5 dishes you must eat in croatia

Croatia is a beautiful country, diverse both geographically and culturally. As a result, its cuisine is also rich, combining influences from various countries. The restaurant's menu includes spicy stews and filling soups, as well as seafood and meat dishes in strong broths. If you want to learn about the dishes that Croatia is famous for, you must be aware that it is a long list.

And what is worth bringing back from vacation, apart from a bottle of rakija or wine? Fig preparations, e.g. jam (fresh or dried fruit) or figs in sweet sauce. Honey is a good idea - the choice is huge, from lavender, through herbal (from rosemary or sage), to chestnut or citrus blossom. It is also worth buying a bottle of olive oil, which is added to virtually everything in Croatian cuisine.

Filling soups and stews

Goulashes are popular in most Croatian regions, and bean goulash , resembling baked beans, is held in particular esteem. Try the version with pickled turnip (grah sa kiselom repom), it is also worth getting to know the taste of goulash with sauerkraut (grah sa zeljem).

The list of dishes you must try while on holiday in Croatia also includes soups. The most popular are the light, noodles-based soups, but a thick vegetable soup called maneštra is also worthy of attention. It will allow you to forget about hunger for a long time. Mushroom lovers will love Zagorska juha , a bacon-enhanced boletus soup with peppers. If you are vacationing in Dalmatia, order fish soup . It is served all over the country, but in this region you will definitely be delighted with it.

Fish in a hundred ways

One quick look at the menu of Croatian restaurants is enough to conclude that the local cuisine is based on fish and seafood. Tourists praise the grilled sea bream , they also eat grilled mackerel, salted cod with potatoes (bakalar na bijelo) and tuna dishes.

Fish lovers like to order it baked ( pečena riba ). It doesn't matter what type of fish we choose - each one will taste delicious. They are served in two ways: drizzled with olive oil, with garlic or fresh parsley, and with olive oil and lemon.

There are many challenges waiting for people who like culinary experiments in Croatia, including crni rizot - black risotto with squid. Moreover, we can often find squid here and in various forms, including: with potatoes or roasted on the grill. Octopus is also popular, served in salads (salata od hobotnice) or spaghetti, grilled or under peka.

Meat dried by the sun and wind

What does this intriguing "under the hood" mean? This is a traditional dish, prepared in every Croatian home. Its preparation requires a special bowl, which is placed in a heated fireplace, covered with a lampshade and sprinkled with embers. The contents of the bowl are baked for about 100 minutes - it is meat (lamb, veal, poultry, octopus) with potatoes and onion, drizzled with olive oil and lightly salted, accompanied by a bay leaf and rosemary. Ready meat under peka (meso ispod peke) is served with wine, lettuce and a piece of bread. When on holiday on the Adriatic Sea, you must try it.

If you have chosen Dalmatia for your holiday, you have the perfect opportunity to get to know this regional delicacy. Pršut is a sun- and wind-dried ham that takes about 2 years to mature - hence its high prices. It is served on a platter with cheese, often with a glass of alcohol.

Croatian ćevapčići are especially liked by children. These are small rolls made of chopped or minced pork or lamb, baked on a grill. Most often, they are served with diced red onion and ajvar, which is a long-cooked paste of sweet peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and garlic.

What about dessert?

Sweets lovers in Croatia can have a birthday every day. This may result in you bringing back extra kilos from your holiday, but how can you not be tempted by a piece of traditional cake, not to order a krešnita with a delicate vanilla flavor, with a cream that melts in your mouth, or baklava , made of sheet cake layered in layers, perfect for people who love honey and nuts .

If someone wants to try Croatian sweets but would prefer to choose a more standard one, they can order a dessert called palačinka . On his plate will be a tempting, delicious pancake, in the classic version, sprinkled with sugar. The second, equally safe proposition is krafne or pokladnice – donuts.

A word about percentages

The most famous alcohol in Croatia is undoubtedly rakija , drunk during important celebrations such as weddings or the arrival of a child. It is a strong drink (from 50% to 60%), created through the distillation of fermented fruit. We can find various versions, from pear and plum through honey to nut.

Graševina is one of the country's most popular white wines. Try it if you are going to relax in the continental part of Croatia (e.g. Slavonia). It smells of fruit and flowers, strikes with freshness, is light and refreshing. Red meat lovers should try the "king of Croatian wines" - a drink called Dingač , made from dark Plavac grapes. It is a bit tart and bitter, and a strong wine (approx. 15%). Those who prefer white meat and are not afraid of such high alcohol content can try wine produced in Central and Southern Dalmatia, including the island of Korčula. Pošip smells of apricots and figs and has a slightly straw color.

And finally, an interesting fact: if you chose Krk as your vacation destination, Valomet champagne can be an original souvenir from your stay there. Produced from a grape variety that grows only on the island (white žlahtina), it is aged for several months at the bottom of the sea, so that its bottles are covered with a layer of corals and shells in the meantime.

Straight from the sea

One of the best ways to discover local flavors in Croatia is to taste them in small, non-touristy towns, and these places are best found by sea. Plan your yacht charter in Croatia in advance with Click&Boat , enjoy new experiences and wonderful views of the coastline.

Camper trip to Croatia

If you are just starting your adventure with caravanning and are wondering how to prepare for it and where you can sleep in a camper, I recommend purchasing our guide "Your first trip in a camper" or our original camper routes in the form of eBooks at www.gdziekamperem.pl

There you will find ready-made camper routes around Croatia and beyond.

The above publications will teach you how to plan your trip, how to plan a camper route and what to take on your first trip.