'Bučnica'- Pumpkin Pie (ethnic food of Zagorje)

Zagorje is a part of Croatia, located north of Zagreb (capital city). It means 'beyond the mountain' (Medvednica mountain). People there have a specific dialect, called kajkavski and are fans of Bučnica (Boochnitza) - Philo pastry pie with pumpkin (buča) and cheese. White pumpkins are mostly used for this pie, but I couldn't find it in Australia, so I used Jap pumpkin.

Ingredients:

-Dough / pastry

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1-2 tbs oil

300 ml water

Filling-

500 g grated pumpkin

1 1/2 tsp salt

500 g ricotta (or similar) cheese

2 eggs

salt and white pepper

Topping-

300 ml sour cream

1 egg

pinch of salt

Method:

Make a soft dough from all ingredients for pastry. Divide in 2 balls, dust both sides with flour, cover with a clean cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle salt over grated pumpkin, mix and set aside.

Mix ricotta and eggs, season. After 10 minutes, squeeze moisture out of pumpkin and mix in with ricotta mixture.

Swith your oven to 200*C; 180 fan forced.

Stretch your dough over a clean large tablecloth, fill edges with filling and shape into logs. Place filo pastry into an oiled square dish. Repeat with other ball of dough. 

If you need reference on how to stretch dough and shape rolls, look here.

Cut prepared pastry into 3 (across the logs), oil the surface (spray OK) and  place into oven and bake for 25+ minutes. Take out and spread mixture of sour cream, egg and a pinch of salt. Return to oven for another 5 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Enjoy warm!

Znamo sta je 'Zagorje' i gdje se nalazi. Znamo i da tamo imaju specificno simpaticno narjecje (Kajkavski) i da vole 'Bučnicu' - pitu od vucenog tijesta, filovanu bundevom / tikvom / bučom i sirom.  Zagorsko jelo u najboljem izdanju!
Obzirom da u mom mjestu ne mogu pronaci 'nase' bundeve / bucnice, koristila sam tzv 'Jap' tikvu.

Potrebno:

Jufke / vuceno tijesto-

3 solje brasna

1 k soli

1-2 K ulja

300 ml vode

Fil- 

500 gr rendane / ribane bucnice / bundeve

1 1/2 k soli

500 gr svapskog / rikota sira

2 eggs

so i bijeli biber

Preliv-

300 ml vrhnja

1 jaje

prstohvat soli

Nacin:

Umijesite mekano tijesto , podijelite na 2 lopte, pobrasnite obje strane i pokrijte cistom krpom. Ostavite oko 30 minuta da se odmori.

Umijesajte so u rendanu tikvu, ostavite po strani 10 minuta.

Pomijesajte sir sa jajima, zasolite. Ocijedite tikvu, pa i nju ubacite i izmijesajte.

Ukljucite rernu na 200 *C (180* sa fenom).

Razvucite lopte tijesta, filujte krajeve sa bucnicom i smjestite u cetvrtasu tepsiju.

Ako vam treba objasnjenje kako razvuci i oblikovati tijesto, pogledajte ovdje.

Izrezite poprijeko na 3 dijela, nauljite povrsinu i smjestite u rernu. Pecite 25+ minuta; izvadite prelijte sa vrhnjem u koje ste umijesali jaje i malo soli i vratite u rernu na jos 5 minuta, ili dok se vrnje na istopi i postane zlatno-zuto. Uzivajte dok je toplo!

Chocolate Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies

I love visiting other blogs and bookmarking stuff that I'd like to try. There are so many good blogers with fantastic recipes, and my list is becoming longer and longer.
This recipe comes from a Croatian blog called 'What's for dessert?'. Tamara is very passionate about her desserts, which is clearly displayed in the way she writes and presents her blog. I didn't change a thing in her recipe; biscuits came out very pretty and aromatic. I will make them again!
Original recipe (in English too):
http://cake-cookie-pie.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/daring-bakers-november-2012-twelve-days.html

Ingredients:
100 g toasted hazelnuts
2 tablespooons granulated sugar
200 g finely chopped chocolate
300 g all purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
80 g softened butter
100 g sugar
2 large eggs
60 ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
granulated sugar and confectioners sugar for coating



