basis and typically served with a a glass of wine or locally produced artisan beer.

I studied in Trieste and had this dish on my graduation day as part of the buffet.

This recipe is so popular and delicious that it is nowadays enjoyed all year round, it is also ideal for picnics, as it can be made ahead of time and travels well.

Ingredients

Serves

For the dough

• 500g strong white bread flour

• 7g (one sachet) fast-action dried yeast

• sea salt, a pinch

• 300ml lukewarm milk (full fat, semi skimmed or skimmed)

• 25g butter, unsalted or slightly salted, melted

You also need

• 1.4kg, roughly, unsmoked or smoked Gammon joint

• 1 carrot, optional

• 1 celery stick, optional

• ½ onion, optional

• 1egg, beaten

• a bit of extra milk (about 2 Tbsp)

Method

Place the ham in a big pot and add enough cold water to completely cover the ham.

Add a whole carrot, celery stick and half an onion for extra flavour, if desired.

Bring to boil, lower the heat, cover with the lid and gently boil for required time, this will depend on the size of the ham. (Weight your meat to calculate and work out your cooking times, allow 20 minutes per 450g)

While the ham is cooking, make the dough. (You can cook the ham in advance and wrap it in aluminium foil to keep it moist, and use when needed.

Drain cooked ham in a colander and let it cool completely.

Pat dry the ham well with the kitchen paper.

Put the flour in a large mixing bowl, add dried yeast on one side of the bowl and sea salt on the other. Add the milk, melted butter and mix to combine well all the ingredients.

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The dough at this point will be a bit sticky, but should not be soggy. The dough will become less sticky as you knead.

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Transfer the mixture on to a lightly floured (or lightly oiled) work surface and knead for about 10-15 minutes until the dough is nice and smooth and has an elastic texture. Your hands should not stick to the dough, if they do add a bit of flour at a time.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl and cover with a cling film. Stand in a warm place, free of drafts, and let it rise for at least 1-1 ½ hours until the dough has doubled or tripled in size.

Turn the dough on to lightly floured surface and knock back by hand for few minutes. Flour well the surface and with the rolling pin roll the dough to about 2cm thick. At this point you can pinch a bit of dough for decorating if you wish (I made a little dough plait, as it is done traditionally).

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Preheat the oven to 180C static or equivalent and line the baking tray with the non stick baking parchment.

In a small bowl mix the beaten egg with a bit of milk and brush the centre of the rolled dough.

Place the ham in the centre on the brushed area.

Brush the rest of the ham with egg and milk mixture.

Wrap the ham with the dough all around, a bit like a parcel. Seal well the edges to avoid the dough opening up during the baking.

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Place your ham and dough parcel on a baking tray with the junctions facing downwards.

Glaze the ham and dough parcel on all sides with the egg and milk mixture.

Prick the ham and dough parcel with a toothpick.

If you created a small Easter themed dough decoration, place it on top of the dough parcel and brush with egg and milk mixture.

Put the ham dough parcel in the preheated oven and bake for 60 minutes. Half way the baking time cover with aluminium foil and bake further until golden in colour.

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Take out of the oven, leave to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes, then remove from the baking tray and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Best served warm with horse radish sauce, freshly grated horse radish root or/and mustard.

Wine suggestion

Collio Pinot Bianco DOC 2020 - Doro Princic

Squid Risotto Adriatic style Recipe

Squid or calamari risotto is very delicate in taste, yet flavoursome, hearty and filling, very quick and easy to make, which makes it a perfect choice for a light lunch or dinner and a staple mid-week dish.

Fresh squid (not cleaned yet)

This risotto is an absolute winner, it will delight the whole family, and it is very pleasant to eat with its creamy texture and sweet and tender squid. It is simply delicious, and it is packed with Mediterranean ingredients that recall holidays by the sea.

I grew up on this type of risotto, it has been made in my family since as long as I can remember. My mother told me I was partially weaned on this risotto, she obviously made sure the squid chunks were cut in miniscule pieces to make it safe for me to eat. I loved it, apparently, and I still do.

The frequency with which this risotto, among many other types of risotti, has been made should come as no surprise. The area where I was born and grew up, the Slovenian coast, it is just under two hours drive from northern region of Veneto in Italy, where the greatest number and variety of risotto recipes can be found.

Squid risotto is very often prepared and cooked in the households, and regularly printed on the menus in the local restaurants, where you will find it as Rižota s kalamari or Rižota z lignji.

I am sharing here my mother's recipe, and do not be put off by the task of cleaning the squid, ask your fishmonger to do it for you and try this fantastic risotto dish.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500g roughly, fresh squid, cleaned and cut into smaller pieces or rings (keep the tentacles). For this recipe you can also use frozen raw already cleaned squid tubes available in most bigger supermarkets.

• 1 small onion (about 80g), peeled and finely chopped

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Tbsp tomato purée

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

• fresh flat leaf parsley, about a handful (roughly 8g), some extra for garnish

• 1 litre hot vegetable stock or hot water

• sea salt

• ground black pepper

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Method

Before starting making risotto, it is a good idea to have your boiling hot stock or hot water ready to hand for later.

Put extra virgin olive oil in a pan, add finely chopped onions and sauté on a gentle heat until soft.

Add crushed garlic and cook for about a minute together with the onions.

Place clean pieces of squid in a pan and cook for about three minutes or so, until opaque.

Add the rice, mix well with the onion, garlic and squid mixture, and toast it for few minutes stirring constantly to avoid sticking to the pan.

Add tomato purée, pour in the pan all the hot stock or hot water and add chopped parsley.

If you have made a risotto before and have a clear idea of how moist you like it to be, you can control the moisture of the risotto by gradually adding ladles of hot stock or water, one at a time, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding more, rather than pouring the whole quantity of liquid over toasted rice, like I did in this recipe.

Cook on a medium heat, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is cooked al dente (fully cooked but still firm when bitten). It will generally take about 15-18 minutes for a risotto to be cooked.

There should be enough liquid just to cover the risotto, the Italians say that risotto should be smooth and runny enough to be described as all'onda, on the wave. Quite right, eating dry risotto is not particularly enjoyable.

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

Serve hot and garnish with roughly chopped fresh flat parsley.

Just a thought

You can add to the risotto a small amount of chilli to give it an extra kick, but in small amounts, as you do not want to overpower the delicate flavour of the squid and of the dish in general.

Wine suggestion

Colli di Luni Vermentino “Etichetta Nera” 2021 - Lunae

Bread dumplings Recipe

Bread dumplings are a real crowd pleaser, they are made from a mixture of stale bread soaked in milk and combined with fresh parsley, marjoram, onions, pancetta, beaten egg, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, then formed into a ball shape and gently cooked in simmering water.

They can be easily turned into a vegetarian friendly option by simply omitting the meaty element and adding, if prefer, a bit of grated cheese, depending on your preference.

They are served as a perfect companion to stews, braised meats and roasted meats with a gravy. The idea behind these dumplings is to squash them with the fork, and this will soak up all the juices of whatever is accompanying them. In other words, it is an ideal side dish for almost anything that has some kind of sauce with it.

Bread dumplings with Venison stew

I simply love the recipes that provide some kind of a solution to the “problem” of avoiding food waste, and in this case the recipe is a brilliant side dish that uses - nothing more than stale bread as the key ingredient.

This is one of those recipes that you do not really need to plan since you can make bread dumplings when you simply end up with old bread and do not know what to do with it. If you have quite a bit of it to use up, then double or triple the ingredients since you can freeze a big batch of bread dumplings.

