Meet PLUS. Expand your culinary horizons CROATIA SHELLFISH PEI HOMETOWN CHICAGO TASTING TUNISIA CONTINENTAL CAMBODIA FLORIDA UKRAINE SINGAPORE IRELAND

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1 CONTINENTAL SHELLFISH PEI HOMETOWN CHICAGO TASTING TUNISIA Expand your culinary horizons PLUS CAMBODIA FLORIDA UKRAINE SINGAPORE IRELAND Meet 2013VIRGINIA Issue 9 SPRING CAD/US $6.95 FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE TO read, LOVE TO eat AND LOVE TO travel

2 The Zinfandel grape had its origins in Croatia. 44 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL APRIL JUNE 2013

3 D. HEIMBURGER THIS PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Vineyards of Zlatne Gorice Winery & Restaurant; Cream cake at Slasticarnica U Prolazu Restaurant. DESTINATIONS Croatia WHERE ON EARTH D. HEIMBURGER Movable Feast East of the Adriatic Eating and drinking in Croatia s next hot spot bydiane PENWILL APRIL JUNE 2013 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL 45

4 it Cook FROM THE ARCHIVES COUNT NIKOLA ZRINSKI was a Croatian Duke from The Culinary Book of the Zrinski Cakovec Court is a handwritten manuscript, originally written in Hungarian and then translated into Croatian. It is part of the archival cookbook collection of Zlatko Puntijar, owner of Stari Puntijar Restaurant, Wine Cellar and Inn in Zagreb. There are many cabbage and soup recipes, and recipes for venison and hare and fish. Of course, none of the recipes is really complete they assume a certain amount of knowledge of the ways of cooking in Croatia. The combinations are interesting, however, especially the use of spices, as the following excerpt demonstrates: Italian Cabbage the Spanish Way Olla Putrida BRING the cabbage stem to boil, add pieces of roast capon, and add small game of birds, sausages, pigeons, roast chickens, pig snout, legs and cooked ears, lamb with pepper, the whole turnip root, carrots, roast pork, kohlrabi, roasted chestnuts. Cook everything separately in a proper manner. Cook or roast pig, add peppercorn, crushed ginger, saffron and nutmeg. Lard the capon with bacon, cloves and cinnamon. 46 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL APRIL JUNE 2013

5 With the country scheduled to join the European Union in 2013, I m sure we ll be hearing a lot more about continental Croatia. WE NERVOUSLY keep our distance as the cellar master at Stari Puntijar Restaurant in Zagreb demonstrates how to open a champagne bottle using an antique sabre a preprandial flourish I ll likely not pull out at my next dinner party. He removes the foil, leaving the cage intact, and holds the base of the bottle with the neck facing away. He locates the stress seam in the glass, the weak spot. In one smooth motion, he slides the blunt edge of the sabre across it, making contact with the lip in a precise, forceful movement that breaks the neck. A second later, he s pouring the frothing liquid from the ragged bottle. Over rounds of the bubbly and Zivjeli (cheers), we applaud his prowess as he tells us next time he ll use a flaming sabre. Several of the dishes at dinner tonight have been prepared with recipes derived from a seventeenth-century cookbook once belonging to a Croatian Duke, part of the archival collection of Zlatko Puntijar, our host and owner of the oldest restaurant and wine cellar in Zagreb. Continental Croatia, the interior, doesn t get much attention or many tourists yet. The Adriatic s Dalmatian Coast has been a popular destination for years, but few venture inland. The furthest reaches are only a day trip from Zagreb the capital itself only a couple of hours northeast of the coast. Despite the Croatian fondness for the sabre, the country s shape reminds me more of an inverted hook dagger. The long coast forms the dagger, with Zagreb in the handle and the continent the hook. I m heading to the easternmost corner, a region circumscribed by the borders of Slovenia and Hungary on the north, Serbia on the east and Bosnia & Herzegovina on the south. The area incorporates culinary influences from its neighbours, as well as traditions inherited from its own nomadic past. The wine-making tradition here is distinct from the rest of Croatia, with four major wine regions and 35 winegrowing hills. With the country scheduled to join the European Union in 2013, I m sure we ll be hearing a lot more about continental Croatia. FACING PAGE Wild asparagus and fresh cabbage for sale in Zagreb. SERVES 2 Cook it Creamy Pepper Soup Duo AT THE STUNNING Principovac Country Estate Winery Restaurant in Ilok, they make this creamy and colourful bell pepper soup twice, once with red peppers and once with yellow. Red Bell Pepper 1, coarsely chopped Yellow Bell Pepper 1, coarsely chopped Onion 1 medium, chopped Garlic 6 cloves, chopped Fresh Cream ½ cup Red Wine Vinegar 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Whole Black Peppercorns ½ tsp Sunflower Oil 2 tsp Lemon Juice 1 tsp Chicken Stock 1 cup 1 SAUTÉ half the onion in half the sunflower oil in a frying pan over medium heat. In another pan, sauté the remaining onion in the rest of the oil. Add the red pepper to one pan and the yellow pepper to the other, then add half the chicken stock, garlic, salt and black peppercorns to each. Mix well and simmer until the pepper has softened. 2 POUR the red mixture into a blender and blend on high. Pour through a strainer and then add half the cream and lemon juice. Repeat with the yellow mixture. 3 POUR the two soups from two separate pitchers into a soup bowl at the same time and serve. APRIL JUNE 2013 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL 47

