Typical of the Zagreb region, štrukli sa sirom (cheese štrukli) is a Croatian culinary specialty not to be missed if you are staying in Croatia. Served hot as a main course or as an appetizer, štrukli are small cheese puff pastries cooked in water and then baked in a gratin, very quick to make. You must first prepare and spread the dough consisting of flour, an egg, warm water, salt and oil. Next, you mix an egg with fresh local cow cheese and a little salt. You apply the cheese mixture on the spread dough which you roll into a large sausage. Then cut pieces of sausage about 5 cm wide and cook them for 10 minutes in salted boiling water. Then simply place them in a previously buttered gratin dish, place a mixture of cream, egg and salt on top and cook in the oven. Consistent and inexpensive, it will bring Croatia to your plate.
We continue our trip to Croatia through the region of Slavonia and its lamb stew inherited from Hungarian traditions, the čobanac ("shepherd's stew"). Traditionally cooked at family gatherings or festivities, čobanac develops its best flavors when simmered in a large cast iron or stainless steel pot over an open fire outdoors, as tradition dictates. Close to its Czech cousin goulash, čobanac is a stew of several meats including paprika sausages cooked in a spicy sauce and usually accompanied by potatoes and dumplings. The dish is so famous in its region that a festival is celebrated every year in its honor.
Originally from Serbia, pljeskavica is now part of Croatian culinary specialties. Typical dish throughout the country, it is the Croatian hamburger. More specifically, pljeskavica is a kind of large dumpling of minced meat (pork, lamb, beef) flavored and grilled with onions then served in a somum (a large pita bread). Depending on the recipes and the restaurants, it can be accompanied by fries or avjar (mashed peppers and tomatoes) and seasoned in various ways (ketchup, kajmak, cabbage, cucumber, etc.). It is also common to come across pljeskavica sa sirom in the menus, which is simply stuffed with cheese.
