Dalmatia – Review, recipe and giveaway
August 26, 2017 by Jenny
Dalmatia: Recipes from Croatia’s
Mediterranean Coast by Ino Kuvačić celebrates traditional
recipes that capture the fresh, simple cuisine of the Dalmatian
region. The title page has a stunning aerial view of the coast line
that captured my heart immediately – any place this mesmerizing
surely must be home to beautiful cuisine as well.
Ino Kuvačić is a Melbourne-based restaurateur who was born in Split, Croatia where he studied to be a chef. When he relocated to Australia in the late nineties, he worked in a few of the country’s most iconic restaurants. This debut cookbook stemmed from his desire to share the food of his native coastal homeland with the world.
Scampi in Garlic, White Wine and Tomato, Cabbage Sausages, and Croatian Apple Cake along with other sweets unlike any I have come across await us in this beautiful book. Until I can walk along the shores of Croatia, I will be content to prepare and share the dishes of this magical locale.
My grandmother was Croatian and even though I do not have deep feelings with regard to much of my family this book somehow strangely brings me closer to her. The cuisine of Dalmatia is frugal but inventive and that could be said of how my grandmother cooked. Tomorrow we are having guests over. I hope to make the cabbage with pasta sheets and the zucchini fritters we are sharing here today, I will come back later this weekend and update the post with my photographs if they turn out decently.
Special thanks to Hardie Grant for sharing this recipe that will be perfect to use up the zucchini flooding our gardens. Be sure to scroll down and enter our giveaway.
Zucchini fritters (Fritule od
tikvica)
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This is one of my favourite dishes in the warmer months. When I was a child we used to have this for lunch before heading to the beach. My childhood memories are coloured by the bright blues and greens of the Croatian summer – the intense turquoise of the Adriatic Sea and the jewel green of the pine trees and our vegetable garden. Every time I eat zucchini fritters my mind is filled with the memory of these colours and the joys of summer.
SERVES 4-6
3-4 zucchini (courgettes)
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 egg
handful dry breadcrumbs
50 g (1 3/4 oz) plain (all‑purpose) flour
vegetable oil, for shallow‑frying
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Grate the zucchini, season it with salt and put it in a colander set over a shallow plate or bowl. Place a plate on top of the grated zucchini and then something heavy on top of the plate to press the water out of the mixture.
Leave the zucchini in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, then remove and squeeze out any excess liquid with clean hands.
Transfer the zucchini to a mixing bowl. Add the onion, egg, breadcrumbs and flour and mix well to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Shape the mixture into small patties with your hands. They can be palm-sized – or whatever size you like.
Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the patties until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towel then serve hot.
Excerpted with permission from Dalmatia by Ino Kuvačić, published by Hardie Grant Books May 2017.
The publisher, Hardie Grant, is offering three copies of this book to EYB Members in the US. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.
Which recipe in the index would you like to try first?
Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest
before posting or your entry won’t be counted. Please be sure to
check your spam filters to make sure you receive our email
notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the
publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at
midnight on October 3rd, 2017.
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