Around the World in 80 Dishes: Croatia

Slowly, but surely, I am making my way around the world with the goal of making a main course from 80 different countries (with four bonus meals made based upon the cuisines of peoples who do not have their own state).  The selection of countries is somewhat random, somewhat by opportunity.  My 29th challenge falls in the latter category.  I knew I would be making a seafood dish and I had it in my mind to make a brodetto, which is an Italian fish soup (also known as Cacciucco in Tuscany or even Bouillabaise in France).  As I was searching for a recipe online, I came across one for Brodet.  And that became my 29th challenge ... to make that dish, which is a main course from the country of Croatia.

Very briefly, an independent Croatian kingdom emerged in the 10th century A.D. The independence eventually faded when the country came under a personal union with Hungary.  While Croatia remained a separate state, it was effectively controlled from Budapest, and, the front lines in the wars against the Ottoman Empire.  When the Ottomans were driven back, Croatia became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.   After World War I ended, which saw the breakup of that empire, Croatia became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.  It was united with other states or regions, including Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia. Croatia had a brief period of "independence" during World War II, when it was allied with Nazi Germany, but the country found itself back in a broader multi-ethnic state -- namely, Yugoslavia -- after that war.  Croatia remained part of Yugoslavia until it was able to obtain its independence in 1991.  Since that time, it has been known as the Republic of Croatia.

This history, as briefly recounted above, provides some insight into the culture and cuisine of Croatia.  As one could expect, the centuries under Austro-Hungarian rule would show through with German and Hungarian influences in some of the cuisine.  This influence is particularly pronounced in the cuisine of two of three regions of Croatia.  These regions are Slavonia, which consists of the North and East of the country, as well as central Croatia, which includes the capital of Zagreb.  The food features ingredients such as black pepper, paprika and garlic, as well as dishes of smoked meats, breaded meats, goulash and stuffed cabbage grace the plates here.

And, then there is the third region.  It is the coastal region, stretching from the Istrian peninsula down all the way down the coast.  This region is known as Istria and Dalmatia.  The coastline lies on the opposite side of the Adriatic sea from Italy.  Thus, it seems only logical that the Croats would have their own version of a Brodetto.  From Porec to Dubrovnik, and everywhere in between (except for that small sliver of coastline that belongs to Bosnia-Herzegovina), there are ports and fishing villages where local fishermen could go out and return with a bounty that could end up in a fish stew.  Of course, the fishermen sell off all the good fish and keep the less desirable ones for the stew.  That fish stew would become my personal culinary challenge. 

MAIN COURSE

This challenge represents an instance where I am making a dish that represents the cuisine of one country, even though I know that there are similar dishes in other countries.  Indeed, there are some similarities between a Croatian Brodet and an Italian Brodetto.  The similarities lie in the use of garlic onions and tomatoes in the base.  There are also differences.  A Brodet uses additional vegetables, such as leeks, and red wine vinegar which is not usually used in a Brodetto.  (The cook probably drinks the wine as he makes the Brodetto, as I often do when I make the dish). 

This Brodet is a little more luxurious than one would probably find being made by local fishermen at a Croatian fishing town.  I used monkfish, black grouper and halibut.  Each fish contributed to the dish, whether by texture (monkfish) or taste (grouper and halibut).  I also used some medium sized shrimp (about 21 to 26 count) and some mussels.  As for the wine, I could not locate any Croatian red wine, so I went with a wine from an Italian province across the water ... a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (which is a wine I have used to make an Abruzzese Brodetto).

The recipe I used is from Arousing Appetites, which also recommended serving polenta with the Brodet.  A polenta was made for this dish, although it is not in the picture.  

BRODET

Recipe adapted from Arousing Appetites
Serves 6-8

Ingredients (for the brodet):

2/3 cup olive oil

1 heaping handful of fresh parsley (about 1 cup when chopped)

1 lemon juiced

15 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound of monkfish (or similar denser, firmer, meatier fish)

1 pound of grouper (or similar flavorful, flaky fish)

1 pound of halibut

1/2 pound of raw, medium size shrimp (21-26 count)

1/2 pound of mussels, washed

2 onions, chopped

2 small leeks, the white and green stalk parts halved and thinly sliced

2-3 fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced

2-3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup of red wine

1 teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar

2 bay leaves

3 stalks fresh rosemary, chopped

4 cups fish stock or water

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients (for the polenta):

2 cups water

2 cups fish broth

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup polenta

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup grated Parmesan (optional)

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Marinate the fish.  In a food processor, combine the fresh parsley, 1/2 cup olive oil, 4 cloves of garlic and lemon juice together to create a thick and rich puree.  In a large bowl, rub the puree into the fish and shrimp and then let marinate for at least 1 hour.

