Neretvanski brudet od jegulja i žaba

Treću godinu za redom odlazimo u dolinu Neretve, točnije u Opuzen na njihov Opuzen Film Festival. Moram vam reć, znaju tamo dobro poist i popit.
Pošto se tik pred odlazak rodio ovaj blog, morali smo skinuti sa našeg popisa i njihov specijalitet, neretvanski brudet od jegulja i žaba.
Kontaktirali smo našu dragu prijateljicu Tinu Ključe Mihaljević da nas spoji s najboljima. Tina se dala na posao i uputila nas u restoran Đuđa i Mate gdje nas je ugostio Jure Taslak.

For a third year in a row we went to a valley of Neretva, to be exact to Opuzen for their Opuzen Film Festival. I have to say, they sure know how to eat and drink well.
Since this blog was born right before we went there, we had to cross of our list their specialty too, Neretva's fish stew made from eels and frogs.
We contacted our dear friend Tina Ključe Mihaljević to connect us with the best. Tina did her job and told us to go to restaurant Đuđa i Mate where our host was Jure Taslak.

Odmaknuli smo se malo od Opuzena do Vida, prekrasnog naselja nastalog na mjestu nekadašnjeg rimskog grada Narone. Preko puta našeg cilja, restorana koji će nam pomoći s receptom za taj famozni brodet, nalazi se Arheološki muzej Narona, izgrađen na samim ostacima antičkog foruma. Svakako bih preporučila posjetiti, prije ili poslije ručka. Gušt je isti.

We got a bit away from Opuzen, for this, to Vid, beautiful village placed where once was Roman city Narona. Across our destination, the restaurant that is going to help us with this famous stew, is archeological museum Narona, built on the ruins of ancient Forum.
I would definitely recommend visiting it before or after lunch. It's the same pleasure.

Ajmo mi na žabe i jegulje.
Đuđa i Mate nudi sve. Od smještaja, izleta, fotosafarija, do onoga što nas najviše zanima. Gastronomija. Poznati po tradicionalnoj neretvanskoj kuhinji, nisu nas razočarali. Oduševljeni prijemom i ljubaznošću domaćina, zamolili smo ih da nas puste u svoju kuhinju. Pošto ćemo u Zagrebu teško doći do pravih neretvanskih žaba i jegulja, ovo je bila savršena prilika da saznamo kako se zapravo pravi brudet radi. Iako kažu, svako mjesto u dolini Neretve ima svoj recept za žabe i jegulje, i svaki se u svoga kune da je jedini pravi, mi ćemo s vama podijeliti ovaj. Pa ajmo.

Recept:

0,5 kg jegulje
9 žaba
100 g luka
lovor
sol
rajčica koncentrat
kvasina (ocat)
ljute papričice

Da se razumijemo, količine su odokativne, koliko sam uspjela pohvatiti što je gospođa spretnim rukama radila.
U pravu neretvansku teču, stavila je ulje na kojem je prodinstala luk, posolila ga da omekša. S lukom se dinsta ljuta papričica i lovorov list.  Kad je luk omekšao, dodala je koncentrat rajčice, podlila malo vodom. Na to ide riba.

Let's move on to eels and frogs.
Đuđa i Mate offer everything. From rooms, daytrips, photosafaries to what we are interested in most.  Gastronomy. Famous for their traditional Neretva's cuisine, they did not disappoint. Overwhelmed with the reception and kindness of our hosts we asked them if they would let us in their kitchen. Since it would be hard to find Neretva's eels and frogs in Zagreb, this was the perfect opportunity to find out how this stew is made. Even though they say that every village in valley of Neretva has its recipe for frogs and eels, and each one swears theirs is the true one, we are going to share this one with you. So let's do it.

Ingredients:

Half a kilo of eels
9 frogs
100 g of onion
Laurel leafs
Salt
Tomato concentrate,
Vinegar
Hot peppers



Let's be clear, these quantities are estimated from what I managed to catch while the lady chefs' skillful hands were working.

