008 - The Croatia Chronicles

Yachts, oysters, buffets, and a wild supermarket dash.

This month, we went international! Read on to find what we learnt from our trip to Croatia. Read on a little further for Kush’s top tips for maximising YOUR buffet experience like a chef. Or scroll all the way down for 3 recipes inspired by our travels.

Slater: A stale cheese croissant and a semi chilled bottle of lager at 6am felt like quite an inappropriate way to start a Food Team research trip to Croatia. But after bluffing my way into the priority lounge at Gatwick, it felt only fair to take advantage of the complimentary offering. If I had known that alcohol would play such a vital role in our ‘research’ of the country, I might have swerved the beer for something softer. I wasn’t to know that thanks to the terroir of our location, it is home to a burgeoning wine industry. I also didn't know that we would be sampling the majority of it later that day.

Ben, true to form, was tucking into some granola when I ambled over towards him. It was at this point I chose not to divulge my breakfast choice. Kush came next, casually revealing that I could have had an hour more sleep had he booked me a later car. His concern that I wouldn’t find my way to the gate on time, secured his place as the “dad” of the trip even before he slipped into his blue shorts, belt and shirt combination that endured throughout.

I would love to say the first thing we ate after landing in Croatia was a million miles away from my airport lounge breakfast, but it wasn’t. Our fixer handed us brown paper bags filled with warm cheese pastries and yoghurt drinks from a popular chain bakery in Dubrovnik’s old town. As we tucked in, she explained that this is what real Croatians eat day to day. My Greggs reference got lost in translation, but it was clear, flakey, light pastry, filled with soft, slightly acidic cheese and the groans of satisfaction that follow, are a universal language. It may have not been the headline-grabbing start we were hoping for, but we knew this was a truly authentic snack to kick off the trip. 

Ebbers: We made our way through marbled-lined streets to our fixer’s favourite wine bar. The beauty of trying wine in a new location is that some of it is strangely familiar whilst others are something completely new and a real treat. It makes perfect sense that Croatia has excellent wine. It shares similar weather, terroir and distance from the equator to parts of Italy... And Italian wine we are much more familiar with.

After trying 12 different wines across a few flights... We found a few faves. The reds were big and bold (and some fairly aged with lots of tertiary notes) although perhaps more than we needed in the heat of the day. Pošip was the stand out favourite for me. Light, crisp and with high acid made it perfect once served icy cold on a hot day in Dubrovnik. We had it several other times across the trip. Sadly, so many of the varieties aren't readily available in the UK, but I have been keeping my eye out.

Kush: We had a restaurant recommendation from a local chef that was our target for dinner, a short 30 minute stroll from the tourist-heavy old town. 

On arrival at the taverna we were met with a bemused look from the owner who had not seen Ebbers’ last minute reservation but gladly found us a table at the back. Being told for a few weeks prior to the trip that the seafood and fish are exceptional along the Adriatic, we plumped for the mixed seafood platter, fried squid and octopus salad to start. Simple, fresh and light. The smoked tuna on the platter reminded me of Mojama from Andalusia and was a pleasant foil to the onion-forward octopus salad and squid. If you ever see fried squid on a menu by the coast you have to order it, as a rule!

Lighter dishes were followed by two large bowls of seafood risotto - one jet black with cuttlefish ink, a specialty of Croatia and one the colour of well-fired terracotta, similar to what you would find around the coast of the Med. As this was the end of our first day in Croatia, we were glad to have sampled some of the local dishes and were feeling positive about finding more gems throughout the trip.

Slater: The second day commenced with a mild hangover and the feeling that spending 10 hours sailing a yacht exploring Croatia's turbulent water, might not be the best cure. No matter, the skipper had the antidote, in the form of… More alcohol. This time, it came in the form of a heavily aromatic liqueur flavoured with wormwood local to the area. Pelinkovac can trace its roots back to the 19th century and is often credited as Croatia's first successfully exported alcohol. On the boat, we drank it neat with a dash of lemon juice. Unlike Napoleon III, who was apparently a big fan of the drink, I can’t say I was taken. Ironically something that tasted identical to many brands of medicine, did my hangover more harm than good. I stopped sipping to avoid meeting my very own Waterloo and took in the awe-inspiring rock formations and blue waters that hug the coast.

By the time we arrived at La Villa Lopud, Pelinkovac was a distant memory and we were ready to eat. But not before taking a short speed boat trip from our yacht to the private jetty of the restaurant (a sentence I never thought I would write). What followed was a deluge of hits inspired by semi-local produce, modern European cookery and the preferences of the sort of people who might regularly take a speedboat from their yacht to a restaurant. Lobster, langoustines, scallops and tuna aren’t proteins we would often order in restaurants, but they felt at home here, nestled on tables, being tucked into by the super rich on an island only accessible by sea. It was a great chance to see how the other half eat, and how plucky Croatian chefs cook for them.