These rustic and elegant bread dumplings became a staple dish in a lot of cuisines of Eastern and Central Europe where stale bread has been very cleverly turned into a pure delicacy.

In Slovenia, where I was born and grew up, bread dumplings, called Kruhovi cmoki, have been so popular they almost became a national dish, and this recipe is most similar, or actually almost identical to the Austrian and South German( Bavarian) variety, where it is believed bread dumplings originated from, and are referred to as Semmelknödel.

There are a variety of bread dumpling recipes, for example, in the Czech Republic, fresh herbs, onions and the meaty element is not added to the bread mixture, which is also not shaped into small balls, but instead into a roll, then boiled and sliced.

Similar to bread dumplings are Canederli, found in Italy, in Trentino Alto Adige, an autonomous province of Italy, and in Austria, where small pieces of speck (lightly smoked cured meat) and cheese are added to the basic bread mixture, then they are shaped into small balls and typically cooked and served in hot beef or chicken broth.

This dish was one of my favourite dishes when I was a child, and it really does take me down memory lane. My mother would prepare them quite often, and I am sharing here her recipe, a typical Istrian variation of bread dumplings, in which fresh marjoram is added to the basic bread mixture.

Ingredients

Will make about 8 dumplings, depending on the size.

• 310g roughly of stale bread (for this recipe I used 5 stale white baps)

• 250-300ml milk (skimmed, semi skimmed or full fat)

• 1 egg, beaten

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

• a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 10g), finely chopped

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

• sea salt

• ground black pepper

• 40-50g sliced pancetta, cut into very small pieces (can use bacon or lardons), optional

• 1 Tbsp fresh marjoram, very finely chopped, optional

• all purpose flour (enough to coat the bread dumplings)

• 1 Tbsp white dry breadcrumbs (only if needed)

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 in a fairly large bowl. Pour over the milk, mix well and leave to soak for about 20-30 minutes or until the bread is completely softened.

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While the bread is soaking in milk, prepare the onion and pancetta mixture.

Put olive oil, finely chopped onions and small pieces of pancetta in a frying pan. Gently fry the mixture until the onions become nice and soft and transparent but not brown. Cool the pancetta and onion mixture and set aside.

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Add to the bowl with the soaked bread, the beaten egg, onion and pancetta mixture, finely chopped parsley and marjoram and season with sea salt and black pepper.

With your hand(s) mix very well all the ingredients, almost using a squeezing action, to thoroughly combine the mixture. You should end up with a bread mixture that is soft, and with a fairly smooth consistency (if you end up with bigger bread pieces just break them with your fingers).

Adjust the mixture, adding a bit of breadcrumbs (and never the flour, as the mixture will get too sticky and will become unworkable), one tablespoon at the time, if the bread mixture is too wet.

On the contrary, if you feel the mixture is too hard and dry, add a bit of milk.

It is important to use a bit of personal judgment and intuition here. The idea behind this recipe is using the stale bread or a combination of different types of stale bread which will absorb a slightly different quantity of liquid, therefore the moisture of the bread mixture needs to be adjusted accordingly.

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Wet you hands (this will prevent the dough to stick to your hands).

Take roughly a handful of the mixture and shape it into a compact ball, about the size of a tennis ball.

Repeat the process until you run out of the mixture.

Put some flour into a deep plate or a bowl.

Gently coat each dumpling into a flour and remove excess flour (this will prevent sticking).

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Fill a large pot of water and bring to boil. Turn down the heat and leave the water to a gentle boil.

With a slotted spoon, drop one dumpling at the time in a simmering water and cook for about 15 minutes. Do not allow the dumplings to cook in a strong boiling water as they might loose the shape and fall apart.

Remove cooked dumplings with a slotted spoon and transfer onto a serving plate or directly on the plates, serve warm.

Just a thought

Bread dumplings are suitable for freezing.

You can freeze uncooked dumplings by freezing them individually first, and then transfer them into freezing bags or containers. Do not defrost the dumplings when you need them, just plop them frozen directly into a simmering water and cook them slightly longer, and they are cooked when they float on the surface.

Alternatively, you can freeze already cooked dumplings. Cool them first, freeze them individually and place in freezing bags or containers. When you want to use the dumplings, let them thaw first and then reheat covered, in order to get some steam, using a microwave works well.

You can “recycle” this dish even further, if you end up with some left over cooked dumplings, slice them up and fry the slices on both sides lightly in a frying pan with some butter or olive oil.

You really could not ask anything more from stale bread!

Wine suggestion

Alto Adige Schiava DOC "Menzen" 2020 - Colterenzio

Venison Stew with red wine and fresh herbs - Istrian Recipe

Venison goulash is simply a lovely dish, perfect for colder days, and is very comforting and warming. It is slow cooked and braised for a long time with onions, garlic, fresh herbs, juniper berries, and red wine until the meat becomes so soft and tender it almost melts, and falls apart easily.

Venison meat, as it is very lean and low in saturated fat, works great in recipes requiring long cooking times which prevents drying the meat too much and helps to further develop the flavour.

Venison goulash is a great alternative to most common lamb or beef stews cooked on a more regular basis, and it is really super delicious as venison meat is packed with flavour because wild deer feed on apples, chestnuts, fruits, berries and acorns.

Venison Stew with Bread Dumplings

I am sharing here my paternal grandmother's recipe that has been in the family since .... forever. I grew up eating game meat that was provided very generously by my paternal grandfather's friends who were hunters. My nono, as I used to call him, would provide his hunter friends with a delicious extra virgin olive produced by him, and in exchange he would receive venison meat, an easy, uncomplicated trade, which everyone seemed to be happy with, especially the beneficiaries of the cooked venison goulash!

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 1kg stewing venison (I used ready-cubed venison for stewing and a small shank)

• 4 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 medium size onion (about 180g), peeled and finely chopped

• 2 big (or 4 small) cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 2 Tbsp tomato purée

• 2 Tbsp all purpose flour

• 100 ml red wine

• 1 small whole carrot, peeled

• few juniper berries (about 4), crushed

• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, made in bouquet garni or leaves picked and finely chopped

• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dry, made in bouquet garni or just placed in a pot

• few fresh sage leaves, made in bouquet garni or finely chopped

• sea salt

• black pepper, freshly ground

Method

In a large pot put the oil, finely chopped onions, a pinch of salt, and cook on a gentle heat, stirring quite often, until the onions are soft.

Add crushed garlic and cook for a further minute.

Add the venison meat, turn up the heat a bit and brown it and seal it on all sides, stirring and turning quite frequently.

Pour in the pot red wine and deglaze the pan, scrap with the wooden spoon all the bits and pieces that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Stir in the flour, add tomato purée, a carrot, juniper berries, bouquet garni or finely chopped herbs, sea salt and black pepper.

Add water, just enough to cover the meat, bring to boil, turn the heat down and gently simmer for about 2-3 hours, with the lid partially uncovered, or until the meat falls apart easily.

Keep an eye on the goulash during the simmering, and add splashes of water if you think it gets too thick and dry.

On the contrary, if you think the sauce is too thin, make a paste with some more flour and a bit of water, and add as much of the paste to venison goulash as needed to thicken the sauce.

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

Serve hot with some crusty bread, potato gnocchi, soft cooked polenta or grilled polenta, mashed, boiled or roasted potatoes, rice or with bread dumplings.

Just a thought

This is a great dish to make ahead of time and suitable for freezing.