Into a true Neretva's teča (shallow bowl), she added oil in which she sautéed onions and salted them so they'd get soft. Hot peppers and laurel leaf are sautéing alongside onions. When the onions got soft she added tomato concentrate and a bit of water. And on that goes the fish.

Jegulje su još plivale dok smo došli, vještim potezima, u tren oka je naša bila očišćena. Kako je jegulja ljepša kad je izrezana na "zvona". zamolila sam da nam pokažu kako se čisti jegulja na taj način. Naime, znam da se inače zareže dužinom i izvuče utroba, no pošto oni zarežu jegulju prvo na zvona i žele da ostane na kosti, svako zvono se posebno čisti. Srećom, ovo nisam morala ja raditi jer mislim da bi trajalo vječno. U kuhinji restorana, to je gotovo dok trepneš.

When we first arrived, the eels were still swimming, with skillful moves they were cleaned in a blink of an eye. Because eels look prettier if they are cut like "bells" I asked them to show us how to clean it that way. Otherwise, usual way of cleaning eels is to cut it lengthwise and pull out the guts, but they first cut the eel to "bells" and want it to stay on bones, so they clean each bell separately. Luckily, I didn't have to do this, otherwise it would last for an eternity. In the restaurant kitchen it was finished in the blink of an eye.

Znači, jegulja je u teči, zalije se još vodom i posoli se. Nakon 15 minuta, ulijeva se kvasina. Jegulji je potrebno 35 minuta da se skuha a pred sam kraj, dodaju se žabe. Rekli su mi da je tako sa svježim žabama koje oni koriste, no ako se koriste uvozne, do kakvih mi lakše dođemo, ipak se trebaju dulje kuhati, gotovo od početka sa jeguljom.

So, eel in the teča, poured in some water and added salt. After 15 minutes, vinegar is poured in. Eel needs 35 minutes to cook, and just before it's done, frogs are added. I was told that is the case with fresh frogs, but the imported ones have to be cooked longer, almost from the beginning with eels.

I to je to. Čini se poprilično jednostavno, no umijeća ima itekoliko. I još jedan važan dio. Prilikom kuhanja, jelo se ne miješa, već se teča okreće.
Kažu u neretvanskim selima, dobar brudet je onaj koji kad se okrene na sturu (trsku), ostane na sturi.

And that's it. It looks pretty simple, but there is a lot of skill in it. One more important part. During the cooking the meal isn't mixed, but teča is turned. 
They say in villages around Neretva that the good stew is the one which, if you turn it on a stura, stays on a stura (reed).

Naš je bome bio dobar, tradicionalno poslužen s palentom.

E sad, moji dojmovi. Prvi puta u životu sam probala i žabe i jegulju. Osobno, mislim da je to kao i sa filekima, ili voliš ili ne voliš. Moram priznati da su mi žabe bile odlične, samo sam se jako morala truditi da ne mislim na to da jedem žabe. Pojela sam ih sve. Brudet je bio pikantan i fino začinjen i uz čašu finog bijelog vina, išao je glatko.

Ours was really good, traditionally served with polenta.
Now, my impressions. For the first time in my life I tried frogs and eel. Personally, i think it's like fillets, you either like them or you don't. I have to admit I loved the frogs, I just had to try really hard to not to think of eating frogs. I ate all of them. Stew was spicy and well-seasoned and, with a glass of tasty white wine, went down smoothly.

Slijedeće što bih u dolini Neretve voljela probati? Pohane žabe. Šta ću, krenulo mi. I lisku. I ona je na popisu. Vidimo se u svakom slučaju slijedeće godine sa novim neretvanskim specijalitetima.

Next thing I'd love to try in valley of Neretva? Fried frogs. What can I say, I'm on a roll. And a fox. She's on a list too. In any case, we'll see you next year with new recipes from Neretva.