Kush: We had all agreed at the end of the long sailing trip that dinner out and about wasn't necessary. Luckily for us, the hotel restaurant had a cracking view of the sunset and housed that famous last resort… The buffet!

A buffet is a great way to satisfy a group who all have their own tastes and requirements. And I have had my fair share… So naturally, I think of myself as something of a pro. After ascertaining the lay of the land over breakfast, I didn’t waste time with “browsing and discovery”. Time is money in the buffet game.

I started with some local cheeses and meats to leave space for something a little more filling. My next plate consisted of an olive-heavy salad, cured fish, octopus, and as there are no rules at a buffet… A small steak. I'm not going to pretend that the beef was anything other than a grilled piece of brown protein, but coupled with a dollop of local “senf” (mustard) and hot sauce, it went down swimmingly. 

I steered clear of the pasta, risotto and pizza as none of these items hold well in a bain marie or under a heat lamp.

Kush’s top 5 tips for WINNING the hotel buffet

1. Fill multiple plates with small amounts so you get to sample a wide variety.

2. Keep the carbs for the end. 

3. Don't hold back at the salad bar- if there is a local dressing, pour it on.

4. Anything that should be crispy will never be crispy unless you catch it as it comes to the buffet. Swerve deep-fried items unless you see them being regularly rotated.

5. Don't feel bad about going with pedestrian options - a buffet might not be the best place to step out of your comfort zone.

Slater: I woke the next day to a text from Kush, or rather an image taken from the queue of eager hotel guests, all double Kush’s age, waiting patiently for first dibs on the breakfast buffet. I opted for an extra hour's sleep over scrambled eggs and a lecture on the benefits of his buffet technique. We drove to Ston, just up the coast from Dubrovnik - an area famed for its oysters, praised by the likes of Anthony Bourdain. After a quick boat ride, we arrived at a wood-clad platform that sat on stilts. Ropes lined with pairs of oysters hung from the bottom into the baby blue sea below.

Elsewhere oysters are grown in large cages on the sea bed, barely handled and at the mercy of the waves. Here, oysters were painstakingly tethered to ropes with blobs of concrete from a piping bag, allowing them to grow unimpeded. It was explained to us that oysters in Ston were handled individually at least 5 times before being shipped out to restaurants around the world.

I looked out over the water and took in our location, the second reason these oysters are so highly prized. We were informed that the temperature and salinity of the water (thanks to a fresh water inlet nearby) provided the perfect growth conditions. Our guide shucked a couple for us to try, still semi-warm from the surrounding sea. They were void of the often briny first impression of a rock oyster from the British Isles and led with sweetness which lasted throughout. The texture sat between firm and creamy. I can imagine that this would be a great oyster for those who hadn’t tried one before. It was to oysters what the Margarita is to pizzas, the platonic ideal, void of complexity, but delicious all the same in the right hands.

Kush: Before leaving Croatia, I finally pushed through my agenda to get to a large supermarket for an amble. I honestly love to explore what's offered in local supermarkets as it gives you a great understanding of what local people buy and eat. It was also logistically easy to make a stop off. As designated driver, the ball was in my court!

Upon arrival, an overwhelming wealth of cured pork products stretched out before us. From slabs of belly pancetta, emulsified sausages, whole hams and pure slabs of back fat. We weighed up purchasing a whole leg of Dalmatian ham. Ebbers declined on account of our hand luggage allowance - the optics of three grown men forcing a leg of ham into the overhead locker of an EasyJet flight were quite amusing. I plumped for a small packet of highly cured, pencil thick salamis - perfect for the cup holder in the car! British supermarkets could learn a lot from the variety of food we saw on my enforced stop off.

Slater: It was while walking through aisles lined with all manner of cured meats, cheeses and jarred goods, that everything we had learnt in a days previous fell into place. As far as food is concerned, Croatia is a product of its location, Italian influenced cooking techniques and diverse geographical landscape. Its domestic culinary culture can’t really be bound by one common theme because it draws from so many different sources. If, like Kush, you are a buffet person - Croatia is well worth a visit.

Rosemary Rožata with Salted Almonds

Serves 6

We noticed that rosemary grows everywhere in Croatia. It seems to punctuate every boundary and often grows wild on the hillsides. It’s also very common to see Rožata on menus, especially inland, it’s the Croatian answer to crème caramel. We combined the two influences when developing this recipe.

For the caramel

170g caster sugar

For the custard

100ml full fat milk

10g rosemary, leaves, chopped

350ml double cream

4 eggs

40g caster sugar

To serve

60g roasted salted almonds, chopped

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Fill the kettle and put it on to boil.

To make the caramel, place a pan over a medium heat and sprinkle in a pinch of the sugar. Once it starts to melt, add the remaining sugar. Allow everything to melt and turn a deep amber colour, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar starts to lightly smoke, take the pan off the heat.

Divide the caramel between 6 small, heatproof ramekins. Allow to cool completely.