If you have a bit of leftover goulash, shred the meat and use it as a venison ragù, delicious served with your favourite shape of pasta or potato gnocchi.

Wine suggestion

Teroldego Rotaliano DOC 2019 - De Vescovi Ulzbach

Whole baked Sea Bream with fresh rosemary Recipe

Whole baked sea bream in the oven with fresh rosemary is a simple and tasty main fish dish that takes little effort to prepare.

Cooking the whole fish on the bone gives it a better flavour, and this delicate white fish is best cooked simply and gently in order to give it the full respect it deserves.

Baked sea bream is a perfect choice for a light meal option, traditionally served with spinach or chard cooked with potatoes, garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

Sea bream is a great choice to include in your diet as is rich in iron and vitamins and easy to digest.

This fish as a main course is unpretentious and understated in its simplicity, but it is elegant, and full of flavour.

I am sharing here this incredibly simple way of cooking the fish, that also represents the most common method of preparing and eating the fish along the Slovenian coast in restaurants as well as in many households.

This recipe has been in the family, well, since forever. Give it a go, there is nothing complicated about it, and if you are slightly intimidated by the task of cleaning the fish, the fishmonger will be more than happy to do it for you. Give a fish a good rinse, pat dry it, and follow the easy preparation steps, and off it goes in the oven, how difficult can that be?

Ingredients

Serves 4-8

• 4 fresh whole sea bream (each weighing between 300g – 400g), cleaned, scaled and gutted

• extra virgin olive oil, generous drizzle

• 4 small sprigs of fresh rosemary

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C static or equivalent.

Line a baking tray with non stick baking parchment and drizzle a bit of olive oil.

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

With the sharp knife, slash the fish 3 to 5 times through the flesh, about 5mm deep, almost to the bone.

Place the fish on the oiled baking parchment, side by side.

Season with sea salt and black pepper and rub with the olive oil.

Put a small sprig of fresh rosemary into the body cavity of each fish and drizzle the fish with a little more oil.

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Cover the baking tray with aluminium foil and place in the oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes then remove the aluminium foil and bake further for about 10-20 minutes until the fish is cooked through and comes away from the bone easily.

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One way of checking that the fish is cooked thorough, insert a small knife into the thickest part of the sea bream, the flesh of the fish should be nice and white in colour.

Discard the skin, bones, rosemary (from the cavity) and serve.

Wine suggestion

Vermentino "Tuvaoes" di Sardegna DOC 2020 - Cantina Cherchi

Hungarian style Creamy Potato and Beef Goulash Soup Recipe

This soup, warm, wholesome, and rich in flavour, can be used as a main meal, especially on those cold days when it will be much appreciated. It is made with only a few simple ingredients, and when cooked well and simmered slowly, it makes a perfect meal choice for body and soul, it is also quite filling, so there is no need to plan a main course.

This Hungarian soup, Gulyásleves, is generally made of beef, vegetables, ground paprika and other spices, but originates from a dish, a thicker stew (what is commonly known as beef goulash) that was cooked outside in the cauldron over an open fire, by the cattlemen, the Hungarian cowboys, who camped with their cattle in the Great Hungarian Plain.

This dish, although native to Hungary, became very popular in the countries around Hungary, which, like in most cases, gave a little twist to the original recipe, and is the origin of variety of new regional variations.

For example in Austria, where this dish is called Goulaschsuppe, it is common to cook this soup without its meat component, which makes a fantastic vegetarian and vegan friendly meal.

In Slovenia, where I come from however, this soup (called kromprjev golaž) which is a real crowd pleaser and became part of Slovenian food culture, testimony of the strong presence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the the territory, is almost always cooked with the meat component, where beef can be substituted by dry meats, i.e. some sort or sausages (smoked varieties are often used for a deeper, smokier, and more “imperial” flavour).

In Slovenia, like in Italy (mountainous parts of some regions like of Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia bordering with Austria), this soup is generally served in the informal mountainside restaurants to the delight of hikers and skiers, as well as cooked in the households.

This seriously delicious one pot meal is quite nostalgic for me and reminds me of my childhood. It was served in the school canteens for lunch, and what were called 'dinner ladies, cooked the soup from scratch with fresh ingredients, and the aroma would travel around the school, into the classrooms, destructing the minds of us children struggling with some impossible maths sexercises, especially when approaching lunch time, when you could hear growling in the little tummies.

The soup would be followed by the Austrian inspired pudding, Buchteln, sweet yeast buns filled with apricot jam. This is the type of lunch, among many others, we children really looked forward to...

When I moved to England, goulash soup is one of those dishes, which for some strange reason has been a bit forgotten, and it was not until our skiing trip to Austria, when I saw this soup on the menu that all my childhood memories suddenly came back to me, this is what food does...

As soon as we got back to England I cooked this wonderful tasting goulash soup, it was a hit. I have been making it on a regular basis since then, and I will most definitely make sure this time it stays on the menu.

It is just so hearty, comforting and cosy, the whole family loves this one pot soup and it is cooked very often for my husband and my son who simply adore it. When I serve it, we get transported to the skiing memories we created together as a family, and the table conversations would start ....

I am sharing here a family recipe how my maternal grandmother used to make it, and how my mother still makes it. If you never had this soup before, try it and it will become one of your favourites, and all you need to serve the soup with is a nice rustic bread to dunk it, yes .... this is 'home' for me...

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 3 medium size potatoes (about 500g) peeled and chopped into small cubes

• 1 onion (about 120g) peeled and finely chopped

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 2 Tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika

• 2 Tsp red or white wine vinegar

• 2 Tbsp tomato purée

• 1 Tsp fresh marjoram (a few springs) finely chopped, (can use dry marjoram)

• 3 Tsp caraway seeds, crashed with mortar and pestle (can use spice or coffee grinder)

  whole caraway seeds can be used if you have none of the above ways to ground the seeds

• 400-500g braising steak or shin of beef, trim any hard fat off the beef and dice finely

• sea salt

• black pepper, freshly ground

• 2 fresh or dry bay leaves

• 2l water or vegetable stock

• sour cream (optional)

• fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped, for garnish (optional)

Method

Put the oil in a fairly large pan, add chopped onions, crushed garlic, a pinch of salt and gently sauté until the onions are soft and translucent.

Pour wine vinegar and cook for a minute or so stirring the onion and garlic mixture. The vinegar will help to deglaze and release any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Add diced beef and continue to cook, turning and stirring regularly, until the meat is nicely browned on all sides.

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Add cubed potatoes and cook briefly for a few minutes together with meat and onions mixture.

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Add paprika, tomato purée, fresh or dry marjoram, crushed caraway seeds and bay leaves, sea salt and black pepper.

Add water or vegetable stock, bring to a boil.

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Cover with the lid and simmer on a gentle heat for about 2 hours. After this time, the soup will become slightly thicker and the meat will become so tender it will just melt in your mouth.

To make the goulash soup slightly “creamier” in consistency, you can press with a fork few cubes of potatoes on the side of the casserole pan and give it a good stir.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper and add more paprika to your liking, if you wish.

Serve hot with a spoonful of sour cream, if desired, sprinkle some roughly chopped fresh parsley for garnish and a bit more paprika. Place some crunchy rustic bread on the table to dunk in the goulash soup and life just cannot get any better.

Just a thought

Double the amount of the ingredients in the recipe, if serving for 6-8 people or, if you wish to make a bigger batch and freeze.

Like most stews and soups, this goulash soup is best made in advance, as it tastes better every time you reheat it.