Mali dodatak postu o jeguljama i žabama. Poveli su nas na vožnju lađom rijekom Norin koja je pritok Neretve. Moram priznati da čišću rijeku nisam vidjela. Sama priroda je prekrasna, i nekako je ispalo da sam tokom cijelog izleta progovorila možda tri rečenice, što je za mene lajavu, itekako čudno. Samo sam gledala i uživala. Zelenilo, bistra voda, razne ptice koje slijeću i polijeću, ma raj za dušu. Čuvajte nam dolinu Neretve, želimo joj se vraćati stalno i uživati u njenim ljepotama.

Little addition to eel and frog post. They took us on a boat ride on river Norin which is a tributary to Neretva. I have to admit I have never seen a cleaner river. The nature itself is beautiful, and somehow, during the whole trip I spoke maybe 3 sentences, which is for a chatty me really weird.
Greenery, clean, see-through water and birds flying up and down are heaven for a soul. Take care of valley of Neretva, we wish to come back all the time and enjoy it's beauty.

Hvala dragim ljudima u restoranu Đuđa i Mate, zaista ste nas oduševili svojom ljubaznošću i stručnošću, i priuštili nam nezaboravan posjet Vidu, vidimo se dogodine ako ne prije.
Hvala i našoj dragoj Tini koja nas je dovela do Đuđe i Mate.

Thank you to the lovely people in the restaurant Đuđa i Mate, you really enchanted us with your kindness and professionalism, and gave us unforgettable visit to Vid. See you next year if not sooner.
Also, thank you to our dear Tina who got us to Đuđa i Mate.

Prijevod/translation: Margareta Tilošanec

Vilicom po gostima: Lignje na padelu

Vilicom po gostima će biti, ajmo reći, rubrika u kojoj ćemo gostovati s našim receptima po tuđim kuhinjama. Podnaslov ove rubrike za danas bi mogao biti: I modeli jedu jer nas je ovog puta ugostila inače naša gošća, što ispred objektiva, što ispod kista, draga Valentina i njen momak Željko.

Forking with guest is going to be, let's call it, a column in which we will be guests, along with our recipes in various kitchens. The subtitle of this column today could be: "Models eat, too", as our host was our frequent guest in front of the camera and under the brush, lovely Valentina and her boyfriend Željko.

Upozoreni da ćemo im vjerojatno razvaliti njihovu friško uređenu kuhinju, ipak su nas pozvali i bome nas lijepo ugostili. Valentina nas je iznenadila kolačem od domaćih višanja koji je obogatila sladoledom od vanilije i umakom koji je napravila od istih višanja, meda i malo vode. I ajme što je bilo dobro. Morat ću se ubrzo i sama počet bavit desertima, ovo je bio odličan poticaj.

Warned that we will probably make a mess in their newly decorated kitchen, they invited us anyway and were lovely hosts. Valentina surprised us with a cake from homegrown sour cherries, that was enriched with vanilla ice cream and the sauce made from the same sour cherries, honey and a bit of water. And it was truly delicious. Since I will have to start dabbling in desserts soon as well, this was a great encouragement.

Dakle, dogovorile smo nešto ranije da ćemo za tu prigodu spremiti nešto fino i morsko. Ajde, maknuli smo se od Istre u Dalmaciju i do njihovog tradicionalnog recepta, lignji na padelu. Iliti tavu.

Klasičan tradicionalan recept možete mijenjati po svom ukusu, naravno, no mi smo ipak od tradicije pa smo se držali originalnog recepta, samo smo ga malo podebljali količinski.

Recept:

0,3 kg lignji
Maslinovo ulje
0,1 l bijelog vina
češnjak, peršin, sol, papar
riblji temeljac
0,5 kg krumpira

Prvo smo stavili kuhati malo ribice koju smo našli za temeljac. Dok se to lagano kuha, treba očistiti lignje.