Add the milk and rosemary to a small saucepan. Slowly warm over a low heat and bring it to a simmer. Take the pan off the heat and add the cream.

Gently beat the eggs with the sugar to combine them in a large mixing bowl, making sure to not incorporate too much air. Tip in the infused milk and cream through a sieve to catch the rosemary. Gently beat once more.

Once the caramel has hardened, divide the custard mix between the ramekins.

Line a large, deep roasting tray with a kitchen cloth and carefully lift in the filled ramekins. Pop the tray into the oven and pour enough boiling water from the kettle into the tray to come up ¾ of the way up the outside of the ramekins.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the creme caramels have a wobble and a bit of bounce.

Once ready, cool to room temperature in the tray, then chill in the fridge for 6 hours, or ideally overnight.

Carefully run a knife around where the custard meets the ramekins and turn them out onto small plates. Top with the salted almonds and serve.

Dalmatian Ham and Spinach Butter Oysters

Serves 4

Dalmatian ham is a Croatian staple and owing to a familiar smoky, porky flavour, it tastes great with oysters. If you can’t get your hands on Dalmatian ham, try using smoked pancetta or Speck for a similar result.

For the crispy ham crumb

50g Dalmatian Ham, sliced

5 tbsp olive oil

5 tbsp panko breadcrumbs

For the butter

200g fresh spinach

100g butter, unsalted, soft

75g Dalmatian ham, sliced 

1 clove garlic, peeled

To serve 

24 Pacific rock oysters

4 slices sourdough, toasted

To make the crispy ham, first cut each slice crossways as thinly as possible to create very thin strands of meat.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat. Once it starts to shimmer and loosen, add the shredded ham. Fry until darkened slightly, around 2-3 minutes, then add the breadcrumbs. Fry for a further 2-3 minutes, until deep golden brown.

Tip the crumb onto a plate lined with kitchen towel and allow to cool. 

Microwave the spinach on full power in a cling film covered bowl for 3-4 minutes, until darkened and wilted. Once ready, cool under cold running water, then squeeze out any moisture, creating a ball of dry, cooked spinach.

Add the spinach to the bowl of a food processor, along with the butter and remaining ham. Finely grate in the garlic, then blitz everything until smooth and vibrant green. Season with a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper.

Preheat the grill to its highest temperature.

Open the oysters, drain off as much brine from the shells as possible, then position them on a large tray lined with plenty of foil to stop them rolling around.

Pop 1 tsp of the flavoured butter onto each of the oysters, then cook under the grill for 4-5 minutes, until the butter has melted, started to foam slightly and the oyster meat has firmed up a little.

Top with the crispy ham crumbs, and serve immediately with the toasted sourdough.

Freeze any leftover butter, it tastes great tossed through pasta or folded through mashed potato.

Braised Octopus with Olive Dressing and White Bean Puree

Serves 4

The Adriatic sea hosts some of the best octopus the world has to offer, thus we ate a lot of it in Croatia. After a 2 week octopus hiatus, we felt ready to develop this recipe!

For the octopus

1 1-1.2kg octopus, cleaned with head removed

200ml white wine

For the dressing

100g green olives, pitted, sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

10 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 lemons, zest and juice

15g parsley, finely chopped

For the bean puree

800g cannellini beans

2 cloves garlic, peeled

50g unsalted butter

To serve

Bread for dipping

Add the octopus to a large mixing bowl and season generously with salt. Knead and massage the salt into the octopus, pressing it against the bowl with your hands for 5-10 minutes. A white, soapy foam should build up on your hands and the meat. This is an important step to ensure the octopus becomes tender later.

Rinse the octopus well under cold running water.

Add the octopus to a large pot, then tip in the wine, peppercorns and shallot. Cover with water and place the pan over a medium heat. 

Slowly bring everything up to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, weigh the octopus down with a small, heatproof plate and cover with a lid. Simmer for around an hour, until tender. Once ready, a sharp knife should easily slide into the thickest part of a tentacle. If it feels a little tough, give it another 10-15 minutes.

To make the dressing, add the olives, garlic, oil, lemon zest and juice to a bowl along with the parsley. Give everything a good mix, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside ready for later.

For the puree, add the tins of beans along with any bean juice to a medium pot. Finely grate in the garlic and add enough water to just cover everything. Place the pan over a medium-high heat and simmer for 12-15 minutes, until the beans start to break up.

Reserve a mugful of the cooking water, then tip everything else into the jug of a high-powered blender. Add the butter and blitz until silky and smooth, loosen with the reserved liquid if necessary - we are looking for a loose, polenta-like texture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Once the octopus is ready, remove it from the pan and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Cut the tentacles up into bite-sized chunks.

Add the cooked octopus chunks to the dressing. Toss to coat.

Spread the bean puree onto a large serving plate and top with the octopus. Serve with bread for dipping and get stuck in!