Croatian Cuisine

ingredients

Garlic

Used liberally in many dishes, garlic adds flavour to everything from soups to homemade sausages. One passionate Croatian cook says it's hard to imagine a single household in all Croatia without garlic.

Cabbage

Cabbage is eaten raw and finely shredded in the famous cabbage coleslaw with a simple vinaigrette dressing, as an accompaniment to grilled meats or as preserved leaves (sauerkraut), for making cabbage rolls and hearty soups.

Potatoes

Baby chat potatoes are used in salads, or roasting potatoes are cooked under the peka.

Olive Oil

Extra virgin is used in dressings and virgin for drizzling over seafood. Many families along the Dalmatian coast make their own.

Polenta

A coarse meal made from corn. Boiled in water and simmered until thick, polenta is an essential accompaniment to many Croatian dishes such as the famous seafood brodet. It is available in a range of textures from fine to coarse.

Paprika

Paprika is available in mild and hot versions and most commonly used in the inland part of Croatia close to the Hungarian border in dishes like paprikas and gulyas.

Ajvar

A relish made from grilled red capsicum, eggplant, garlic and olive oil. Available in hot and mild variations, it is often served with grilled and roasted meat and čevapčiči.

Plum Jam

A Croatian spread made from small native plums, it is favoured for baking as it tends to keep its shape rather than spreading while cooking.

Smallgoods

The Croatians love smallgoods and have created many of their own special varieties including kulen from Slavonia - a spicy, pure pork and garlic sausage in a natural casing from a pig’s appendix; suha slanina, the name for speck which is used in soups and in cabbage rolls or sarma; csabai, popular on its own or in a layered potato and sausage dish called rakott krumpli; suha koljenica are smoked hocks used in soups, with cabbages or cooked with dried beans; and the one we’re probably most familiar with - čevapčiči - skinless sausages cooked over charcoal.