We have agreed beforehand that for this occasion we will make some yummy seafood. So, we've moved on from Istra to Dalmatia and their traditional recipe, squids on padela. A.k.a. pan.
You can, of course, change the classic recipe as you wish, but we are traditional folks so we stuck to original recipe, just in a bigger amount.
Ingredients:

300 g of squid,
Olive oil
100 ml of white wine
Garlic, parsley, salt, pepper
Fish stock
Half a kilo of potatoes

First thing we did was cook the fish we found for the stock. While that was cooking, we needed to clean the squids.

Namjerno sam kupila neočišćene jer eto, nikad nisam čistila lignje. O Bože, kako sam pogriješila. Znači, naporno je i zaista ljigavo. Riječ lignja jer blizu riječi ljigavo. Sad znam i zašto. Kao što to obično biva, od sto junaka glasa čuti nije, tako da su se i moji pomoćnici u kuhinji držali podalje od lignjica i čišćenja. Neka. Morat će svejedno ribat kuhinju kasnije od divnog mirisa. Od sad lignje želim očišćene. I da, jako se veselim čišćenju ribe koje me čeka a koje isto tako nisam iskusila. Bit će zabavno.

I bought the unclean ones on purpose, because I have never actually cleaned them. Oh, God, that was a big mistake. It's a really hard and slimy job. The word squid is close to slimy (in Croatian at least). Now I understand why. As it usually happens, from hundreds of voices none is heard, as all of my helpers in the kitchen kept away from the squids and the cleaning. Fine. They'll have to scrub the kitchen later on to get rid of the wonderful smell. From now on the only squid I want are the cleaned ones. And, yes I'm looking forward to cleaning the fish to, which also awaits me, and I haven't done before either. It's going to be fun.

Nakon dugog i mučnog čišćenja lignji, zarezala sam ih i osušila u papirnatom ručniku. Zagrijala sam maslinovo ulje i stavila lignjice da se prže. Češnjak i peršin sam isjeckala i usipala u padelu iliti tavu.
Dok sam ja to radila, Valentinine vrijedne ručice su gulile prekrasan domaći krumpir friško iskopan u velikogoričkom vrtu.

After a long and torturous cleaning of the squids, I cut along them and dried them on paper towel. I heated the olive oil and put the squids in to fry. I cut up garlic and parsley and put them in padela a.k.a. pan. While I was doing that, Valentina's helpful hands peeled off beautiful home grown potatoes that we freshly dug up from the garden in Velika Gorica.

Nakon češnjaka i peršina, zalila sam to sve bijelim vinom, dodala krumpir narezan na tanje kolutiće i riblji temeljac. Posolila sam i popaprila te poklopila sve da se kuha otprilike 20ak minula do pola sata i na kraju još malo posipala svježim peršinom.

After garlic and parsley, I put in the white wine, added potatoes sliced in thin slices and fish stock. Salted and peppered it, and put a lid on everything so it cooks for 20-30 minutes and when it was done sprinkled some fresh parsley.

I to je, ljudi moji, to. Izuzev čišćenja lignji od kojeg ću imat traume, sve ostalo je išlo poprilično glatko a konačan rezultat više nego zadovoljavajuć. Pojeli smo do dna padele sve i zalili ostacima vina koje se nije skuhalo s lignjama.

And, that's all, folks! Other than cleaning the squids from which I am traumatized, everything else went pretty smoothly, and the final result was more than satisfying. We ate everything 'til the bottom of padela and washed it down with the leftover wine.

Eh da. Dok smo mi fino papali lignje, i pravili se da smo negdje u Dalmaciji uz more, druga polovica ovog projekta, ona iza objektiva, svojim je specijalnim prehrambenim navikama zaslužila malo mesnatiji obrok. Šta reći osim da se za njega izvadilo špekeca, šunkice i sireka, da nam ne ostane gladan. Još nisam našla način kako da ga prisilim da jede hranu iz mora, osim ako slučajno prase ne padne u njega pa ga izvadimo, no dobro. Imam vremena i strpljenja.