Wine suggestion

Vigneti delle Dolomiti Rosso IGT "Fojaneghe" 2015 - Bossi Fedrigotti, Masi

Venetian style Sardines in Savor (Marinated Fried Sardines)

Marinated sardines is a classic and quintessentially Venetian dish, where sardines are lightly fried and then marinated in onion and vinegar mixture. It is prepared and found on Venetian menus (Sarde in saòr) where typical humble dishes are served all year round The name of the dish comes from the Venetian word saòr, meaning sapore in standard Italian, which translates as flavour, and refers to the fact that the flavour of the marinated fish is elevated by the use of good quality wine vinegar.

This dish originated simply out of necessity, when the catch of the fish was particularly abundant and plentiful, people had to figure out how to preserve food to be able to eat it for days without going bad, as the refrigeration had not yet been invented.

This Venetian dish in origin is also very popular and became a staple dish along the coast of the Slovenian Istra, where local gastronomy was strongly shaped and influenced by the Venetian cuisine, and this is of no surprise, as this land was once part of The Republic of Venice who “left behind” the recipe for marinated sardines and enriched the food habits of the locals, who refer to this dish as Sardele in savor (Sardele na šavor in standard Slovenian) and serve it as a cold starter or sometimes as main. It is made all year round but particularly pleasant to eat cold during the hot summer months due to its refreshing taste.

Unlike the Venetian variety of this dish, Istrian marinated sardines do not include the use of pine nuts or raisins, testimony to the introduction of expensive and unusual ingredients in noble Venice due to a its strong trading activity with the East.

More humble and poorer Istrian variation, to offer extra flavour to this dish, introduced the use of fresh parsley and Mediterranean herbs like rosemary and bay leaves growing in abundance along the coast, instead of pine nuts and raisins, difficult to find and expensive, and therefore out of reach for most households. This variation also introduced the use of red wine vinegar, home made and produced in most households, instead of white wine vinegar, type of vinegar solely used in Venetian recipe.

This dish is customarily made with sardines (small ones are particularly suitable) but can be made with other types of fish like sprats, called papaline (Venetian word) by the locals and mackerel being most popular and most common alternative to sardines, and fillets of more prestigious fish like sea bream and sea bass can also be considered.

Once, this was food for the poor, nowadays is a delicacy and a speciality very much appreciated for their unique flavour and highly valued for nutritional content, especially in Slovenian Istra, where, unlike in Venice, this dish, although very traditional in the area, is not easily available in the restaurants, but almost exclusively made in the households.

My nona told me a lovely story, when she was only twenty two years old and got married she moved into the house, where she still currently lives, not very far away from the sea, and during the hot summer nights, the windows would be kept wide open in the hope to get some fresh breeze from the sea to cool the bedrooms to make it easier to sleep.

She could very clearly hear, in the middle of the night, the sound of very small fishing boats leaving the port and going out in the open sea to fish, this is the sound that she remembers as a very special and nostalgic one, and this is because she can no longer hear these sounds, as the majority of those small boats were replaced by only few commercial bigger fishing boats. These days they struggle for a few big catches since over the years the the sea has been depleted of fish. Sadly, fishing has become very difficult and complicated, and so is not very appealing to the younger generations.

I am sharing here my nona's recipe, this is the dish she grew up with, and the one she recalls was also made by her grandmother. This is a traditional, local and authentic family recipe for Istrian style marinated sardines. However, if you wish to “jazz up” this recipe a bit, and make it more “noble” and Venetian, you can add 50g of pine nuts and 50g raisins (previously soaked in lukewarm water for few minutes to help them become more plump).

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 1 kg very fresh sardines, cleaned (scaled, gutted, heads and central bone removed and butterflied)

  (ask fishmonger to prepare them for you if uncomfortable with the task)

• all purpose flour (quantity enough to flour the sardines)

• 400 ml frying oil

• 5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 500 g onions, peeled and thinly sliced

• 5 whole black peppercorns

• 1 Tbsp white dry breadcrumbs

• 100 ml white or red wine vinegar

• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dry

• 1 small fresh rosemary spring

• very generous pinch of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 2g), finely chopped

• sea salt

Method

Cut the heads of the sardines, gut them and remove the central bone. Butterfly the sardines, rinse them well under cold running water and pat dry thoroughly with the kitchen paper.

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Coat them in flour and shake off flour in excess.

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Place frying oil in a frying pan, heat it up and fry gently and quickly the sardines, 2 minutes on each side is sufficient. They should have a light, not very crunchy, coating coating.

Drain well on a kitchen paper.

Season well with sea salt and set aside.

Peel the onions and slice them thinly.

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In a separate frying pan, ideally non stick, put extra virgin olive oil and heat a bit.

Add the onions and cook them on a very gentle heat until they become very soft and translucent, stirring often to avoid getting too brown.

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Add black peppercorns, breadcrumbs, bay leaf, small fresh rosemary spring, finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley.

Pour in wine vinegar and enough water to completely cover the onion mixture.

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Cook the onion and vinegar mixture on a gentle heat for about 20 minutes. The sauce should slightly thicken and reduce a little, but you should still be left with quite a bit of liquid.

If too much liquid has evaporated during the cooking add a bit more water.

Take a serving dish and alternate layers of onions in the vinegar mix and fried sardines.

Repeat the process of layering until the dish is full. The number of layers will depend on the size of your serving dish but the last layer should be onion and vinegar mix.

If you are left with a bit of vinegary liquid from the onion mixture just pour it over the layers.

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Place the dish in a fridge or a cool place for at least 24 hours or a couple of days, so the sardines marinate well and absorb all the flavours.

The longer you leave to marinate the better it will taste, but bare in mind that the fish will keep for up to a week.

Wine Suggestion

Collio Sauvignon Doc 2020 Draga

Home made Baked Beans Istrian Recipe

Home made baked beans is one of the most humble staple dishes in Slovenian Istra, the peninsula located at the head of the Adriatic Sea. This dish is nutritious, as full of fibre and protein, wholesome, super delicious, cheap and simple to make, and what it may lack in appearance it most certainly makes up in flavour.

This dish is classic comfort food, quintessentially rustic, a truly peasant food since it used to be made by farmers during colder months to help them to get warm, and to partially replenish their energy used up during the very hard, physical and laborious jobs required in the fields during the day.

This borlotti beans casserole is made with beautifully caramelized onions and sautéed pancetta and flavoured with garlic, bay leaf and a touch of tomato paste, it is typically served with polenta or crusty bread and a fantastic companion to grilled meats.

My nona grew up with this dish, as borlotti beans were consistently cooked as a part of the Mediterranean diet, the recipe was passed down to my father who adored baked beans and would prepare them regularly when there was a family barbecue, normally in such a huge quantities that we would eat them on a toasted bread for days to follow, nobody seemed to mind or complained about it, on the contrary...

This home made baked beans are known in standard Slovenian as Praženi Fižol, but the locals would refer to this dish simply in the dialect as Pražen Fežu.

This very traditional dish calls for dry borlotti beans, but you can use canned beans to cut down on time without compromising the deliciousness of the final dish, it can also be made with or without the meat component, in which case, this version makes an excellent vegetarian and vegan meal option.

I am sharing here the traditional, local family recipe which uses only few simple ingredients, however, you can take this dish slightly off the beaten track and jazz it up a bit by adding few chilli flakes or powdered sweet or smoked Hungarian paprika, which will give a more “Imperial” and “Balcanic” flavour. My father attempted this only once and was severely told off by his mother, my famous nona, for “corrupting” the traditional recipe making it too “exotic” for her to eat, this version of baked beans, although very delicious indeed, was never cooked again by my father in her presence...

