Croatia celebrates with holiday cuisine

09/01/2009

Croatian festive cuisine is replete with a variety of dishes, and cookbooks with traditional regional recipes are a cherished holiday gift.

By Natasa Radic for Southeast European Times in Zagreb -- 09/01/09

Orahnjaca is a traditional walnut cake. [File]

Croatians like to eat, especially during the Christmas and New Year's holiday season. Their tables are full of hard-to-resist specialties.

Preparation of certain national dishes varies from region to region. In northern Croatia, turkey with dumplings and a cheese pastry called strukli are preferred during the holidays, while in the south, prosciutto (smoked ham) and homemade cheese or sweet doughnuts called fritule are the holiday delights. Wine is on the holiday menu throughout Croatia.

During the Christmas season, Croatian cuisine tends to be rich in traditional recipes that are in tune with religious traditions and beliefs. Christmas Eve, though, is generally a day of fasting.

Dalmatians traditionally prepare a dried cod stew, along with home-baked bread. In the north, families enjoy plain bread with beans and fried onions. The food reflects the holiday's religious significance.

Christmas lunch in the north of Croatia consists of three courses: the first is a cold meal with sliced ham and homemade cheese, served with different salads and spices. A fresh noodle soup follows and then roasted pork, turkey or goose, served with traditional strukli or potatoes. At the end of the lunch, the family enjoys orahnjaca, a rich walnut cake, or the Croatian kuglof, a round chocolate pastry.

On Christmas in Dalmatia, Croatia's coastal region, pasticada is the dish of the day -- a Dalmatian pot of spiced meat combined with plums and vinegar. Potato or pastry dumplings are served as a side dish. Frequently sarma -- cabbage leaves stuffed with spiced minced meat-- is the main course, followed by traditional Christmas small dumplings powdered with fine sugar -- fritule or dried figs.

Here is the recipe for orahnjaca, the traditional walnut cake:

Dough: (approximate measures, sufficient for two big cakes. Will fill a large baking sheet)

• 0.5kg flour
• 200g melted margarine
• 200g sugar
• 2 eggs and 1 yolk
• Bit of salt
• 1 package yeast
• Grated lemon peel (1 lemon)
• 0.25 liter milk

Directions: Stir yeast with 0.15 liter of warm milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar, and let the yeast become active. Make the dough with the rest of the ingredients. Cover it and let it rise for about a half-hour. Then split the dough into two pieces.

Filling:

• 500-600g ground walnuts
• 350g sugar
• 0.1 liter milk
• Grated peel of half a lemon and juice from 1 lemon
• 50g margarine
• 4 tablespoons apricot marmalade

Directions: Bring the milk and sugar to a boil, add walnuts and cook 0.5-1 minute while mixing. Finish cooking and add other ingredients.

Preparation: Roll out the dough according to the dimensions of the baking sheet, spread melted margarine on it and spread half of the filling. Roll in. Repeat with more dough. Cover it and let it rise. Preheat the oven to 130C. Start baking at 130-150C, and then continue at 170-180C until done. Baking takes about 35 minutes. Baked cake should be well powdered with a mixture of icing and vanilla sugar.