Raspuknuti Keksici

Volim posjecivati druge blogove, zaviriti u njihove kuhinje i 'bukmarkirati' sta bih voljela isprobati. Toliko je divnih blogova sa receptima i lista postaje sve duza i duza.
Konacno pronadjoh malo vremena za isprobam neke od njih.
Danas predstavljam recept sa Tamarinog bloga 'What's for dessert?'. Vidjala sam mnoge verzije ovih raspuknutih kolacica, ali sam se odlucila za Tamarinu verziju, posto mi se cini da je veliki ljubitelj slatkih stvari i da tu svoju ljubav zna i-te-kako pasionirano prenijeti u virtualni svijet. Nisam promijenila niti najmanju sitnicu u receptu; Keksi su ispali divni!
Originalni recept:
http://cake-cookie-pie.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/daring-bakers-november-2012-twelve-days.html

Hand Made Macaroni with Meat Sauce - speciality of Žrnovo

Žrnovo is small place on Korcula island. There is an 'agrotouristic' restaurant called 'Gera'. They offer only vegetables that they grow in their garden and fish that they catch that day. We had 'kerna' fish (caught that day by diving) with potatoes and 'zeje' - never tasted something fresher; we had to wait for the owner to 'harvest' our dinner from their garden! They also offer local hand made macaroni that are only made in that small village. They're called 'Žrnovski Makaruni'.

Žrnovo

Ingredients:
Macaroni-
500 g flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup water
Meat sauce-
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-3 tsp paprika
500 g mince (or finely chopped beef)
1 cup beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tbs tomato paste
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
3-4 tbs parsley leaves, chopped
1 tsp oregano leaves, chopped
salt to taste

Method:
Macaroni-
Mix all ingredients and make a stiff dough. Let it rest 15-20 minutes, then cut small pieces. Wrap each piece of dough around a skewer and rub between your palms to form macaroni. Take off and place onto a clean cloth; repeat with remaining dough. When everything used, cook macaroni in salted water  in 3-4 batches (they will come to the surface; boil for a couple of minutes more). Take them out and place onto oiled serving plate.
Meat sauce-
Heat oil, saute onion, then add other vegetables. Mix well and add meat and spices. Cook until meat looses its pink colour. Add broth and canned  tomato paste, season to taste. Cook for 5-10 minutes.
Spoon meat sauce over the macaroni; sprinkle with shaved Parmesan cheese (optional).

Žrnovski Makaruni ('makaroni na iglu')

Navodno, ovakvi makaroni se jos samo prave u Žrnovu.
Specijalitet su u mnogim restoranima seoskog turizma, posebno restorana 'Gera' kojeg smo posjetili. 
Taj restoran nudi samo ono sto sami proizvedu ili ulove toga dana. Jeli smo ribu 'kernu' sa krompirom i 'zejem' - nikad nesto tako svjeze nisam dobila prije u restoranu. Morali smo cekati dok povrce nije bilo ubrano, a riba je tog dana ulovljena. Suvlasnik je sam ronio na dubinu , jer je to jedini nacin da se kerna ulovi.

Potrebno:

Za makarune-
500 gr brasna
1 k soli 
1 jaje
1 K maslinovog ulja
1 solja (240-250ml) vode
Mesni sos / preliv-
1/3 solje maslinovog ulja
1 veci crveni luk, sjeckan
1 mrkva, sjeckana na kockice / rendana
1 stabljika celera, sjeckana
1-2 cena bijelog luka, protisnuta
2-3 k crvene paprike
500 gr sitno sjeckane govedine (ili mljeveno)
1 solja govedje supe / bujona
1 konzerva sjeckanog paradajza
2 K gustog paradajz sosa
1/2 k svjeze mljevenog crnog bibera
3-4 K sjeckanog persuna
1 k origana
so po ukusu

Nacin:

Makaruni-

Pomijesajte sve sastojke  i umijesite tvrdje tijesto. Ostavite odmoriti 15-20 minuta, zatim isjecite na manje komadice. Svaki komadic ovijte oko pletace igle (ili prutici za kebabe) i trljajte izmedju dlanova da se formira makaron. Skinite sa igle i postavite na cistu krpu. Kad zavrsite sa oblikovanjem makarona, skuhajte ih u zasoljenoj vodi u 3-4 maha. Kada isplivaju na povrsinu kuhajte par minuta duze, zatim vadite na nauljenu posudu za serviranje.