2.  Begin making the polenta.  Add water, fish broth and salt in a sauce pot and bring it to a boil.  Add the polenta and whisk vigorously through the water.  Keep the pot on high heat as the water beings to re-boil.  Once the pot begins to boil again, turn the heat down to the lowest possible simmer setting.  Simmer the polenta for at least 45 minutes, whisking and [ the polenta around as frequently as every 2 to 3 minutes.  

3.  Begin to make the Brodet.  After about 15 minutes of cooking the polenta, bring a soup pot with the remaining oil over high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the onion and remaining minced garlic.  Saute for five minutes.  Add the leeks and saute for another 2 minutes.  As the leek and onion become gradually softer, add the tomatoes and tomato paste and mix vigorously.  Reduce the heat to medium high and cook for another 2 minutes.  Once everything is mixed well and the tomatoes have softened, add the red wine, red wine vinegar and red pepper flakes.  

4.  Add the fish.  Layer the fish on top of the vegetables in the soup pot.  Once all the fish is in, add the fish stock, bay leaves and rosemary into the pot.  Keep the soup pot uncovered and cook on high heat for 15 minutes, but do not stir the pot.  If you need to jostle the ingredients around, pick up the soup pot by the handles and give it a bit of a shake.  Add more fish stock or water as needed to keep the fish submerged in case of evaporation.  

5.  Add the shellfish.  After about 15 minutes, place the shrimp and mussels on top of all other ingredients and submerge in the broth.  Cover the soup pot and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes to help cook the shellfish. After 5 minutes, remove the brodet from the heat and set aside for a moment.

6.  Finish the dish.  Take the polenta off the heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter.  As the butter melts and the polenta becomes creamy, finish by adding the cheese to the polenta and whisking it through until the cheese melts.  Serve the brodet with a side of polenta. 

*          *          *

Having made Cacciucco and Brodetto, I have to admit that I was not expecting to have a different culinary experience with the Brodet.  However, the Brodet did have its own flavor and taste.  The use of the wine and the vinegar definitely gave the broth a more acidic taste that a Brodetto.  Also, the marination of the fish in the parsley, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice paste added another layer of flavors to the broth.

Overall, this was a very good dish.  The presentation was clearly lacking, but the taste made up for it.  With another challenge in the books, I can now look forward to the next one.  Given my last two challenges (this one and Italy) focused heavily on seafood, I might just tip the scales towards a challenge that involves something that walks on land, such as a cow, lamb or chicken.  Until next time ...

ENJOY!

Gumbo aux Poissons, Huitres et Chevrettes

I asked my beautiful Angel, Clare, "what would you like for dinner on New Year's Eve?"  Her answer, "seafood gumbo."  So, I decided that I would try to make the best damn gumbo ever.  I did my research, reviewing not only modern day gumbo recipes, but also historic gumbo recipes, including a couple of recipes that date back to the late nineteenth century. I studied the difference between Cajun gumbo and Creole gumbo. I contemplated the ingredients, particularly the seafood, that I would use in the gumbo.  And, after all this research, I felt ready to cook.

However, I planned on making my own gumbo. I was not going to simply follow a recipe ... or any recipe.  I decided that for this "Gombo" (the name that I saw used to describe the dish in some old Cajun recipes), it would be a Chef Bolek Original, inspired by the gumbos of the Cajun bayous.  There was one twist ... Clare is a pescatarian, who does not eat meat but does eat seafood.  So, with andouille sausage, chicken and other meats off the menu, I still endeavored to be as Cajun as someone from the Midwest could try to be, choosing to make my Gombo with what the Cajun would call "poissons" (fish), "huitres" (oysters) and "chevrettes" (shrimp). 

With the selection of seafood, I turned my attention to the roux.  Perhaps the most important aspect of this dish is the roux.  My prior experience with roux has generally been successful; however, I always left thinking that I could have gotten the roux darker.  This time I worked to get the roux as dark as I thought I could get it ... or at least as dark as I could before I began to worry about burning it.  I saw the color go from light brown, to brown, to chocolate brown, to dark chocolate.  Although I did not reach mahogany, which was my goal, I did manage to get the darkest roux that I have ever achieved.