Oh, yes. While we were eating squid and pretending that we were somewhere in Dalmatia by the sea, the other half of this project, the one behind the camera, with his special culinary habits earned a bit meatier meal. What can I say, except that for him we got some bacon, ham and cheese, so he won't be hungry. I still haven't found a way to make him eat seafood, unless a pig falls into a sea and we fish it out, but okay. I have the time and the patience.

Za desert nam je ostalo još Valentininog prefinog kolača pa smo se na kraju i zasladili.
Hvala našim divnim domaćinima, bilo nam je preugodno i prezabavno i nadamo se da će se zaredati takva gostovanja po tuđim kuhinjama. Da nam naša ne dosadi. Živjeli!

For the dessert there were still leftover Valentina's cakes, so it got sweeter in the end as well.
Thanks to our lovely hosts, we had a really good and fun times and I hope this continues with our other visits to different kitchens.
So our kitchen doesn't bore us. Cheers! 

Prijevod/translation: Margareta Tilošanec

Istarski žgvacet (kokošji!)

Ako niste znali, istarski žgvacet je samo jedan, ne onaj od janjetine, ni od teletine. Istarski je samo i jedino kokošji. Eto, to sam ja naučila u iščitavanju recepata za pravi istarski žgvacet.

No dobro. Dok su se šurlice iz prethodnog posta sušile, krenula sam pripremati žgvacet. Od prave domaće kokice, naravno.

Recept:

60dkg kokošjeg mesa
2 veće glavice luka
40 dkg rajčice
1 dcl maslinovog ulja
2-3 češnja češnjaka
4 dcl vina
peršin
ružmarin
sol, papar
voda ili temeljac

To je recept. Ja sam više manje duplo radila, ali onako, odokativno. Kokicu sam rasjekla na komade još prije nego sam krenula mijesiti tjesteninu, da bih od leđa skuhala temeljac za kasnije podlijevanje žgvaceta. Za temeljac sam ubacila u lonac leđa kokoši, mrkvu, prešin, celer i luk i kuhala na laganoj vatrici otprilike dva sata. Kad je gotov, procijediti i dalje s njim u žgvacet.

In case you didn't know, there's only one true Istrian žgvacet (stew), not the one made of lamb, nor the one made of veal. Istrian is only the one made of chicken. There, that is what I've learned while searching the recipe for a true Istrian žgvacet.

Well, okay. While the šurlice from our previous post were drying, I started making žgvacet. With a real, free range chicken, of course.

Ingredients:

600 g of chicken,

2 whole big onions,

400 g of tomatoes,

100 ml of olive oil,

2-3 cloves of garlic,

400 ml of wine,

Parsley,

Rosemary,

Salt, pepper,

water  or chicken stock

These are the ingredients. I pretty much doubled everything, but only approximately.

I sliced up the chicken before I even started making pasta, to use the back for chicken stock that I will put in žgvacet later. For the stock, I put in the pot chickens back, along with carrot, parsley, celery and onion and cooked over low heat for about two hours.  Once it's done, strain it and put it in žgvacet.

Pošto imamo kotlić pri ruci, odlučili smo ga ovom prilikom iskoristiti i kuhati vani. Ni tu baš nisam previše iskusna pa je bilo zabavno, ajmo tako reći. Umalo sam se zapalila jer je vatra bila prejaka a kotlić previsoko. Između ostalog. Eto, naučili smo da ni to nije sam tak kako sam si ja zamislila.

Since our pot was already at hand, we decided to use it here as well and cook outside. I don't have much experience with it either, so it was fun, to say at least. I almost caught on fire as the fire was too big and pot too high up, among other things. There, we've learned that that isn't as I pictured it either.

Ajmo dalje na recept. Dakle, razlika između gulaša i žgvaceta je prvenstveno u prvom dijelu pripreme. Znači, na maslinovo ulje ide prvo meso dok se za gulaše prvo dinsta luk na koji se dodaje meso.

