Notes about Recipes in this book

• Carrot, capsicum and eggplant soup (Juha od mrkve, balancana i crvene paprike)

  • Melyinoz on January 13, 2018

    These very simple ingredients combined to make a lovely, healthy soup. I will definitely be making this again.

• Cabbage with pasta sheets (Krpice sa zeljem)

  • Zosia on September 01, 2017

    Amazingly good comfort food that reminded me of cabbage pierogi. I made changes based on what I had (and probably shouldn't review this recipe because of them): I used shallots instead of onions, 200g purchased coleslaw mix (carrots included) and 150g store-bought fresh pasta left over from a previous dish. I thought my ratio of cabbage to pasta was good and it served 3 as a side (perhaps 2 as a main) which leads me to question the quantities in the recipe: approx 750g fresh pasta, 1/2 head large cabbage for 4 people.

• Goat's cheese crêpes with roast capsicum salsa (Palačinke s kozjim sirom)

  • Zosia on May 31, 2017

    I've never had filled crepes like this, sliced then browned in the oven. It was a fun presentation and the crispy surfaces added texture. The flavour of the dish was outstanding, a balance of tangy and sweet, though I did substitute aged balsamic vinegar for the (homemade) varenik (my Croatian mother-in-law is currently on the hunt for this for me, or for the proper grape juice so I can make my own) and red wine vinegar. The recipe made 15 crepes and I used 12 (2 crepes and 100g goat's cheese per roll). This is a great make-ahead dish, perfect for entertaining.

• Zucchini fritters (Fritule od tikvica)

  • Zosia on August 09, 2017

    I was gifted with (another) ginormous zucchini so it was time for another batch of zucchini pancakes. This recipe called for salting and pressing the grated vegetable for a few hours to extract much of the water, which I find also helps it retain its shape and texture once it's cooked. Some ingredient quantities were vague (3-4 zucchini; a handful of dry breadcrumbs) and based on the book photo, I think my batter was looser. Regardless, the fritters were fabulous. Moist in the centre with crisp edges, with nothing to interfere with the vegetable's sweet mild flavour. I had 1kg seeded, grated zucchini, used 40g dry breadcrumbs and substituted spring onions for red onion. I served them with the tomato bean salad from the same book.

• Dalmatian silverbeet (Blitva na Dalmatinski)

  • Melyinoz on February 23, 2018

    This was nice. However, I must admit that after trying it I ended up changing it to how my mum makes it, which is mashed with some raw garlic added to it.

  • lkgrover on July 11, 2018

    Good side dish. I substituted chicken stock for vegetable stock.

• Sauteéd vegetables with rice (Ðuveđ)

  • twoyolks on June 25, 2018

    I really liked the flavor of the vegetables mixed with the rice. It tasted a little bit like ratatouille.

• Eggplant, potato and tomato bake (Melancane, krumpir i pomidori zapečeni)

  • Melyinoz on February 23, 2018

    This was tasty. I only used two of the large eggplants of the four I bought, so I had two left over. I can't fathom how the recipe requires four with the other quantities of ingredients. I also ended up doubling the onion mixture and adding extra potatoes as I couldn't finish the layers without them. This would be a good side dish, but I ended up eating it for lunches which was satisfying.

• Grilled potato and spring onion salad (Pole od krumpira s mladim lukom)

  • Zosia on July 11, 2017

    Both the smokiness and the sweetness of the potatoes (especially the yellow-fleshed Yukon Gold) added loads of flavour to this otherwise very basic potato salad with garlicky dressing. With the grill already fired up to cook the main, this dish was an afterthought but will definitely be repeated.

• Tomato and green bean salad (Salata od rajčica i mahuna)

  • Zosia on August 09, 2017

    This salad is all about the fresh produce with a simple dressing to enhance their flavours and grain that acts as more of a garnish than a major component. I made a few substitutions based on available ingredients and personal taste: yellow beans for green beans, spring onions for red onions and farro for spelt. The technique of salting the diced tomatoes overnight was new to me but did succeed in drawing out some of their liquid and intensifying their flavour. I served this lovely salad with zucchini fritters from the same book for a light summer meal.

• Fish soup (Riblja juha)

  • Melyinoz on February 23, 2018

    This is a very simple plain soup, with very few ingredients. The flavour was very subtle. The soup felt nourishing and is the type of dish I would make for someone who was unwell and couldn't stomach much.

• Lobster risotto (Rižot od jastoga)

  • lkgrover on July 04, 2021

    Good risotto with lobster & tomatoes (sauce & cherry tomatoes) as the main flavor elements.

• Baked flounder (Pečeni iverak)

  • Melyinoz on February 23, 2018

    This wasn't a success for me, but I take full responsibility as I didn't have access to good breadcrumbs and used what I had available which I'm sure made a huge difference to the taste and texture.

• Scampi in garlic, white wine and tomato (Škampi na buzaru)

  • twoyolks on June 25, 2018

    I made this with shrimp instead of scampi and just cooked the shrimp a lot shorter. The flavor of the shrimp and the sauce was great. This was really great with bread to sop up the sauce.

• Stuffed capsicums (Punjene paprike)

  • EmmaJaneDay on February 09, 2018

    These were lovely. Making the tomato sauce first is a bit time consuming, but worth the effort. Made this as meatballs the other day. Oh, man! Delicious So now I just make this as meatballs!!! make the balls and brown while sauce is cooking. Double the sauce and add a handful of rice to thicken when I add the meatballs. I could sit and eat this ALL DAY LONG!

• Chicken and paprika stew (Pileći paprikaš)

  • Zosia on November 19, 2017

    Simple but delicious. The chicken was tender and the tomato-pepper-paprika sauce was very flavourful though a little on the thin side. The dumplings were a pleasant surprise. I had reservations as I was making them since I hadn't timed things properly and the cooled polenta was difficult to mix with the mashed potatoes; I was afraid they would be a gummy mess by the time I shaped them all. Instead, they had the consistency of creamy mashed potatoes but tasted of polenta. A half recipe of the dumplings served 4 generously.

• Stuffed eggplant Dubrovnik-style (Punjene balancane na Dubrovački)

  • lkgrover on October 24, 2021

    I enjoyed how all the flavors of this dish blend; very Mediterranean. It also convinces me that I should cook eggplant more frequently.

• Pork skewers (Ražnjići)

  • Zosia on June 04, 2017

    Simple but very tasty. The eggplant in particular benefited from the flavours of the marinade and was quite delicious, an opinion expressed by even eggplant-averse family members. I used the rib end of a pork loin roast instead of pork neck, a cut that's not readily available in stores where I shop.

  • twoyolks on June 25, 2018

    I didn't find that the marinade added a lot of flavor to the pork. I used cubed pork butt as pork neck wasn't available.

• Ricotta pancakes with strawberry compote (Palačinke)

  • Zosia on February 25, 2020

    These were lovely. The toasted almond-lemon ricotta filling was really delicious and the strawberry compote was the perfect complement.

• Pancakes (Palačinke)

  • Zosia on February 25, 2020

    I used the metric weights and volume measurements and I found the batter to be too thick to spread as it should. I added an extra 60ml milk to thin it out. The crepes were fine but not as good as my go-to recipe which has vanilla and slightly more sugar in it.

• Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

  Dalmatia is a vibrant journey with recipes to the Mediterranean Coast of Croatia.

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