Mussels (Dagnje)
Ingredients
- Fresh mussels (2lbs)
- 1 garlic bulb - Diced
- White wine
- Chopped parsley
- Maslina olive oil
Directions
Prep the mussels
Start with the freshest mussels you can find. Clean off the beards. Taking off the barnacles is really about looks but if you've got a few extra minutes and want to impress, it's worth doing.
Next, sort through them for any duds. If you spot one that's already open, give it a gentle pinch. If it doesn't close back up on its own, toss it, it's dead and not worth cooking.
Build the base
Set your pot over medium-high heat and coat the bottom with a generous amount of olive oil. Once it's hot, add the garlic and don't be shy, we go with the whole bulb. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the cleaned mussels straight in. They'll release their own sea water as they cook, which does all the seasoning for you — no need to add salt. Give everything a few minutes to heat through, stirring the mussels around in the garlic and oil.
Steam them out
Pour in the white wine and bring it to a boil. Give it a quick stir, then cover the pot but leave a small gap for steam to escape so the sauce reduces as it goes. You're not boiling the mussels in soup, you're steaming them open. The wine is just there to make the steam.
Let them go for 5-8 minutes, then check in. Once most of the shells have opened, take the pot off the heat and stir in the parsley. Any mussels that stayed shut tight? Leave them behind, they didn't make it.
Serve
Pour it all into a big bowl, sauce and all. Pair it with a glass of white wine and fresh bread for dipping. That sauce is the real reason you made this.
Pork chops in a caper sauce
Ingredients
6 pork chops, about 3 cm thick
4 tbsp flour
Lots of Maslina olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegeta (Croatian bouillon) to taste
Bulb of Garlic (sliced)
2 tsp mustard
3 tbsp capers
1 bunch of parsley
1/4 cup white wine
Directions
Prep the meat
Season the pork chops with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Preheat your pan, then add about 3 tbsp Maslina olive oil.
Golden brown chops
Sear the pork chops on both sides until a deep crust forms, then remove them and set aside.
Build the sauce
Add the sliced garlic and capers to the pan and let them cook for a minute, just until the fragrance fills the kitchen. Stir in a spoonful of mustard. Once the garlic starts to brown, add the white wine and vegeta to taste. This is where most of the flavor comes from. Mix everything together, then return the pork chops to the pan.
Cook the chops
Cover and let it simmer for about 45 minutes. If the sauce is reducing too fast, top it up with a splash of water or wine. Wine is the better choice for flavor.
Thicken the sauce
Once the pork chops are cooked through, remove them and let them rest on your serving plate. Stir the chopped parsley into the sauce, then slowly whisk in flour to thicken it. You want body, not paste. If you overdo it, don't panic: a little water brings it right back. We're not chefs over here, and this happens to us more than we'd like to admit. But serve it with confidence and no one will ever know.
Plate the meal
Once the sauce is ready, spoon it generously over the pork chops so every piece gets coated, and leave enough in the dish to mop up with bread. Serve with the side of your choice, and remember, the chef always deserves a drink!
Cheers.
Palačinke
Ingredients
Makes 6-8
1 egg
1 tsp Maslina olive oil
pinch of salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
pinch of baking soda
150g flour
1 cup milk
Spoon full of yogurt
lemon zest
Directions
Creating the batter
Place the flour in a separate bowl. In another bowl, combine all remaining ingredients and mix well.
Slowly add the flour into the wet mixture, stirring as you go until the batter is smooth with no lumps.
Getting the thickness right is a skill passed down from Baba to Baba, earned through thousands of palačinke rolled. This recipe gets you close, but the more you make them, the more you'll learn the consistency your family loves best.
Once everything is mixed, set the batter aside and preheat your pan.
Prepping your pan
Preheat the pan over medium-high heat. Grab a small cup, a ceramic coffee cup works great for this. Pour about 3 tbsp of oil into the pan and swirl it around to coat evenly. If the oil runs around the pan quickly, that's your sign it's hot enough. Pour the excess oil into the coffee cup, watching your knuckles, it's hot.
Pro tip: leave a thin amount of oil in the pan. It helps crisp the palačinke edges. Not everyone does it this way, but it's worth trying.
Cooking begins
Pour in just enough batter to thinly coat the bottom of the pan, swirling quickly to spread it out before it sets. It may take a couple of tries to get the amount right. Some people like their palačinke paper thin, others a bit thicker, so go with your preference.
Let it cook through. You'll know it's ready to flip when it releases easily from the pan, nicely toasted on each side. As you go, the pan gets hotter and the surface becomes more non stick, so treat the first couple as practice runs while you dial in your timing and consistency. After each palačinka comes off, add a little more oil back into the pan and repeat the swirl before pouring the next one.
Get rolling
Once you've got a stack going, it's time to roll. Bring out your favorite fillings and go for it. Nutella is my favorite, though Karla always reaches for the more classic Croatian šipak (rose hip) jam. Roll them up and watch them disappear off the plate. The only problem you'll have is not making enough.