6 Spring in Zagreb is alternately rainy then sunny, and always green I stroll through well-manicured parks of blossoming lilac trees, tulips and daffodils. Zagreb provides a sophisticated urban perspective on the gastronomic traditions of continental Croatia, as well as the rest of the country, and it s the converging point for the best of all the regional cuisines. I m in town for the Annual Wine Gourmet Weekend. There s a huge buzz about sampling these highquality Croatian wines from 150 vineyards. Perfect for a festival, Zagreb is a walkable city of restaurants, cafés, pastry shops, wine and rakia bars (rakia is a type of brandy), art galleries and museums and a growing contemporary scene. The lively outdoor patios of the Upper Town contrast with the serene elegance of the lower, whose green horseshoe is a grid of leafy streets laid out in The markets are a great way to learn about food in central Zagreb, life revolves around the red-roofed dolac, with its huge greenmarket the cathedral a picturesque backdrop and an underground market with fish, cheese and meat from the farms and rivers of the interior. I find wild asparagus, freshwater octopus, sauerkraut (cabbage is a Croatian staple), creamy sheep cheese and cured meats made from wild boar, deer and pig. In the afternoon, old men drink tiny glasses of rakia at the old cafés along the market s edges and watch the crowd bargaining with the headscarved vendors. Coffee and dessert are an art form here I have espresso and coffee cake in the stunning three-storey Art Deco Gradska Kavana City Café. Zagreb was thriving in the 1920s and a main stop on the famous Orient Express which travelled from Paris to Istanbul, via Milan and Zagreb. The Hotel Palace s Art Deco lobby is a tribute to the stars who stayed there, including Sophia Loren and Orson Welles. The stylish Regent Palace was built to accommodate the famous train travellers. Varazdin, an hour north of Zagreb, was the Baroque capital of Croatia from 1756 to Close to the Austrian border via Slovenia, it s called Little Vienna its 500-yearold Town Hall is one of the oldest in Europe and the Old Town Castle a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The local guide undrapes the grand piano in the Baroque Concert Hall and gives an impromptu concert. The medieval town of Samobor, a half hour from Zagreb, is magical in mist little arched bridges straddle the river and tidy, red-roofed houses line its edges. It was once a retreat for noblemen and intellectuals escaping city life. The local shops display farm-fresh cheeses and honey. Villagers enjoy morning coffee and cake, savouring the quiet before the Catholic church lets out. Samobor is also known for Bermet, a fortified wine and for a grape mustard which can be sampled at Bermet Filipec Winery. THIS PAGE FROM TOP Wine barrel and traditional cart in Ilok wine area; Street art in Zagreb. FACING PAGE Planting vines by hand at Krauthaker Winery. 48 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL APRIL JUNE 2013