Mesni sos / preljev-

Zagrijte ulje, proprzite luk, zatim dodajte sve ostalo povrce. nakon par minuta ubacite i meso Pirjajte dok meso ne izgubi svoju pink boju. Dodajte zacine, supu, paradajz i sos. Kuhajte jos 5-10 minuta. Zasolite prema ukusu.

Pospite sos preko makarona i pospite parmezanom (po zelji).

Korčula

Korčula (Korchula) Island

Remember story about F. and N., both from Korcula, but apart for many years...him in Australia, her in Holand? Well, F. has returned to this beautiful island for good, and we  (my family and me) went to visit her. She was kind to offer her beautiful home for us to stay as long as we wanted, she took us all over the Island and she is responsible for all these awesome photos that I took.
By the way, N. (her darling), sold his house, packed his belongings and is on his way to Korcula,  literally as I'm writing!
Good luck to both of them - I couldn't ask for better friends!

Korcula is very beautiful island. It's got crystal clear waters, rich history and wonderful people.

I couldn't decide what I liked more - all charming little cities on edges of island, or inside the island and it's olive and fig trees, stone protected land parcels and vineyards.
The island was inhabited since pre-historic times and went through Greek, Roman, Venetian, English, Slavic and Austro-Hungarian empires. I would say, Romans left cultural and culinary impact more than others, so we enjoyed pasta, pizza and seafood prepared in Italian way mostly.
Next post -  recipe  from Žrnovo, Handmade Macarons (Zrnovski Makaruni)



           

 Otok Korčula

Sjecate se price o F. i N., oboje sa Korcule, ali razdvojeni mnoge godine- ona u Holandiji a on u Australiji? E pa, F. se vratila na rodnu Korculu, pa smo odlucili da je posjetimo. Bila je jako ljubazna i ponudila nam je svoj dom na raspolaganju onako dugo kako zelimo. Provela nas je preko cijelog otoka i ona je odgovorna za mnostvo divnih fotografija koje sam uspjela uhvatiti.
Jos nesto, N. (njen dragi) je prodao svoju kucu, spakovao svoje stvari i nalazi se na putu prema Korculi - bukvalnou ovom momentu kako ja pisem!
Sretno oboma - ne bih mogla pozeljeti bolje prijatelje!

Korcula je prekrasan otok. Ima kristalno ciste vode. bogatu istoriju i divne ljude. Nisam mogla da odlucim sta mi se vise dopalo - sarmantni mali gradovi na obalama otoka ili unutrasnjost sa maslinama i smokvama, kamenom ogradjena polja i vinogradi.
Otok je nastanjen od pre-istorijskog doba i isao je kroz ruke Grckih, Rimskih, Venecijskih, Engleskih, Slavskih i Austro-Ugarskih vladara. Ipak bih rekla da su Rimljani ostavili najveci pecat na njihovu kulturu i kulinarstvo, tako da smo uzivali u tjestenini, picama i morskim specijalitetima pripremljenim na Italijanski naci u glavnom.
Sljedeci post - Recept za Žrnovske Makarune (rucno napravljene makarone)

Slavonian Poppy Seed / Walnut Strudel

Strudels (with yeast) are speciality of Slavonian women (Slavonia is part of Croatia). This is an old recipe that I got from my Slavonian auntie.

Ingredients:
Dough-
500 g strong flour
1,5 teas yeast
100 g sugar
150 g butter, melted
4 medium eggs, beaten
100 ml milk, warm
zest of 1/2 lemon
Filling-
-Poppy seed:
250 g poppy seeds, grounded
150 g sugar
50 gr sultanas
200 ml milk, boiling
-Walnut:
250 g walnuts, processed
150 g sugar
50 g butter, melted
1-2 tbs vanilla sugar
150 ml milk, boiling
other-
1 egg, beaten - for brushing
Method:
Mix yeast with a little warm milk and teaspoon each sugar and flour. When activated, add all other ingredients and make a soft dough, kneading for 5-10 minutes (or use bread machine). Cover and leave in a warm spot to double.
Prepare fillings: In 2 separate bowls mix dry ingredients for fillings (one for walnut and one for poppy seed filling). Pour boiling milk over each, stir and leave to cool.
When dough ready, roll out onto floured surface (cloth will help) and cut into 2 rectangles. Spread filling - poppy seed to one and walnut filling to other half, leaving last 2 cm of dough with out filling (brush this part with water). Roll each into a log. Place strudels onto greased tin. Cover with clean cloth and let it rest in a warm spot (20+ minutes).
Preheat oven to 180*C; brush strudels with beaten egg and bake for 40-45 min.
Slightly cool before cutting.
Keep well frozen.




