Old Time Cooking Recipes HAVE FUN! Melita from Croatia

Recipe for FISH PIE (from the island of Vis)  Ingredients: DOUGH: 1 kg (2 lb) flour 60 g (2 oz) yeast 2 Tbsp salt 1 Tbsp mixed mediterranean herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil) 2 Tbsp olive oil water FILLING: 500 g (1 lb) onions, chopped 500 g (1 lb) tomatoes, peeled and chopped 250 g (0.5 lb) anchovies, cut in pieces 100 g (3.5 oz) capers 100 g (3.5 oz) olives, seeded 100 ml (4 fl oz; 1/2 cup) olive oil salt, black pepper  Preparation:  DOUGH: Dissolve the yeast in warm water and leave for 15 minutes. Mix together flour, yeast, salt, herbs and olive oil to make a soft dough similar to pizza dough. Cover and let stand in a warm place for 20 minutes. pizza dough  FILLING: Sauté onion in olive oil until softened. Add tomatoes and cook over low heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add anchovies (if you don’t like anchovies, you can substitute them with tuna), capers, olives, salt and pepper.  ASSEMBLE: Divide the dough in half. Put one half of the dough into a pizza pan. Spoon in filling. Cover with the top crust, using a little water to seal the crusts together. Prick dough with a fork. Brush with olive oil, cover and let stand in a warm place for 15 minutes.  Bake for 1 hour in 200 C (392 F) oven.

Scampi Buzara  Ingredients: 1 kg (2 lb) scampi, washed ml (4-8 fl oz) olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbsp tomato puree 100 ml (4 fl oz) red wine 1 Tbsp cognac 1 Tbsp parsley, chopped breadcrumbs 1 tsp black pepper salt  Preparation:  Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Shortly sauté garlic, add tomato puree.  Add scampi and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. Add wine and cognac. Boil slowly for about 10 minutes.  Add parsley. If sauce is too thin, thicken it with breadcrumbs.

Krafne or Pokladnice (Homemade Doughnut Recipe)  Ingredients: 1/2 l (1 pint) warm milk 4 tsp sugar 80 g (3 oz) yeast 1 kg (2 lb) flour 4 tsp salt 100 g (3.5 oz) margarine, melted 4 egg yolks 2 Tbsp rum grated zest of 1 orange grated zest of 1 lemon 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup apricot jam or jelly  Preparation:  Dissolve the sugar in warm milk, blend in the yeast and leave for 15 minutes. Mix together flour, yeast and remaining ingredients to make a dough.  Knead lightly on a floured board; shape into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.  Punch dough down. On lightly floured board roll dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough into 3-inch rounds. On half of the rounds place about 1 teaspoon of jam or jelly. Brush edge with a little egg white then top with remaining rounds of dough. Press to seal edges. Cover with cloth and let rise for 30 minutes or until double in bulk.  Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or skillet. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, top side down, 3 to 4 at a time. Fry, turning several times, until golden all over. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

ROZATA (Creme Caramel Custard)  Ingredients: CUSTARD: 8 eggs 8 Tbsp sugar 1 l (1 qt) milk grated zest of 1 lemon 2 Tbsp rum or maraschino CARAMEL: 2 Tbsp sugar  Preparation:  Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).  CARAMEL: Spread 2 Tbsp sugar evenly over the bottom of flan mold. Heat the dish until sugar is melted to a golden-brown syrup. Let cool until hardened.  CUSTARD: Beat eggs with sugar until foamy. Add lemon zest, rum and milk. Pour mixture into the prepared flan mold.  Place mold in a baking pan. Pour enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the mold, cover with aluminum foil. Place in the oven and bake until set, about 1 hour.  To serve, invert a flan mold of Rozata onto the center of a large plate and remove the mold. Serve with whipped cream.

PINZA Sweet Easter Bread  Ingredients: 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) flour 20 g (0.7 oz ) fresh yeast ¼ l (1 cup) warm milk 2 eggs 200 g (7 oz) sugar ½ tsp salt 1/8 tsp nutmeg 1/8 tsp allspice grated zest of 1 orange grated zest of ½ lemon 120 g (4 oz) butter, softened 50 g (1.7 oz) candied lemon rind 1 egg yolk   Preparation:  Sift flour into a large bowl. Make a “well” in the middle. Add yeast and milk. Stir with little bit of flour. Cover, let rise for 15 minutes.  In a separate bowl beat eggs with sugar, salt, nutmeg, allspice and grated lemon zest. Add to flour mixture. Add butter, orange and lemon rind. Knead the dough again, cover and let rise for 30 minutes.  Put the dough in greased 10 inch (26 cm) cake tin. Let rise for 15 minutes. With a pair of kitchen scissors, make three 1 1/2-inch-deep, 3-inch long intersecting cuts that meet at the center. The cuts should be quite deep (at least halfway through the loaf) to allow the dough to rise up from the center and form the traditional crests on the loaf.  Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F). Brush with the egg yolk over top and bake for minutes.

ZLEVANKA  Ingredients: 3 whole eggs 15 Tbs sugar 2 cups corn flour 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup sour cream 1 cup cooking oil 1 cup milk 1/2 kg (1 lb 2 oz) cottage cheese 2 tsp vanilla 2 tsp baking powder  Preparation:  Mix egg, sugar and vanilla.  Add remaining ingredients.  Pour into a large oiled baking pan.  Bake for cca 20 minutes on 180 C (350 F).

 TRY AND ENJOY THE CROATIAN FOOD!!!