7 DESTINATIONS ok Co MARINADE it SERVES 6 8 Red Wine Vinegar 200 ml Dalmatian Paśticada Water 200 ml THIS RECIPE COMES FROM Pod Grickim Black Peppercorns 1 tsp Bay Leaf dried, 2 Fresh Rosemary 1 sprig Mustard 1 tsp THE REST Beef Round 1 large piece (about 1.5 kg) Olive Oil 100 ml Onions 4, sliced Garlic 3 cloves, sliced Celery Root 1, grated Carrots 2, sliced into rings Sugar 1 tsp Cloves 6 Pancetta 100 g, sliced Beef Stock 100 ml Red Wine 200 ml Raisins 100 g Prunes 6 Ground Nutmeg ½ tsp Tomato Paste 1 tsp Prosecco1 200 ml FOR SERVING Wide Noodles or Gnocchi 1 Or other dry white wine. Topom Restaurant in Zagreb, which has wonderful views of the city. Pasticada is a traditional slow-cooked beef roast from the Dalmatian coast, marinated with herbs and cooked in a raisin-prune sauce. 1 MAKE cuts all over the beef. Place a clove, a piece of garlic, carrot or pancetta in each hole. Place meat in a large non-reactive bowl. Add the marinade, cover and leave in the fridge for hours to marinate, turning the beef over occasionally. 2 ON the day of preparation, remove the beef from the marinade, dry it and reserve the marinade. 3 BROWN the beef, on all sides a Dutch oven or large saucepan with the olive oil, on medium-high heat. 4 WHEN the beef is browned, take it out of the pan and set aside. 5 IN the same pan you browned the beef in add the onions, garlic, celery root, carrots and sugar to the olive oil and sauté for 10 minutes. 6 PUT the beef back in the pan on top of the vegetables, add the beef broth and reserved marinade and boil for about 15 minutes. Add the red wine, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 2 hours. 7 ADD the raisins, prunes, tomato paste, nutmeg and Prosecco. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another hour or until the meat is very tender and the sauce reduced. 8 TAKE the meat out of the pan and allow it to rest for 15 minutes, then cut it into slices. Spoon the sauce over the meat. Serve with wide noodles or gnocchi. APRIL JUNE 2013 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL 49

8 The fertile farmland of Croatia s interior is breathtaking this vast plain is surrounded by limestone mountains and fairytale forests, shaped by the mighty Danube and Drava rivers, whose sinuous curves create marshes to shelter animals, birds and fish (deer, kuna, wild boar, heron, storks, swans, cormorants, carp, pike, catfish). A cormorant dries his wings over a marshy canal and I spot a stork s nest in a church steeple. This is the real heart of Croatia, the breadbasket of the country. The vineyards and farms of the interior are a rush of bright yellow; mustard plants are ground cover. Farms nestle in culverts, barely visible but for a wisp of chimney smoke. Created by the black soil of an ancient sea (whose islands formed the vineyard hills), the fields are interrupted only by clumps of dark forest. The misaligned vertical slopes of the well-tended vineyards lend them a playful symmetry. The indigenous wines of the Slavonia and Danube regions are only beginning to be internationally recognized and include white varietals such as graševina and traminac and reds like frankovka (or blaufrankisch). Graševina is the signature white grape of continental Croatia. Also known as welschriesling in other parts of Europe, it produces its best results here, due to the area s warmth and humidity. The best examples are full-bodied, with fresh acidity and marked minerality. The Zinfandel grape had its origins in Croatia. It was brought to Italy and then taken to the US in the mideighteenth century with Italian winemakers, who settled in California. Visiting Slavonia is George Taber, a US wine writer whose books popularized new world wines testament to the rising interest in the viticulture of the area. Canadian wine writer Beppi Crosariol recently wrote The next big wine country? (Hint: It starts with c and ends with a ). The smaller wineries preserve Christian traditions dating back to when the monasteries produced the wine. At Bermet Filipec Winery, Antun (Toni) Filipec, whose family has run the business for two hundred years, points to white letters and numbers on his cellar door 20 + C + M + B + 12 the numbers of the new year and initials of the three wise men, Caspar (C), Melchior (M) and Balthazar (B) which were painted on each house at Christmas. At Kutjevo Winery there is an underground tunnel between the cellar and the monastery; the door was once padlocked to keep the young monks out. Kutjevo was founded in the thirteenth century; the oldest wine cellar in Croatia. The Ottoman army destroyed the church but not the cellars they enjoyed the wine, traded it and stayed until 1558 when the monks took over again. Slavonia is one of the largest wine-growing regions in Croatia and the Kutjevo area, where the delightful Krauthaker Winery is located, one of the most important. In spite of its modern methods, the steepest, narrowest rows of Krauthaker s vineyard are tended by a single ploughhand Did You Know THE CRAVAT (TIE) WAS INVENTED HERE? So was the fountain pen and the mechanical pencil. Streets all over the country are named after Nikola Tesla, Croatia s greatest scientist and Thomas Edison s rival. As well, Croatia supplied the quarry stone used to build the US White House. D. HEIMBURGER THIS PAGE FROM TOP Cravat store sign in Zagreb; Traditional Croatian costume. FACING PAGE FROM TOP Directional sign near Varazdin; Radishes in Osijek market. 50 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL APRIL JUNE 2013