Slavonska štrudla sa makom / orasima

Recept moje strine (Slavonka)

Potrebno:
Tijesto-
500 gr brasna
1,5 k instant kvasca(ili svjezi)
100 gr secera
150 gr maslaca, otopljenog
4 jajeta, srednje velicine, umucena
100 ml mlijeka, toplog
ribana korica 1/2 limuna
Fil-
-Mak:
250 gr maka, mljevenog
150 gr secera
50 gr grozdjica
200 ml kljucalog mlijeka
- Orasi:
250 gr mljevenih orasa
150 gr secera
50 gr maslaca
1-2 K vanilinog secera
150 ml kljucalog mlijeka
jos-
1 jaje, umuceno - za premazivanje
Nacin:
Aktivirajte kvasac, pa umijesite tijesto od sastojaka. Ostavite na toplom mjestu (pokriveno) da naraste.
Pripremite fil- U 2 razlicite posude stavite suhe sastojke (za mak i za orase); prelijte kljucalim mlijekom i ostavite prohladiti.
Kada je tijesto spremno, pobrasnite stolnjak pa razvaljajte veliki pravougaonik. podijelite ga na 2 dijela i svaki filujte. Ostavite 2 cm pri kraju tijesta nenamazane; samo vodom premazite. Smjestite na nauljen pleh, pokrijte i ostavite na toplome 20 min+.
Ukljucite rernu na 180*C. Premazite strudle umucenim jajeto pa pecite 40-45 min.
Malo prohladite prije reznja.
Dobro se ocuvaju u zamrzivacu.

"Ants' colony" Torte

Perfect for Summer - No baking involved!

Ingredients:
500 g Milk coffee biscuits (or similar)
1/2 l milk
1-2 tea Rum (or Grand Marnie, Kahlua...)
250 g butter, very soft
3 egg yolks
6 tbs icing sugar
130 g chocolate (65%), melted
130 g hazelnuts, ground
Icing:
3 egg whites
9 tbs sugar
3 tbs water
Grated chocolate, for sprinkling

Method:
Break biscuits into quarters, put them in a bowl and spoon milk and rum over them, mixing gently.
In another bowl, mix butter, egg yolks and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add chocolate and nuts. Fold in milk-biscuit mix gently.
Spoon it out on a serving dish, shaping a dome. Refrigerate.
For icing-
Put sugar and water to heat, until sugar melted and syrup formed.
Beat egg whites with a mixer, until soft peak forms. Pour syrup into it, while still hot and beat for another 5 minutes. Decorate the dome with icing, and sprinkle with shaved/grated chocolate. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.



"Mravinjak"

Potrebno:
500 gr petit (ili sl.) keksa
1/2 l Mlijeka
1-2 kasicice ruma
250 gr putera ili margarina
3 zumanjka
6 kasika secera u prahu
130 gr cokolade, 65% kakao, istopljene
130 gr ljesnika, pecenih i mljevenih
po zelji grozdjice, zele bombone…
Za ukrasiti:
3 bjelanjka
9 kasika secera, uspinovan sa
3 kasike vode
malo ribane cokolade
Priprema:
Izlomite keks na cetvrtine, te ga polijte (kasika po kasika) sa 1/2 l mlijeka u koje ste ubacili rum. Promijesajte i ostavite sa strane.
U drugu posudu izmijesajte pjenasto maslac sa secerom, pa dodajte zumanjke.
Ubacite cokoladu i ljesnjake i promijesajte (ovdje takodje ubaciti grozdjice… ja ih nisam dodavala, jer nisu bile pozeljne).
Sastojke iz obje posude izmijesati, pa prevrnuti na tanjir za sluzenje (mozete oblikovati bilo koju formu; pretpostavljam da se zove ‘Mravinjak’ zbog oblika kupole). Staviti u frizider.
Bjelanca umutiti u cvrst snijeg, pa im u mlazu dodati vrucu uspinovanu masu od vode i secera (Ja jos malo ‘dokuham’ na pari). Mutiti jos par minuta, a zatim ukrasiti tortu, preko koje konacno naribate cokoladu.
Prije sluzenja jos rashladiti (2 sata) u frizideru.