Author: Ane Strazicic Rodriguez/Croatianchronicle.com
Living in America for a very long time, there are still moments when I get nostalgic about my native country – Croatia. That feeling is particularly strong around Holidays, when I miss my magical island, my family and friends, and especially – good, tasty, homemade food!
There are a few dishes from my island, Mljet, where I grew up that I crave the most. Every year when I come back from Croatia, I bring back with me some smoked fork-beard (tabinja) and smoked conger (gruj), which are two different types of fish found in the Adriatic Sea. Even though these are not your typical Croatian Christmas dishes, here in my kitchen they are prepared every year because I rarely get the chance to eat them otherwise. For instance, lobsters and mussels can be bought here, as well as cod fish but ‘tabinja’ and ‘gruj’ are difficult to find. This does not mean you cannot make these dishes, and not only around Holidays, but during the whole year.
Remember that all the recipes I’m going to share with you are simple to make and can always be substituted with other ingredients, if you can’t find the original ones. For example, the first dish that I choose to share with readers of Croatian Chronicle Network – CCN, is going to be ‘Buzara’. In my native island of Mljet and in the rest of Dalmatia, this dish would typically be made with scampi. Here in the States, I substitute Dalmatian scampi with tasty American lobsters of smaller size, and the result is equally delicious!
If you would like to see more of my recipes, please check my new book: ‘Traditional Croatian Cuisine from the region of Dubrovnik”. You can also follow my cooking adventures on my face book page. (https://www.facebook.com/ane.mljecka)
Cooking is all about enjoying, sharing and trying new things. I wish you many happy meals in a good company, and as we say in Croatia; DOBAR TEK!
Till the next recipe;
Yours Truly,
Ane Mljecka
INGREDIENTS:
6 smaller lobsters
2 garlics
a bunch of parsley
2 large peeled and thinly chopped tomatoes
2 glasses white wine
Salt and pepper
2dcl olive oil
Fry the finely chopped garlic and parsley in a bigger, not too deep pot. Add lobsters in shells, cut into pieces while still alive. Add salt, pepper and chopped tomatoes. When the tomatoes are soft, add white wine and cook for another 10minutes. When it is done, leave it sit for 10minutes and then serve.
Place the lobster pieces on a plate and eat with fingers. Dip the homemade bread in the sauce. It goes well with fine wine. Dobar tek!
The article was originally published on Croatian Chronicle Network.
Datum objave: 05.03.2015.