Whether you go for a traditional or more exotic version of the recipe for home made baked beans, give it a go, a store bought tinned baked beans might just become a thing of a past...

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

• 500g dry borlotti beans, (or other dry beans of your choice) soaked overnight or for about 8 hours

  For this recipe you can also use tinned borlotti beans or other tinned beans of your choice 4 x 400g)

• 1 medium onion, (about 130g) finely chopped

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 100g pancetta, (smoked or unsmoked) thinly sliced and chopped

• You can replace pancetta for smoked or unsmoked bacon or lardons

• 1 Tsp white all purpose flour

• 2 Tbsp tomato paste

• 2 bay leaves (fresh or dry)

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

Place dry borlotti beans, or other dry beans of your choice, in a big bowl, cover completely with plenty of cold water and soak for about 8 hours or overnight.

Drain soaked beans in a colander and rinse with cold running water.

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Transfer soaked beans in a pot.

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Add plenty of cold water, to completely cover the beans, a bay leaf and bring to boil.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook the beans for about 1 -1 ½ hour or until the beans are fully cooked and soft but not falling apart. Skim any foam if it rises to the surface. Towards the end of cooking time add sea salt.

Fish out the bay leaf and discard. Turn the heat off, leaving the pot with the beans in their liquid on the stovetop for later use.

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Put extra virgin olive oil in a fairly large and deep skillet or casserole dish (both preferably non stick). Add finely chopped onion, crushed garlic, finely sliced and chopped pancetta or similar, if using, and sauté on a gentle heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions become soft and translucent.

Add the flour and stir well with the onion, garlic and pancetta mixture.

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With the slotted spoon, (or a regular big serving spoon) transfer the beans to the skillet with the onion, garlic and pancetta mixture.

Pour the liquid from the beans into the skillet to completely cover the beans. If you are left with more liquid from the beans as needed at this stage, keep it aside and do not discard it. You might use it later on, if the beans during the cooking process get too dry. On the contrary, if you end up using all the liquid from the beans, and the beans get too dry, you can simply use water.

Add sea salt, black pepper, bay leaf, tomato paste and bring to a gentle boil.

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Lower the heat and gently simmer for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

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

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Just a thought

Home made baked beans are suitable for freezing.

Wine suggestion

Schiava Alto Adige DOC "Kolbenhofer" 2020 - Hofstater

Green Split Peas Soup Istrian Recipe

This comforting, filling and hearty soup is a perfect winter warmer, incredibly easy to make, super delicious in its simplicity, and once you try it, you will add it to your soups recipe collection!

Split peas are quite different from their fresh counterpart, they are a specific kind of field pea, which are dried in order to be stored for a longer period. They are called split peas because after the outer hull is removed the peas are then split in half along a natural seam.

This wonderful soup is protein packed and here I am sharing my nona's recipe. For her, this dish represents a good “old fashioned” basic recipe and is a real staple in the gastronomic repertoire since she learned to make this soup from her grandmother, and so this is a very old family recipe.

She told me that when she was a child, this soup was very often on the tables, as it is a a traditional and classic soup made in Slovenian Istra, where locals refer to it in dialect as Maneštra iz biži špakaj while in standard Slovenian is called Mineštra iz suhega graha.

My nona also shared with me that when she was small, most of the ingredients were home made but this is not the case for dried green split peas, they were bought at the local food market or in a small family run food shop, since for both types of local businesses it was a crucial time for the local microeconomy.

This soup is normally home made and not typically found on the menus in the restaurants.

Try this very tasty one pot soup, and you will think twice before you open a can of soup bought in the supermarket!

Ingredients

• 500g green split peas, soaked for about 8 hours or overnight

• 1 medium potato (about 200g), peeled and roughly diced

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

• few celery leaves

• fresh flat leaf parsley, a handful (about 10g), roughly chopped

• 1 small carrot (about 50g), peeled and finely grated

• tip of fresh or dry bay leaf

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• sea salt

• ground black pepper

• 2l cold water

Method

Place dried green split peas in a bowl, cover completely with plenty of cold water and soak for about 8 hours or overnight.

Drain soaked peas in a colander and rinse with cold running water.

Transfer soaked peas in a soup pot and add peeled and roughly diced potato, peeled and roughly chopped onion, few celery leaves, roughly chopped parsley, peeled and finely grated carrot, tip of fresh or dry bay leaf, extra virgin olive oil, pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper.

Add 2 litres of cold water and bring to boil.

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Turn the heat down, partially cover with the lid and gently simmer for about 1 ½ - 2 hours or until the peas are completely tender and disintegrated. Stir occasionally to avoid peas sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper and fish out the tip of bay leaf.

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You can serve this soup as it is with a bit of texture or if you prefer a creamier texture purée the soup using an immersion blender (like I did for this recipe) or a regular blender.

For a smoother texture you can also use food mill or pass the puréed soup through a sieve which will result in an exceptionally smooth soup.

The soup should generally have a nice thickish consistency, but not too thick, in which case, dilute it adding a bit of water.

This soup is great served hot with some bread croutons, roughly chopped parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Traditionally it is served with small shaped pasta (ditalini, stelline, orzo, ect.) or rice, both cooked previously and separately and then added to the soup.

Just a thought

This soup is great made in advance and freezes very well.

Wine suggestion

Alto Adige Valle Isarco Sylvaner DOC 2020 - San Michele Appiano

Creamed salted cod (or stockfish) Recipe

Venetian in origin, this light and creamy, almost mousse like spread, it is one of the most loved dishes, due to its very mild fishy flavour and no bones to worry about, and so it covers the whole family from the youngest children to the oldest members.

Spread on fresh or toasted slices of bread or it can be eaten with polenta, and it is a very convenient dish since it is served cold and it is prepared in advance. Creamed salted cod is rustic but it can soon turn into very elegant canapé served with a pre dinner drink.

I think that this recipe is one of the greatest recipes ever invented! Quite frankly, it takes a bit of a genius to turn an uneatable dry stockfish, which looks utterly unappealing, and is as dry as a plank of wood, into the most luxurious and delicious dishes ever created.

Venetian creamed cod, known in Italy as Baccalà mantecato, is a real speciality and a staple dish in Venice, where it was created, and it is very much appreciated and well known in the rest of Italy. Slightly less known however in the rest of the world, creamed salted cod certainly deserves greater international praise and renown.

This dish is one of my absolute top favourites, one of those dishes I am most grateful to the Venetians to have brought with them during the time they ruled my homeland in the North Adriatic, period during which dried stockfish was first introduced in Istria in 15th century from Venetian cuisine.

In Slovenian it is called Bakala na belo or Polenovka na belo or simply called by the locals Bakala or Bakalar.

My paternal grandfather, or my nono as I called him, used to always buy stockfish at the beginning of December, I have this image in my head of the dry long stockfish sticking heavily out of the shopping bag, I knew very well that it was the start of the Christmas festivities.

This recipe is a real classic holiday and festive dish in Slovenian Istra, and holds a very special place among the locals. Dried stockfish was once a food for the poor but nowadays is a staple dish and considered a delicacy, taking central stage on household tables during Christmas and Easter as it is cooked on holy days during the fasting time and not eating meat.

Traditionally, creamed stockfish is home made and served as part of Christmas Eve dinner, together with sautéed Savoy cabbage and polenta, and Istrian fritole (small fried doughnuts), of course.