Let's continue with the recipe. So, the difference between goulash and žgvacet is primarily in the first part of cooking. Which means that you put the meat on the olive oil first, while for goulash you would sauté the onions first, and then add meat.

Ok, meso na ugrijano maslinovo ulje, da se fino zapeče i dobije lijepu zlatnu boju. Ovdje sam se borila sa jačinom vatre ispod kotlića. Znači, pazite da ne zagori. Kad se meso ispeče, dodala sam luk i dinstala dok luk nije omekšao. I zalila s malo vina jer zašto ne.

Okay, put meat on a heated olive oil, 'til it's nice and done and gets a pretty golden colour. I struggled with the fire temperature under the kotlich in this part. So be careful not to burn it. When the meat was done I added onions and sautéed until they got soft. And I added a bit of wine, because, why not

Na sve to ide rajčica. Nju sam prethodno ogulila i narezala na sitne kockice. Ako niste znali do sad, dobra stvar za guliti rajčicu je da je prvo uronimo na koju minutu u vrelu vodu, nakon toga se guli bez problema.

To all this we add tomatoes. I peeled them first and diced them. If you didn't know, a good way of peeling tomatoes is to put them under hot water for a minute, after which you can peel it off without any problem.

Prodinstala sam to sve skupa, dodala ostatak vina, protisnuti češnjak, nasjeckani peršin, svježi upravo ubrani ružmarin, sol, papar. I pošto imamo prekrasnog bosiljka, nisam mogla odolijeti da ne stavim koji listić tako da je moj dodatak ovom receptu prefini svježi bosiljak. Nije naštetilo, vjerujte mi.

I stewed that all together, added crushed garlic, chopped parsley, freshly picked rosemary, salt and pepper. And, because we had some beautiful basil, I couldn't resist not putting a few leafs of it, so my addition to this recipe is tasty fresh basil. It didn't hurt the recipe, trust me.

Kuhamo otprilike sat vremena i dolijevamo po potrebi temeljac. Ako vam je ostalo vina, nalite ga u čašu, kao ja, i uživajte dok se žgvacet fino krčka.

We cook this for about an hour, adding the stock when necessary. If you have any wine left over, pour some for yourself, like I did, and enjoy while the žgvacet is slowly simmering.

Tradicionalno se istarski žgvacet najčešće poslužuje s fužima, no ja sam odlučila spojiti Istru i Kvarner te istarski žgvacet poslužiti sa krčkim šurlicama.

I ako imate, naribajte obilno ovčjeg sira na sve. Ako nemate, nabavite ga. Savršeno je.

Traditionally, Istrian žgvacet is served with fusi pasta, but I decided to get together Istra and Kvarner region, and serve the Istrian žgvacet with šurlice from island Krk.

If you have any, grate some sheep cheese on it, if not, get it. It's perfect.

Prijevod/translation: Margareta Tilošanec

Šurlice

Šurlice su vrsta tjestenine koja nam stiže s Kvarnera. Najpoznatije su one krčke, a ako se pitate kako su dobile ime, kao što sam se ja pitala, vrlo je jednostavno. Slonove surlice iliti šurlice. Još ih zovu i makaruni na iglu jer se šuplji dio dobije tako da se tijesto omata oko pletaće igle.

Ajmo na recept za šurlice.

Pošto sam radila manju količinu tjestenine, prepolovila sam recept a ovo je originalni koji sam pronašla:

1 kg oštrog brašna

2 jaja

0,5 l vruće vode

malo maslinovog ulja

sol

I igla naravno. U mom slučaju, metalni štap za ražnjiće jer nisam još krenula plesti, ali tko zna.

Šurlice are a kind of pasta that originated in the Kvarner region. The most famous ones come from the island of Krk, and if you’re wondering how they got their name, it’s actually quite simple. It comes from the Croatian word for elephant trunk, “surla”, or “surlica”. They also call them needle macaroni because the hollow shape is achieved by rolling them on knitting needles.

