Losinj... Croatian pastries and a BBQ in the woods

Burek, filled with spinach and soured cheese

Losinj, an island in Istria, in the North of Croatia, was our final stop before our trip back to London (for the Olympics!!!) via Pula.

There seems to be a divide in Croatian cuisine that I've experienced whilst traveling up the country.One the one hand, fresh fish are in abundance and there is a clear Italian and meditterabnean influence (with Pizzas and pasta dishes, plus the use of garlic, capers and aubergines). However, there's also a clear Eastern European influence.

You may remember my reference to 'Sarma' and 'Burek' in my post on Serbia a couple of months ago and their love of flaky pastries, filled with soured cheese. I found the same in Croatia. My favourite were these 'Burek' (same name as in Serbia too), which where filled with spinach and cheese and rolled tightly before baking. The perfect cheap snack.

In addition to gorging on Burek, I did manage to light up the BBQ once again on Losinj - a quiet island, frequented by a multitude of German and Austrian campers. We stayed on what is probably one of the largest campsites in Croatia (Camping Cikat) but somehow still managed to find ourselves a secluded spot in the woods, a short walk from the clearest sea I have ever seen.

It's amazing the variety of food you can cook on a BBQ - it's not just for grilling sausages. Given we were camping in a wood, I thought that a simple dish of mushrooms and garlic on toast (served with local red wine) would be appropriate.

Sadly, this post marks the end of our Croatian trip, and the end of our European adventure as a whole.

However, the summer does not end here. 

Last week we flew back to London in time to watch the women's pairs rowing final (well done Helen and Heather, go Team GB!).

We are now on a different continent (Asia!) and over the next few weeks I will be posting about the sights, smells and tastes of the next leg of our adventure - in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bali and Singapore.

Please let me know if you have any recommendations!

Farewell to Sicily - an ode to the land of plenty

We are leaving Sicily with heavy hearts and even heavier bellies. The food here is incredible. The freshest seafood, purple shining aubergines, juicy sweet peaches and the best citrus fruits I have ever tasted. I will miss the freshly squeezed juice available on every street corner.

I bought capers on the Aeolian Island of Stromboli (which also happens to be an active volcano, see picture I took from a boat below!) to make a Sicilian classic - caponata on the BBQ (I know traditionally it's not technically made on a BBQ but that's all I have to hand and the aubergines did taste wonderfully smokey after being char grilled before being added to fresh tomatoes, charred red peppers, garlic, red wine and capers). This accompanied the freshest tuna steak - also done on the Barbie - straight from the fisherman in Lipari...

And here are some more pictures of Sicily and the beautiful Aeolian islands of Stromboli and Panerea... including an eruption...

Smoked swordfish and tuna carpaccio, Granduca terrace, Taormina

Next stop, Southern Italy. Our aim is to get across to the Adriatic coast as easily as possible. Watch this space.

Cefalu, Finale di Polina and the christening of the BBQ

After two nights in Palermo, soaking up the city atmosphere, we headed East, along the coast by train to Cefalu.

Pronounced Che-fal-oo, this village is perched above the sea and is the antithesis of Palermo. Winding narrow streets, small fishing boats bobbing in the harbour, and a thriving cafe culture.

We only spent a couple of hours there before hopping on a bus that was headed towards Finale di Polina and our camping base of Rais Gerbi for the next few days.

The guidebooks I read before coming to Sicily, and the locals we have spoken to along the way, have seemed incredulous that anyone would want - or be able to - back pack through Sicily and Southern Italy due to the high cost of hotels, and the apparent total lack of coherent infrastructure. I have to say I totally disagree. Yes the 40 degree heat can make it a bit tricky to lug a back pack around a city, avoiding speeding mopeds, and the trains, ferries, buses and hydrofoils are somewhat sporadic. But that makes a perfect recipe for travelling... we are having to be totally flexible with our timings, which has meant we have discovered things we would not have done had we already had transport arranged (our impromptu trip round Cefalu for example).

When we checked the directions to the campsite before we arrived in Sicily, it mentioned that our base was just a few kilometres from Cefalu. We thought that would be fine to walk However, with heavy back packs, 37 degree heat in the shade, and the fact that it was midday when we arrived, meant we decided to hop on a bus instead. It was lucky we did... 35 minutes drive later, we arrived at the campsite.

Rais Gerbis is situated just outside Finale di Polina - a small village on the sea, with the main town (Polina) perched on the towering cliffs a mile or so behind the water. We had the camping terraces virtually to ourselves and our own plot right by the waters edge. Turquoise waters, an incredible vista from our tent, a short walk to the swimming pool and the sea, plus the fact that we had our own little private paradise meant we could ignore the ants eating our ankles as we set up camp.

The view from our terrace

The campsite shop was well stocked with local Prosciutto, mozzarella, freshly baked bread and Sicilian red wine made from the local Nero D'Avola grape. After a 10 minute walk into the village we returned with vine tomatoes, a bag of ripe fragrant peaches, zucchini and a bag of fresh gnocchi. The perfect meal to christen our BBQ:

Fresh gnocchi with mozzarella, zucchini and a chargrilled tomato and Nero D'Avolo sauce...

Ingredients:

• 1 pack fresh gnocchi
• half a courgette, sliced on the diagonal
• 1 ball of mozarella, diced 
• 3 x large tomatoes, cut in half
• splash of red wine 

To start, make sure you get your BBQ nice and hot! Char grill the courgette slices, then divide between two plates, with the diced mozzarella. Bring a pan of water to the boil and while it's heating up, place the tomatoes on the BBQ, skin side down, until they start to bubble. Turn over and grill for a further 5 minutes until soft and charred. 

Add the gnocchi to the pan and cook for 2 minutes until soft. Remove and divide between the two plates. Return the pan to the heat, add a splash of oil, the charred tomatoes and the red wine and reduce for 5 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the gnocchi and eat... preferably with a glass of red and a great view. 

Next post... Catania, Pasta Norma, Mount Etna and the most incredible fish market and swordfish auction!