Week 6: 101 Croatians
What do Marco Polo, John Malkovich, Mario Andretti, Eric Bana and the Dalmation dog all have in common? If you connect all the dots, you'll soon discover that they are all Croatian. So are Misho and Tania, who own Restaurant Misho's in the suburb Taringa, 5km southwest from Brisbane's city centre. The suburb is dominated by a long ridge with steep slopes to either side. The aboriginal word Taringa literally means "place of stones". It is mainly residential, and a popular neighbourhood for students, as it is cycling distance to Queensland University.
Today, about 51 000 Croatians call Australia home. There were essentially 4 waves of migration to Australia: during the 1851 gold rush; resettlement of displaced people after WWII; during the anti- Croatian sentiment in Yugoslavia in the 1960's/70's, and more recently during the government's "Family Re-union" program. Sense of family is key to the Croatian fabric, which was evident at Misho's, with most tables occupied by large family groups, representing all generations.
I knew very little about Croatia, and even less about their cuisine until last night. Misho and Tania, who have lived in Australia for nearly 50 years, come from the breathtakingly beautiful Dalmatian Coastline on the east coast of Croatia. Tania explained, that there the cuisine is dominated by the abundance of seafood and the Mediterranean influence. There is huge respect for the integrity of the fresh produce, and very little is done to alter its natural flavours. Most seafood is grilled whole, with minimalist interference (maybe a bit of butter, garlic and parsley).
So, Dobar Tek!
Charcuterie is part of Croatian tradition, and we duly started with a platter of grilled skinless pork sausages washed down with the obligatory Croatian beer. Then I had the signature grilled fish dish, which must rate as one of the best pieces of fish I have had in a very long time. Our friends Hubie and Lani shared the Monarski Pijat, or grilled seafood platter, and Keith ordered the Brudet, the Croatian version of the French Bouillabaise or the Italian Brodetto. It is an impressive fish stew with a delicate fish stock at it's core, around which the layers of flavour are built. The tomato is extremely subtle, and together with the reduced white wine, it adds a fragile acidity that glues the ingredients together. This is usually served with soft polenta. If this is how they eat in Dalmatia, no wonder the average life expectancy is 75!
But Dalmatia is only one of many regions in Croatia. The mainland food is characterised by contact with its neighbours (Hungary, Austria, Slovenia), and the cuisine is often described as the "cuisine of regions", as it is so varied. Former Yugoslav recipes also feature prominently. Boetie and Nielen both had the Beef Pasticada (beef larded with bacon, poached in red wine vinegar and port, served with fried gnocchi). And yes, I know they broke rule #3 ( see week1), but sometimes one has to be forgiving.
For dessert the most popular choice was the Rozata (Croatian version of the crème caramel), and I devoured the Palacinke ( crepes with sweet macerated strawberry filling).
If we lived in medieval times, we would have had to trade a couple of kuna (martens) pelts to pay for our meal. As Boetie informed us, the kuna is the national animal ( family of the mink...hence the value of the pelts). Today, it is also the name of the Croatian currency. One Aussie Dollar (at today's exchange rate) converts to 5.1 Kuna, and the agile furry little animal still features on the coins and notes. Fortunately, no blood was spilled, as the modern convenience of the credit card did the job.
We learnt multiple interesting facts about Croatia last night, too many to mention. However, did you know that the necktie is an Croatian invention? It originated in the region Kravata, where wives and girlfriends would tie a narrow scarf around their partner's neck before they went off to war, to remind him of her love. Today over 600 million neckties are worn daily all across the world.
Now we can tick Croatia, and trade our neckties for lederhosen. Yes, next week wir fahren nach Deutschland!
Croatian crème caramel
Signature grilled fish
Misho's Mornarski Pijat
Brudet Marko Polo
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