These days you can find creamed stockfish on the supermarket shelves all year round, and especially during the holiday season and Easter, but unfortunately, the sad reality is, that very often, the quality of commercially produced cod spread leaves much to be desired, as very common practice is to add lard or potatoes to increase the weight

I have very vivid memories about the process of soaking the stockfish, this huge restaurant size pot was left outside in the back garden during the night and when the temperatures plummeted below 0, the ice formed on the top, and I just loved finding the sheet of ice the following morning, and braking it into pieces. My son does the same...what is it with the children and the ice, and love for breaking it ...

My son Jakob (age 9) with his gran grandmother (age91) making creamed stockfish with the help of a standard mixer

My nono was in charge of stockfish, year, after year, after year, until he sadly passed away, then my father took over and now it is down to myself, my brother, my husband, and the children, since my father sadly is longer around. Back home, according to tradition, stockfish and the preparation of it is still a male affair, however, maybe it is time for this to change!

My nono would sit on the chair, place a big pot containing pieces of cooked cod between the legs, a bottle of olive oil would be kept very close to him for an easy and frequent reach and as tradition requests, the cooked cod would then be beaten with big and long wooden flat spoon like, known locally as polentar or bat which resembles very much a cricket bat, but in my research I have found no connection between the two types of bats!

In honour of my family but in particular in honour of my nono and my father I am sharing here this very special generational family recipe. Give it a go, you will love it!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500g salted cod or 1 dry stockfish

• 170ml extra virgin olive oil (the very best you can afford) plus a bit of extra as needed

• 1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled

• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dry

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

• sea salt, to taste

Method

For this recipe you can use either salted cod or dry stockfish, both need to be soaked and rehydrated first.

If you are using salted cod (I used this type for the recipe) first you need to rinse well the salted cod under very cold running water and soak it. Place rinsed cod in an airtight container, fill it completely with freezing cold water, and with some ice, if you have it, so the fillets are completely submerged. Close the lid and put the container in the fridge. Change the water after 24 hours and place in the fridge for another day. After 48 hours, the cod will be completely soaked. Remove the cod from the container, rinse well with cold water and cut the fillet/s into portion size.

Place pre-soaked pieces of cod in a pan and fill it with plenty of cold water so the pieces of fish are completely submerged in the water. Add bay leaf and bring to boil.

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Turn the heat down and cook further on a gentle heat for about 20 to 30 minutes and skim the foam on the surface as needed.

After the fish is cooked drain in the colander.

As soon as it is cool enough to handle carefully remove the skin and the odd bone.

With your fingers break the flesh into smaller pieces and place them in a pan or in a bowl of a standard mixer if you are using one.

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If using a whole dried stockfish, this needs to be soaked and rehydrated first. Place the whole stockfish in a big stock pot and fill completely with cold water and soak for 2-3 days, changing the water every day. If you do not have a very big pot to fit the whole stockfish in, you can use a smaller pot, like a regular 5 litre stock pot, and then place the stockfish in a pot where half of it will probably stick out, and half will be submerged in the water. Soak the submerged part of stockfish for 24 hours and after this time the soaked part of the stockfish will get soft enough to bend, which will allow you to bend it in a such a way for the whole stockfish to be completely submerged into the water in order to get properly rehydrated. No need for rinsing as the dried stockfish is not salted.

Soaked and rehydrated cod needs then to be cooked. Place it in a stock pot, the same one you used for soaking, fill it with plenty of cold water (the whole fish needs to be completely submerged), add bay leaf and bring to boil. Lower the heat and cook further on a gentle heat until the fish is tender, for about 1 hour or just over.

Drain the fish and as soon as is cold enough to handle carefully remove the skin and all the bones.

With your fingers break the flesh into smaller pieces and place them back into in big pan or into a bowl of a standard mixer if you are using one.

Whether you have decided to use salted cod or stockfish you are now left with cooked cleaned small pieces of cod in a big pan or in a bowl of a standard mixer, again only if you are using one.

Place 5 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a small frying pan, add the garlic previously peeled and cut in half lengthwise. Fry the garlic on a gentle heat until golden in colour to infuse the oil then discard the garlic.

Add garlic infused oil to the bowl.

Now the magic can begin.

Take a wooden spoon and start beating the pieces of fish quite vigorously. If using a standard mixer, put it on the lowest and slowest setting.

Keep beating and poring gradually the rest of the oil until you obtain a whitish paste and until the creamy mixture can no longer absorb any more oil.

This action of beating and adding very gradually small quantities of oil will eventually turn the pieces of cod into a light and fluffy cream, this process, in order to get the best result, can take up to 30 minutes.

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Add sea salt to your taste and very finely 1 chopped clove of garlic, although this optional, mix well, taste, and adjust the seasoning.

Transfer cod spread on a serving plate.

Serve it accompanied with slices of fresh rustic bread, toasted slices of bread (bruschetta) or slices of grilled yellow polenta.

Wine suggestion

Venezia Giulia Malvasia IGT 2019 - Skerk

Salted Cod in tomato sauce Istrian Recipe

Salted Cod in tomato sauce Istrian Recipe

This main, fish based dish is absolutely delicious and very special! It is rustic but delicate and elegant at the same time - cod is cooked in a simple tomato sauce enriched with onions, garlic, and fresh parsley. It is very easy to make but it does require a bit of organization and planning ahead since it is traditionally prepared with dried stockfish or salted cod that needs to be soaked and hydrated, although in this recipe you have the option to use fresh cod or similar.

This recipe is a real classic holiday and festive dish in Slovenian Istra, and holds a very special place among the locals. Dried stockfish was once a food for the poor but nowadays is a staple dish and considered a delicacy taking central stage on household tables during Christmas and Easter as it is cooked on holy days during the fasting from meat.

Dried stockfish was introduced in Istria in 15th century from Venetian cuisine, and this should not be surprising since the Venetians established a monopoly in the Adriatic Sea.

The origins of this fish, however, is far away from being local dish. It can be traced to the extreme north of Norway, to the Lofoten Islands where the Vikings, most probably the earliest inhabitants of the area, had to find a solution to the perpetual problem of hunger. They fished enormous cod shoals, then they dried the headed and gutted fish in the strong winds of the north, hanging them by their tails, the fish turned as hard as a plank of wood and it would last for a very, very long time.

This dried fish eventually started to be sold by the Norwegians to the rest of Europe, sometime in the eleven century. Gastronomically speaking, and perhaps surprisingly, dried stockfish has not been particularly well appreciated by the Scandinavians. On the contrary, in the Mediterranean countries, stockfish became an elevated dish, it was highly valued, and much more appreciated.

The biggest consumers of dry cod, just to mention a few, are Italy, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, West Africa, Caribbean, and many other countries.

Local people back home, on the Slovenian coast, are very traditional and conservative when it comes to the choice of the ingredients and cooking, therefore the use of dried stockfish would be the first choice to prepare this dish. The use of less traditional salted pieces of cod would be the second choice influenced mainly by simplicity, practicality and speed, and this is the type of cod I I use for this recipe.

In the recipe description below I am also giving you the option to use fresh cod or a similar fish, if you have difficulty finding dried stockfish, salted cod or pre-soaked cod, or simply prefer to use fresh fish instead.

Here, in the United Kingdom, where I currently live, you can find and buy dried stockfish or salted cod (sold vacuum packed) in Italian delicatessen shops especially around Christmas and Easter or alternatively order it from your trusted fishmonger or from an on-line specialist shop.

