Gastroanthropology

Korcula + Burek

On our recent visit to Croatia we spent most of our time on the island of Korcula. A lot of the foliage and sounds reminded me of home. Home is around the inland base of the Santa Cruz mountains, which sadly on the other side are in flames right now! During the summer months the cicadas can be deafeningly loud. It was the same noise I heard on Korcula and it reminded me so much of home. Wine grapes also flourish in both locales...

as do fig trees...

But the thing that reminded me most about California was this ...

There was a time in high school where I spent more time in the water than in class! It's been a long time since I've seen a water polo cage. The Croatians are very good water polo players and with cages littered all over the coast its easy to see why. 

I mentioned in an earlier post that we weren't that impressed with the food in Croatia which was a huge disappointment. They certainly don't do breakfast or much in the department of baked goods ... with the heat its understandable, but I was determined to find something! And, I did. Burek. It's cheese wrapped in phyllo and baked. There are lots of things that can be added to it. We had one for breakfast one day with meat so I recreated my version today.

BUREK

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground lamb (beef or pork)
• 1 cup chopped cooked potato (3 small or 1 medium)
• 1 Tbs finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 tsp finely minced fresh rosemary
• salt + pepper to taste
• 1 c cottage cheese
• 1/2 c crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 c melted clarified butter
• 1 box phyllo dough

METHOD

In a large saute pan with olive oil, sweat onion. Add ground lamb and cook through. Add pre-cooked potato, parsley, and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that feta will be added and is often quite salty. When all is heated and cooked through set aside to cool.

Once cooled add to a mixing bowl and add cottage and feta cheeses. Set aside. Cut 1 sheet of phyllo in half. One half should be cut in half again. Start with one of the smaller pieces. Brush with butter and put a heaping 1/4 c of the mixture in the center.

Then start with one corner and fold the dough over. Add another bit of the mixture on top and place on the other smaller portion of the phyllo. 

Brush the initial, larger half with butter and wrap the entire package. Brush the tops with butter and bake for about one half hour at 375 F or until golden brown. Serve warm.

It's great eaten cooled too. Perfect for taking the little parcels to the beach for lunch.

Dalmatian Coast

A visit to Croatia has been top on our list for years and finally this past week we took the much anticipated trip. What would you rather do than cruise clear Mediterranean waters in a canopied boat, jump overboard to cool off from hot Dalmatian sun, and dock for grilled squid?

While famous towns like Dubrovnik have their charm and never-ending histories ...

we've learned from our travels we much prefer a little bit off the beaten path, and in this case a bay perfect for a snorkel, swim, and sunbathe on the island of Korcula.

We rented a scooter and weaved our way down, certain that I'd be walking back up because we had the teeniest of engines, but the gods were in our favor and after a glorious afternoon we scooted up the mountain and around the island to Korcula's Old Town.

If the 3-masted sailing vessel in the port looks familiar, it might be because its the famous Le Ponant, which was seized by Somali pirates last April. Korcula's Old Town is leaf shaped and the streets run from the center outwards, like the ribs. The island of Korcula also claims to be the birthplace of Marko Polo. It would make sense that we has, but there is little evidence that proves or refutes the claim. 

Our days were spent on or in the water and when the sun said goodbye in the most glorious of sunsets, we roamed the Old Town under a massive moon, searching for local specialities. While Croatian cuisine didn't wow us, we did have some amazingly tasty grilled squid.

And some smaller ones, grilled and then smothered in olive oil, garlic, lemon and parsley.

It doesn't need much alongside, but maybe some fresh Croatian tomatoes and cucumbers. Good, crusty bread isn't easy to come by in Croatia, but we did get lucky one time. It helps to sop up all the delicious squid juices and garlicky olive oil.

Hot days mean smaller appetites so just a little ice cream or chilled Rozata (Croatian creme caramel) to finish off the perfect summer meal.

If you've got a grill at home, try grilling whole squid, its absolutely more delicious than fried calamari. Finish with good olive oil, garlic, parsley, and lemon wedges. 

Croatia is an amazing place and a must. Less than twelve hours after leaving we're already planning a return visit.