Dubrovnik

It’s been 1 year since Dubrovnik, a quaint little Croatian restaurant, opened their doors here at Solaris and I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek of their Croatian month celebration. I spent an afternoon there enjoying a cooking demonstration by their head chef and owner Zoran Djumic...along with some food tasting and a sampling of strong grappa coffee!

Croatian food is influenced by many other European countries...a bit of Italy...the Mediterranean...and more...the flavours are mild and fresh but very cheese rich as well...I wonder how the Croatian women stay so slim!

Chef Zoran places an emphasis on healthy food using organic vegetables and fresh seafood. In his cooking there is a lot of attention paid to detail and preparation. He chose to show us how to cook two authentic dishes...the Riba Grah (pan fried catch of the day) as well as the Istrian Canneloni. Here are his recipes to try out at home:

Riba Grah

200gms Barramundi Fillet
2 tablespoons ground Sesame
3 sprigs Spring Onion
3 Red Chillies deseeded
1 cup Fish Stock
1 tablespoon chopped Parsley
100gms Butter Beans
Salt and Pepper to taste

Coat the fish with sesame and then pan fry for 2mins on both sides. Finish off in the oven for 5mins. Quick fry spring onions in hot oil and add the chillies. Sautee briefly. Cook the butter beans in the fish styock, drain and add the beans to the spring onion and chilli. Salt and pepper to taste. Place the fish on top of the beans and enjoy!

I enjoyed the light flavours of this dish and the butter beans were wonderful! So creamy and buttery with a nice fish stock flavour...slurrrp!

Istrian Canneloni

20 Crepes
500gms Cottage Cheese
150gms Ham
200gms Mushrooms
200gms Bread Crumbs
500gms Fresh Tomatoes
5eggs Beaten
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the ham into small cubes. Sieve fresh cottage cheese through a strainer. Fry the ham in light oil, add mushrooms, salt and pepper. Once cooked through mix these ingredients with the cottage cheese and fill the crepes with this mixture and roll. dip the crepes in the egg mixture and then coat with bread crumbs and fry till golden. Oh so cheesey and gooey and yummy! Crepes with a cheesy filling can never fail!