I am sharing here this very special family festive recipe in honour of my father, who very sadly is no longer with us, and who absolutely adored preparing and enjoying this dish.

At the start of Christmas season, my father would buy dried stockfish, soaked it, cooked it, removed the skin and all the bones to be left with bite size pieces that would get vacuum packed and I would take the pack on the plane back to the UK...

Ingredients

• 500g salted cod or about 800g of already pre-soaked cod (soaked and rehydrated cod almost doubles its original weight) Both varieties are sold vacuum packed in form of fillets with no bones.

  (can use about 800g of fresh cod fillets or similar like haddock or pollock instead)

  Whole stockfish (unsalted, dry cod) is traditionally used for this recipe.

• white flour (for coating the fish)

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin oil

• 1 medium onion (about 140g) finely chopped

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 1 handful of fresh flat leaf parsley (about 12g)

• 250g plum or other types of tomatoes (when in season), quartered or chopped. Use tomato passata, tinned chopped or plum tomatoes as alternative.

• sea salt, if needed

Method

Serves 4

How you start this recipe will really depend on what type of cod you have.

1. If you have salted cod (I used this type for the recipe) first you need to rinse well the salted cod under very cold running water. Place rinsed cod in an airtight container, fill it completely with freezing cold water, and with some ice, if you have it, so the fillets are completely submerged. Close the lid and put the container in the fridge. Change the water after 24 hours and place in the fridge for another day. After 48 hours, the cod will be completely soaked. Remove the cod from the container, rinse well with cold water and tap dry with kitchen paper. Cut the fillet in portion size.

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2. You can buy (a bit trickier to find, at least in the United Kingdom) already soaked and rehydrated cod. In this case just rinse with running cold water, tap dry and cut in portion size.

3. You can simply use fresh cod or similar like haddock or pollock fillets and cut it into portion size.

4. You can buy a whole dried stockfish. This could prove the trickiest option as the stock fish might be quite long and you need quite a big stock pot to fit it in, fill completely with very cold water and soak for at least 3 days, changing the water every day. If you do not have a very big pot to fit the whole stockfish you can use a smaller pot, like a regular 5 litre stock pot, and then place the stockfish in a pot, half of it will probably stick out, and half will be submerged in the water. Soak the submerged part of stockfish for 24 hours and after this time the soaked part of the stockfish will get soft enough to bend, which will allow you to bend it in a such a way for the whole stockfish to be completely submerged into the water in order to get properly rehydrated.

No need for rinsing as the dried stockfish is not salted. Soaked and rehydrated cod needs then to be cooked until tender, for about 1 hour or just over. When is cooked take the skin off and remove all the bones. You are left with portion size or smaller bite size piece ready to be used for this recipe.

Very lightly coat the pieces of cod in flour and shake off the excess.

Place oil in a pan (the pan should be big enough so all the pieces of cod are nicely tucked next to each other and do not overlap).

Add finely chopped onions, crashed garlic and sauté very gently until soft.

Place chopped tomatoes or passata in a pan and cook further for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. If using fresh tomatoes make sure they are soft and use the back of a fork to squash a bit.

Place cod pieces in a tomato sauce, add finely chopped parsley and enough water to almost cover the cod fillets. If using fresh cod add the water half way up as it cooks quicker.

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Partially cover with the lid and on a gentle heat cook for about 40 minutes, shaking the pan now and again. If using fresh cod the cooking time will be slightly reduced.

After this time you should end up with the velvety sauce that is not too thick nor too thin and liquidy.

If the the sauce, however, is too thin sprinkle a bit of flour or breadcrumbs and cook further briefly until you get the desired consistency.

Contrary, if the sauce gets too thick dilute it with a bit of water.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt especially if preparing this dish using dried stockfish or fresh fish. If using salted cod you will most probably not need any extra sea salt for seasoning, as although the fish gets soaked and desalinated, the fish still retains some of the salt, and this gets released during cooking.

Just a thought

This dish is traditionally served with soft cooked polenta or some crunchy bread to soak up the sauce.

Salted cod in tomato sauce can also be eaten with the pasta of your choice or it can be used as a base to make a risotto.

This dish will keep well in the fridge for few days in an airtight container and is suitable for freezing.

Wine suggestion

Pinot Bianco DOC 2020- Doro Princic

Barley, potato and borlotti beans Istrian soup Recipe

This hearty and filling one pot barley soup is a traditional soup from Slovenian Istra, a perfect choice to warm you up on a cold day, delicious in its simplicity, and it could not be easier to make.

Barley soup is a very popular choice in many households and is found on the menus as Ječmenova mineštra in more rustic, informal, mountainside, and family run restaurants.

Barley soup together with other types of soups like Jota (sauerkraut, borlotti beans and potato stew), Bobići (Sweet corn soup), Pasta e fasoi (Pasta and borlotti beans soup) play an incredibly important role in Istrian cooking as the soups were eaten as a main dish and sometimes the only hot meal of the day. The choice of the ingredients to make mineštre/maneštre (Istrian dialect word, from Italian minestra, indicating thicker soup) would rely exclusively on the type of vegetables and pulses that were available during a particular season.

Barley soup is traditionally made during colder autumn and winter months using dry borlotti beans, potatoes and barley that were harvested by the end of summer and autumn and appropriately stored to be used later in the year when the cold weather did not allow you to grow a vast array of vegetables, unlike during the spring, when it was warmer, and you could grow them in abundance to make even a lighter Minetrone Primavera.

In Slovenian Istra it is very common to put in some soups, besides different pork cuts, dried ham bone or pešto or taca (smooth paste made with pancetta, crushed garlic and very finely chopped parsley) to boost the flavour of the dish.

Traditionally this recipe calls for some unsmoked or smoked pork meat cuts to be added to the soup however you can turn this soup into a vegetarian and vegan friendly dish by simply leaving out the meaty component.

This family recipe really goes back generations. I am sharing with you the recipe for barley soup from my paternal nona's grandmother.

Ingredients

Serves 8-12

• 300g dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight

• 300g pearl barley

• 500g roughly of pork ribs, ham hock, pig trotters or similar (slab of pancetta or bacon, about 130g). You can use smoked version of the meats if you prefer a slightly deeper smoky flavour or a combination of both.

• 2 medium size potatoes (about 300g), peeled and cubed

• leaves from 2-3 sticks of celery

• 1 medium size onion (about 130g), finely chopped

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 1 medium size carrot (about80g) peeled and finely grated

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

• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dry

• sea salt

• black pepper

Method

In a fairly big stock pot place all the ingredients, except the sea salt and black pepper, add 4 ½ litres of cold water and bring to boil.

Turn the heat down and skim the surface as needed.

Cover partially with the lid and cook the soup on a gentle heat for about 1h ½.

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After this time the soup should have a nice thicker velvety consistency as the potatoes and the barley release the starch. If the soup gets too thick simply dilute it with a bit of water.

Season with sea salt and black pepper, taste and adjust the seasoning.

Just a thought

Barley soup will keep well in a fridge for few days and is suitable for freezing.

Wine suggestion

Search results for 'Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso DOC "Villa Locatelli" 2019 - Tenuta di Angoris

Bleki – Fresh Istrian pasta Recipe

Bleki are one of the typical Istrian square shaped fresh pasta, similar to Italian Maltagliati. They are normally home made and hand rolled with a wooden rolling pin, but these days the pasta machine is often used instead.

The squares are traditionally cut from lasagna pasta sheets by hand with a sharp knife or with a fluted pastry wheel for a sightly more “modern”and decorative touch.

