Croatia: Salmon With Port Wine & Rosemary Sauce; Blitva Potatoes with Silverbeet; Salad of Pear & Candied Walnuts with Pomegranate Dressing

The unitary democratic parliamentary republic of Croatia sits at the crossroads of Central Europe, Southeast Europe & the Mediterranean. The varied cuisine of Croatia is sometimes called the "cuisine of the regions" because Croatian cuisine has many influences. it is extremely diverse with many regions having their own distinctive culinary traditions that are defined by historically unique cooking styles & ingredients that  are specific to  geographic location (coastal or mainland). There is, however, a sense of unification in Croatian cuisine, as many dishes can be found all across the country with local variation.

Our Croatian Menu included:

Salmon With Port Wine & Rosemary Sauce,

Blitva Potatoes with Silverbeet,

&

Salad of Pear & Candied Walnuts With Pomegranate Dressing.

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SALMON with PORT WINE & ROSEMARY SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

·      4 x salmon fillets (serving size)   

·      3 tablespoons plain flour

·      Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

·      2 tablespoons olive oil

·      2 tablespoons butter, divided

·      2 teaspoons lemon peel, grated

·      ½ cup port

·      1 sprig rosemary

·      1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

METHOD:

1.    combine the flour, salt and pepper in a bag

2.    add the salmon fillets to the bag of  flour and shake well to coat the fillets evenly.

3.    Heat the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a 12-inch fry pan over medium high heat, stir together

4.    Add the salmon fillets and sauté, turning once, until they are just cooked, about 3–4 minutes per side. The fillets should be firm to the touch and flake easily with a fork.

5.    Remove the salmon from the pan and place on a warm plate.

6.    Tent with foil to keep warm.

7.    Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of butter, lemon peel, port and rosemary to the pan.

8.    Bring to a boil shaking the pan to encourage ingredients to combine

9.    and add the balsamic vinegar.

10. Continue to whisk/stir with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are well combined.

11. Remove the sprig of rosemary and pour the sauce over the fillets.

12. Garnish with additional sprigs of rosemary and serve.

Recipe adapted for Q-Zine from an original  found @:

http://www.atasteofcroatia.com/pages/recipes/salmon.html

         

SALAD of PEAR & CANDIED WALNUTS with POMEGRANATE DRESSING

INGREDIENTS:

Candied Walnuts:

·      1 cup walnut halves

·      1/2 cup powdered sugar

Dressing:

·      1 tbs pomegranate molasas

·      2 teaspoons lemon juice

·      2 teaspoons honey

·      1/ 3 cup olive oil

·      Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad:

·      3/ 4 pound mixed salad greens

·      1/ 3 cup crumbled blue cheese

·      1 pear thinly sliced

METHOD:

1.   Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

2.   Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and lightly butter the foil.

3.   In a medium saucepan, bring 1 quart of water to boil.

4.   Add the walnuts, return to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. 

5.   Drain immediately and return the walnuts to the saucepan.

6.   Put the pot back on the stove on very low heat

7.   Add the powdered sugar  and stir until nuts are coated (20 seconds)

8.   spread the coated nuts on the foiled baking tray.

9.   Bake for 15 minutes.

10.        Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

11.        Remove the nuts from the foil and break the nuts apart if necessary.

12.        combine all the dressing ingredients together in a jar & shake well to combine.

13.        When ready to eat, toss the  walnuts together with the salad greens, blue cheese &  pear in a large salad bowl.

14.        Drizzle the dressing over the salad & serve

Recipe adapted for Q-Zine from an original  found @:

http://www.atasteofcroatia.com/pages/recipes/green_salad.html

           

BLITVA POTATOES

INGREDIENTS:

·      One generous bunch of silverbeet (washed, white stalk trimmed and thrown away, greens roughly chopped)

·      8 small new potatoes (peeled and thinly sliced 1-2 cm)

·      2 tbs quality olive oil

·      4 cloves  minced garlic

·      ½ tsp  salt

METHOD:

1.   Bring a large pot of water with salt to the boil

2.   Add potatoes and silverbeet in together and cook until potatoes are soft (takes approx. 10-15 mins)

3.   Drain potatoes and silverbeet thoroughly ensuring all water is gone

4.   Put potatoes and silverbeet back in pot and on very low heat

5.   Add generous amount of good olive oil

6.   Add minced garlic and stir so garlic just cooks

7.   Salt to taste

Recipe adapted for Q-Zine from an original  found @:

http://lowgicooking.com/babas-blitva/