Let’s move on to the šurlica recipe. I wanted to make a smaller amount of pasta, so I halved the recipe, but this is the original I found:

1kg all-purpose flour
2 eggs
½ liter hot water
olive oil
salt
And a knitting needle, of course. Or in my case, a metal skewer because I don’t knit, but, who knows.

Ne moram uopće govoriti no ipak, od navedenih sastojaka treba zamijesiti čvrsto tijesto. I dalje se divim ljudima koje to rade pod normalno rukama. Ovo je, ljudi moji, posao.

Nakon što zamijesimo tijesto treba ga ostaviti da se odmara sat, dva.

It should be obvious that the ingridients are here to make a firm fresh handmade dough. I'm still amazed and in awe of people that do this every day, its a real job! After we made the dough we should let it rest for an hour or two to let its processes act out.

Pošto sam nova u tom svijetu tjestenina, lako se zanesem pa sam tako i ovaj put. Originalno se šurlice rade tako da napravimo dugi valjak, kao za njoke, i režemo komadiće koje zatim u dlanovima stisnemo i onda oblikujemo šurlice oko igle.

Since I am new to the pasta making world, I can easily get ahead of myself, which happened this time as well. Originally, šurlice are made by forming a long cylinder, like for gnocchi, and cutting it up into small pieces that are then pressed flat in the palm of your hands and rolled onto the knitting needle.

Kao što rekoh, ja sam se zanijela pa sam totalno zaboravila taj dio (kasnije sam i tako radila) već sam krenula valjat tijesto, izrezla ga na komadiće, oblikovala tanke trake i onda njih namatala oko igle. S iglom sam ih još malo "povaljala" po površini da ih izravnam, izvadila sa igle i eto, šurlice.

Tako su mi još više nalikovale na te surlice po kojima su ime i dobile.

As I mentioned before, I got way ahead of myself and completely overlooked that process. I started rolling the dough out, cut it into pieces, formed strips and then rolled them onto the needle. I used the length of the needle to roll them out slightly more, pulled it out and – there you go. Šurlica. This way they looked even more like the trunks they were named after. 

No da se razumijemo, strpljenje je ono što se vježba a ja sam ga bome uvježbala na svojim šurlicama do zadnjeg komadića tijesta. Ne znam što bi bilo da sam umijesila tijesto po receptu od kile brašna. Vjerojatno sad ne bih pisala ovaj post već bih još uvijek namatala oko igle. I ta brzina valjda dođe s iskustvom, pa ćemo raditi na tome i dalje.

But let’s be frank, patience is gained through practice and I can tell you that I got a lot of practice in by the time I got to the last bit of the dough. I don’t want to know what it would have been like had I actually used the full recipe. I probably wouldn’t be writing this right now because I’d still be making them. I guess speed comes with experience, so we’ll keep working on that.

Kad su šurlice gotove, treba ih pustiti nekoliko sati da odstoje i posuše se na pobrašnjenoj površini.

Šurlice se tradicionalno poslužuju sa raznoraznim umacima, šugovima a mi smo svoje poslužili sa pravim istarskim žgvacetom za koji recept slijedi u idućem postu. 

Dok čekate da se šurlice posuše, možete uzeti pletaće igle i plesti za zimu.

U nedostatku pletaćih igala, možete prigristi nešto. Mi smo prigrizli domaće kobase obitelji Ferina od prošlogodišnjeg kolinja. Ne moram ni govoriti da je to skratilo muke čekanja.

When the šurlice are done, they should be left to dry for a few hours on a floured surface.
Šurlice are traditionally served with all kinds of different sauces, and we served ours with a real Istrian žgvacet – the recipe for which will be in the next post.

As you wait for your šurlice to dry, you can use your needles to knit yourself a scarf for the winter. If you don’t have the needles, then you might as well have a snack. We had some homemade sausage from the Ferina family’s own production. I don’t even have to say how much easier that made the wait. 

Translation/prijevod: Anna Kosir