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!

Korcula... getting excited about the wrong kind of arancini

A quick (4 hour) ferry ride from Dubrovnik and we arrived in Korcula, a sleepy and much quieter town than the hustle and bustle of the city we had just come from. We stayed in an apartment right in the centre, a short walk from the old city walls.

The food in Korcula is, as you might expect, heavily fish-focused. However, there does seem to be a stronger Italian influence than we experienced in Dubrovnik. Pizzas and pasta and bruschetta aplenty here.

Bruschetta with garlic, tomato and anchovies

Nearly at the end of our European adventure but this glass is definitely half full...

Another great speciality in Korcula (and one I sadly have no photos of) is arancini. You may have seen my post about the start of my arancini obsession in Sicily. Unfortunately, my joy at seeing the word 'arancini' on a sign and racing into a shop to buy a delicious stuffed rice ball was short lived. Arancini in Korcula it turns out, are actually a version of candied orange peel. Sweet and delicious, but not the savoury snack I had anticipated.

After a few days of serious pizza-eating and soaking up the sun in Korcula, on to Hvar...

Summer in the Alps... and a little bit of news

We have spent the last couple of weeks enjoying the calm of the Alps in the summertime. Flower-carpeted, snow-capped mountains, the sound of cow bells, village markets, scorching sunshine...

Tomorrow morning, we will be leaving for our summer adventure - with a backpack, tent and BBQ. And of course armed with my camera. We have a flight to Palermo in Sicily at 6am, and a flight back from Pula in the North of Croatia six weeks later.

Because of this, for the next few weeks, this blog is likely to be rather photo heavy, starting with a flavour of the Alps...

Spaghetti Il Nero di Sepia - with sea bream, Indonesian tiger prawns and black garlic

I've been looking for a bulb of black garlic since visiting Ferdie's Food Lab at the end of last year, and sampling Simon's prawns with fermented garlic. It's sweet, sticky, and unlike anything else you will taste (although it is slightly reminiscent of blackened, burnt onions, but much much sweeter and without the bitterness).

I finally managed to track it down and paired it with spaghetti Il Nero di Sepia (squid ink spaghetti), which we brought back from Priano last year... in keeping with the black theme.

Sea Bream fillets, giant Indonesian tiger prawns (absolute beasts), thinly sliced radish and plenty of lemon to add a sharp tang to the sticky sweetness of the garlic...

http://iblog4.me/

Supper for an Indian Summer - gnocchi with garlicky leeks & mint

I can't actually believe how stiflingly hot it is in London at the moment. My kitchen is about 100C, even with the windows wide open. Not that I'm complaining, it's just not what I normally expect when October's round the corner.

When it's that hot, something Autumnal and wholesome like a partridge pie (which was the original plan), really won't cut it - something lighter (mint, gnocchi, peas and pan-fried garlicky leeks, topped with Parmesan) is much more likely to hit the mark...