Due to its shape and thickness (bleki are slightly thicker compared to other types of pasta made from regular thin pasta lasagna sheets). This type of pasta is very pleasant to eat because when bleki are cooked they almost have a texture of a dumpling.

Bleki, this simple pasta, truly reflects the peasant life in Istria and represents real home rustic cooking. Bleki are very easy to make and if you have never made fresh pasta yourself at home and have been always temped, but find the task quite daunting, this is a perfect recipe to start with.

Traditional Istrian pasta holds a special place in Istrian gastronomy among other original dishes, and

changed its form and name through the journey from Italy to Istria.

There are two variations of bleki, the first made with white flour, pinch of sea salt and water. Bleki made like this are usually added to soups, like a typical Pasta e fasoi (Pasta and beans soup), to give soups thickness and velvety texture, as fresh pasta during cooking process releases the starch.

The second variation is often made with eggs, if a local family has a few chickens, so if you prefer egg-based pasta, and don’t raise your own chickens, you can buy organic eggs, or use ordinary eggs to make the pasta. However, traditionally, this egg based Bleki would only be made for special occasions like weddings, major holidays, special Sunday lunch, and other special events, as it was traditionally paired, and still is, with chicken or rabbit goulash, meat dishes equally reserved for celebratory occasions.

My paternal nona shared with me that bleki in her village and the surrounding area would be called blečiċi which is a diminutive and affectionate version of the word for bleks, which means krpica in standard Slovenian, indicating a small piece of cloth.

This type of pasta really represents a true gastronomic osmosis between Istria and Friuli, the most north-eastern region of Italy, where bleki are called blecs or referred to as biechi and are often made with a mixture of white flour and buckwheat flour.

This much loved pasta could be sometimes found on the menus in local family run restaurants on both sides of the border, but unfortunately not as frequently as a special dish of the day as I would have liked.

However, keep in mind that Bleki is a type of pasta that is made and consumed on the same day, and is not suitable for drying.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 400 g 00 pasta flour

• 4 large free range or organic eggs

• pinch of sea salt

Method

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

Crack the eggs directly into a well and add a pinch of salt.

Using a fork, mix the eggs with the flour, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined. At this stage you will end up with pieces of dough. Just keep working it until it comes together. You will get at first a rough and floury dough.

Start kneading the dough, which at first may feel a little dry, and at this stage you might think the recipe has go wrong. It could take around 10 min of kneading for the gluten to develop in the flour and to get a smooth lump of dough.

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

Unwrap the dough and cut it in half. Cover the half of the dough that you are not working with, with cling film to prevent it from drying and cracking.

With your hands flatten the other half of the dough to a thickness of about 0.5cm and lightly dust with flour as need it to prevent sticking.

Put the flattened half of the dough through pasta machine on the widest setting.

Fold the dough in half, keep rollers on the widest setting, and reroll the dough.

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

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

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Repeat the same process with the other half of pasta dough.

At this stage you should end up with a few pasta (lasagna) sheets. Place them on a lightly floured surface.

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With a sharp knife (traditionally done) or fluted pastry cutter, cut pasta sheets into squares.

Place bleki on a lightly floured wooden board or baking tray making sure the pasta squares are dusted between the layers.

Pasta is ready to be cooked immediately, alternatively cover bleki well with cling and chill until ready to use, more or less up to four hours.

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Just a thought

Normally, about 80-100g of pasta per person, with your choice of sauce will make a quite substantial plate of meal. If using pasta as a starter reduce the amount of pasta to 50-60g.

Rabbit Goulash Istrian Recipe

Rabbit goulash is a hearty, peasant meal, and a real comfort dish for the coming cold winter evenings. It is made with only few ingredients, but when cooked well, it makes a delicious one pot meal that is fit for a king (and not only a peasant), and even for these cooler autumn days, it will warm you up nicely and make you feel cosy.

This dish is a part of Istrian žgvacet, collective term indicating traditional stew or goulash made with pieces of meat like chicken, beef, or venison, and is cooked in a sauce.

In Istria, rabbit goulash is one of the staple dishes and can also be called by locals šugo z zajcem (zajec meaning wild rabbit) or kunčji golaž (kunec meaning home bred rabbit).

My paternal nona shared with me that in rural households it was very common to keep a small holding of chickens, rabbits, and turkeys, to name just a few animals, that represented a vital source of meat, although this hearty meat dish was almost strictly reserved for special occasions and festivities, and traditionally eaten accompanied with home made potato gnocchi or home made pasta like bleki or soft cooked polenta or some crunchy bread to soak up the sauce.

Serving rabbit goulash with mashed or roasted potatoes is less traditional but quite common.

Rabbit meat, which can be a great alternative to a chicken, is available to buy fresh at speciality markets and can be ordered by your local butcher who will be more than happy to prepare it for you.

In this recipe the whole rabbit is used, even the parts that have very little or no meat on them like the ribs. They will truly add crucial flavour to the goulash, even though you can remove them, and discard these bits later on.

This dish, like most stews, tastes almost better the following day when is reheated as the all the flavours get the chance to mix and fully develop.

Rabbit goulash has always been a classic in Istria and in my family during colder autumn and winter months, served very often during the days leading up the Christmas and New Year.

I am sharing here my family traditional recipe for rabbit goulash made with wild or farmed rabbit that can be replaced by chicken if you cannot get hold of a rabbit, or are simply not keen on this type of meat.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 1-1.5kg wild or farmed rabbit, skinned and jointed (your butcher will be more than happy to do that for you), even though you can use chicken instead.

• 1 onion, medium size (about 200g), finely chopped

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

• ½ carrot (about 40g) finely grated

• 4 Tbps extra virgin olive oil

• fresh herbs (about a handful), finely chopped (rosemary, sage, marjoram and thyme, tip of fresh or dry bay leaf)

• 2-3 fresh plum tomatoes, quartered, or half of tomato, roughly chopped, optional

• 1 Tbsp tomato purée

• sea salt

• round black pepper

Method

Place extra virgin olive oil in a big casserole or stewing pan, add finely chopped onions, finely grated carrot, crushed garlic and jointed pieces of rabbit.

On a gentle heat, fry all together until the onions are soft and caramelised and rabbit deep golden in colour on both sides, stir occasionally.

Add finely chopped fresh herbs, quartered tomatoes, tomato purée, sea salt and ground black pepper.

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Add about 500ml water, or enough to almost cover the rabbit meat. Scrape with the wooden spoon all the bits that stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring to boil and then lower the heat.

Cover partially with the lid and gently simmer for 1-1½ hour.

After this time, the meat will be so tender and just fall off the bone and the sauce should of a nice consistency, not too thick nor too thin. You should end up with enough sauce to be used for potato gnocchi or pasta.

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

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There are two ways of serving this dish.

You can leave whole pieces of rabbit and serve it with soft cooked polenta, roasted or mashed potatoes or simply with nice crunchy bread.

Alternatively, you can take all the meat off the bone, put it back in a pan and mix with the sauce adding to it potato gnocchi or pasta. Reserve some of the starchy cooking liquid from pasta or gnocchi to dilute the meaty sauce to obtain a velvety consistency. Dish served like this might not look the most attractive but you will be well reworded by the taste and flavours.

Just a thought

Rabbit goulash will keep in the fridge up to 3-4 days in an airtight container. This dish also freezes very well, but before using it, defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat well.

Wine suggestion

Friuli Colli Orientali Merlot DOC "Vigne Cinquant’anni" 2016 - Le Vigne di Zamò