Healthy Croatian food Sara Eva Jakobović, Ema Šimaga and Paula Šušković Gustav Krklec Primary School Zagreb, Croatia

What is traditional Croatian food? It is a great question to ask when traveling to a new country if you want to try the best local cuisine and who does not? Here are some examples: 1. Chicken soup 2. Fish soup 3. Spicy chutney 4. Stewed green beans and fried chicken breast 5. Risotto with courgettes and shrimps

Food from Croatia has many influences largely from the Italians, Turks, Hungarians plus a few others This influence on food over the generations has shaped the types of Croatian food, both continental and Mediterranean

Chicken soup Ingredients: Traditional homemade soup prepared for weekly lunches Ingredients: 1. 1 small chicken 2. 30 grams of carrots(sliced into rings) 3. Half celery root 4. 1 small onion 5. Half cup of noodles 6. 4 cloves garlic 7. 2 liters of water 8. Parsley, salt and pepper

Preparation: Cook vegetables and meat in 2 liters of water. Before it is cooked remove the onion, parsley and meat. Cut the meat and return it to the soup. In a separate pot, cook the noodles and add them to the already finished soup. Season with dill.

Fish soup Ingredients: 1. Dentex 2. Sea bass or grouper 3. 1 or 2 onions 4. 4 tablespoons oil 5. 5 or 6 peppercorns 6. 200 grams rice 7. 2 tablespoon wine vinegar 8. Bay leaf and salt

Preparation: Thoroughly clean the fish and cook it in salted water for about half an hour. Add pepper, onion and bay leaf. Strain the cooked soup, add the rice and cook for another half an hour. Add a few drops of wine vinegar. Season with salt and serve hot.

Spicy chutney Ingredients: 1. 2 deciliters of sunflower oil 2. 2 pounds of red pepper 3. 1 pound of eggplant 4. 1 whole garlic 5. 1 tablespoon of salt 6. Pepper

Preparation: Bake the peppers and eggplant in a hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes,Cut the eggplants in a half. After baking, cover with a cloth that will catch steam.Wait 10 minutes and start peeling bark. Cut the peppers and eggplants and garlic too. Put the prepared mixture in a large and wide pot. Add sunflower oil, juice remained after baking and hot pepper. Heat and stir constantly. When chutney begins to spurt, cover it. When the chutney is cooked add salt and pepper. Pour in hot bottles to the top, close the lid and turn upside down. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Turn them and wrap in a blanket, let it gradually cool down. Cover with a cloth that will catch the steam.

Stewed green beans and fried chicken breast Ingredients: 1. Green beans 2. 3 or 4 potatoes 3. 1 onion 4. 2 deciliters tomato paste 5. Spices 6. Chicken breast 7. Egg 8. Bread crumbs 9. Sesame oil

Preparation: Slice the onion into small pieces, add the green beans and potatoes cut into small pieces,tomato paste and water. Cover all with water and let it stewed. Add spices to taste. If necessary, stir. It takes about 1 hour to prepare. Cut chicken breasts into pieces and season. Let it rest. Whisk in a bowl two eggs for frying. Put the bread crumbs in another bowl. In the bread crumbs add a tablespoon of sesame. Roll chicken in egg, then in bread crumbs. Bake in hot oil.

Risotto with courgettes and shrimps Ingredients: 1. 350 grams of rice 2. 1 small onion 3. 500 grams of shrimps 4. 2 green courgettes 5. 1 cup of white wine 6. About 1 liter of vegetable or fish stock 7. 2 tablespoon of olive oil 8. Salt, pepper and basil

Preparation: Wash shrimps and courgettes. Dry the courgettes and cut the ends. Cut them into slices first, then the width to get the sticks. In the deeper pot for risotto, heat the oil. Add chopped onion and fry it over low heat until it is translucent. Turn up the heat, add the rice and fry it for about 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly until you feel that rice catches the bottom of the container. Pour half a cup of white wine and let it evaporate, and then continue to baste gradually the hot broth and add one tablespoon of olive oil.

Add the shrimps and fry them for 3 to 4 minutes on all sides over medium heat. Add the courgettes to the pan with the shrimps and to stir fry all together another 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. About 5 minutes before it is cooked, add the shrimps and courgettey in the pot with rice and cook the risotto until the end. Cover and let it stand 1 to 2 minutes. Arrange the plates and garnish with basil leaves.