After getting the roux to the desired color, the key to cooking the rest of the gumbo is timing.  I tried to cut the fish pieces in even sized pieces that would cook in a few minutes.  I also made a change that is usually not done in cooking seafood.  Generally speaking, one almost always puts in shrimp last, because they cook fast and can overcook fast.  So, typically, one would follow the fish with the oysters and finish with the shrimp.  I bucked convention by putting the shrimp in next and then turning off the heat after the shrimp cooked for a couple of minutes on each side.  I then placed the oysters in the gumbo.  The residual heat would finish cooking the shrimp and cook the oysters just enough so that they were cooked on the outside and a little soft on the inside.  This resulted in the perfect oysters. 

In the end, I have to say that I surprised myself.  I think I made a pretty good gumbo, especially considering that there is not a drop of Cajun blood in me.  Clare also loved the gumbo so I can say that I made the best damn gumbo that I could for my beautiful Angel! 

GUMBO AUX POISSONS, HUITRES ET CHEVRETTES

A Chef Bolek Original
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 whole fish (catfish, snapper, bass), scaled, filleted,

     and reserving the head and backbone

1/2 pint of oysters, liqueur reserved

1/2 pound of 26-30 count shrimp, shells reserved 

     and deveined

1/4 cup of canola oil

1/4 cup of flour

4 stalks of celery

2 carrots

1 1/2 onions

1/2 green pepper

4 bay leaves

Several dashes of Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon of ground red chile peppers

1 teaspoon of dried thyme or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 cups of fish stock

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Make the fish stock.  Place the head and backbone of the fish, along with the shrimp shells into a small stock pot.  Cut 1 onion into quarters and add it to the pot.  Cut two carrots and three celery stalks into quarters and add them to the pot.  Add 3 bay leaves, the dashes of Tabasco sauce, thyme and 10 cups of water.  Bring the pot to a boil and reduce to a strong simmer.  Let the stock cook for 1 hour.  

2.  Strain and reduce the fish stock.  Strain the fish stock.  Carefully pick through the backbone and the head for all the little pieces of fish meat.  After you have picked the bones and head, discard the parts and the vegetables.  You could get as much as a quarter of a cup of additional fish meat. Return the stock to a clean pot, add the oyster liqueur, and bring it back to a boil.  Reduce down until you have two cups of liquid.

3.  Make the roux.  Heat the canola oil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium.  Add the flour slowly, whisking the flour with the oil.  Continue to whisk the flour into the oil until completely incorporated.  Continue to cook the flour and oil until it reaches a dark chocolate to mahogany brown.

4.  Add the vegetables.  Add the onions, celery, bell pepper and okra, stirring continuously.  Cook the vegetables for about ten minutes or until tender.  

5.  Add the fish stock.  Add 2 cups of fish stock in a steady stream or slowly to the roux over medium heat, stirring constantly to make sure the roux does not break up.  Once all of the fish stock has been added, add the ground chile pepper.  Reduce the heat to low and let the gumbo simmer for one hour. Stir occasionally.

6.  Prepare the rice.  Prepare 1 cup of rice according to the instructions on the package or box.

7.  Add the seafood.  Cut the fish fillet into even bite size pieces.  Add the fish to the gumbo first and cook for about three minutes or until the fish is opaque.  Add the shrimp and cook for another three minutes until they are opaque.  Turn off the heat  Finally, add the oysters and cook until they just become opaque, which should take a couple of minutes.  If the oysters do not seem like they are cooking, turn the heat back on low for a couple of minutes.

8.  Plate the Gumbo.  Spoon the gumbo into a bowl.  Spoon a cup of rice in the middle of the bowl or serve it on the side.

PAIRING THIS DISH

When it comes to pairing, gumbo has a surprising flexibility that makes it possible to pair both beers and wines with this dish.  When it comes to a beer, a pilsner or lager beer would work best, particularly if the gumbo is really spicy.  One such beer that would pair well with this dish is the following:

Abita Brewery -- S.O.S.
Weizen Pils
Louisiana, USA
Malt and slight hop flavors

When it comes to pairing this dish with a wine, red wines can be ruled out.  Red wines would only underscore the heavy nature of the gumbo.  A white wine or, even better, a rosé would be a better pairing for a gumbo.  One such wine is the following:

Famille Bougrier -- Rosé d'Anjou (2010).
100% Cabernet Franc
D'Anjou AOC, Loire Valley, France
Strawberry and raspberry flavors, with a little sweetness.

ENJOY!