9 Farms nestle in culverts, barely visible but for a wisp of chimney smoke with a stocky black horse. The wine industry was affected by the region s many wars, from the Ottoman invasion to World War II, and revived again after the area emerged from communist influence. The Slavonia region was badly damaged during the War of Independence in the 90s, but several winemakers helped revive the industry. Bordering on Bosnia-Herzegovina is the town of Slavonski Brod, where we taste wine with the engaging Dalibor Pejicic at the chic winery, Cikulin. In heavy rain, a traditional village house restaurant, Sobe Tonkic, provides comfort. The meal is cooked in the dining room s open fireplace, homemade wine and fish paprikash (with handmade paprika) are served by the family and music is provided by young musicians with traditional instruments. The Baranja Wine Road, an EU-designated wine route, takes us through the rolling Baranja hills to Belje, one of the largest wineries in Croatia, near Osijek, a town at the Serbian border. Touring Belje feels like walking the deck of a giant ocean liner, the shining sea of aluminum tanks beneath us a startling contrast to the wineries we ve been visiting. Belje has produced some notable prize-winning wines, as have many of the smaller vineyards. At the stunning Principovac Country Estate, we try more of the area s wines and cuisine. Osijek was under siege for several months during the 90s, and the scars are still visible here and in nearby towns. The huge, bombedout water tower in Vukovar is a grim everyday reminder of the war s toll as is the cemetery filled with recent graves. In Kopacki Rit Nature Park, close to the Hungarian border, we stop at Kormoran, one of the leading farm village restaurants (or pustaras ). A shepherd s stew of deer and wild boar spit-roasted on an open fire, is served with smoked freshwater carp with paprika sauces from a steaming cauldron and kulen sausage from a 500-pound Slavonian pig. Everything converges here on the continent and the universe seems in happy alignment. No one expects or wants a tidal wave of tourists, but almost everyone anticipates a steady flow of people interested in food, wine and an authentic travel experience. The continent is the diffident star of this earthly paradise called Croatia. DIANE PENWILL is a Toronto-based writer who has travelled extensively through the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Her article, Belize, Birthplace of Chocolate appeared in the TASTE& TRAVEL Spring issue and Wisconsin Shines appeared in the Fall 2011 issue. She also has a blog it Click it Click Bermet Filipec Winery Cikulin Winery vinarija.cikulin@yahoo.com Krauthaker Winery Kutjevo Winery Zlatne Gorice Winery & Restaurant Gradska Kavana City Café & Republica Restaurant Zagreb Slasticarnica U Prolazu Restaurant Samobar Trg kralja Tomislava 5, Belje Principovac Country Estate Kormoran Restaurant Podunavlje bb Kopacki Rit Nature Park Stari Puntijar Gracanska Cesta 65, Medvescak, Zagreb Korcula SOBE TONKIĆ Village House Zagrebačka Slavonski Brod, Hrvatska Croatian Wines Zagreb Wine Gourmet Weekend Regent Esplanade Zagreb/Esplanade-Zagreb Hotel Palace APRIL JUNE 2013 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL 51

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