Starogrojski Paprenjok - biscuits from Croatia

 These biscuits are typical from Croatia, specifically from the island of Hvar ,their origin is in the city of Stari Grad. In the past they were also widely consumed throughout the Dalmatian coast.

They are eaten at all family parties and are highly appreciated for being very durable. In fact in the past, it was a gift that the guests used to give to the bride and groom on their wedding day, the bride and groom had to keep them and consume them when they had their first child.

The sailors' wives and mothers used to make these cookies for sailors to take with them on long voyages, they knew that they were going to have a good sweet for the whole trip.

They are made with sweet wine, honey and a set of spices called 'prapen' with nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.

Ingredients:

For the dough

- 500 grams flour.

- 250 grams honey.

- 62 ml olive oil.

- 75 ml sweet wine.

- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

- 1 teaspoon baking soda.

- 1 teaspoon nutmeg.

- 1 teaspoon cloves.

- 0,5 grams saffron strands.

For the decoration

- 250 grams cast sugar.

- 1 lemon juice.

- 1 egg white.

Method:

1- Put the wine in a saucepan together with the cloves , turn on the fire until it boils.

2- Turn off the heat and add the saffron threads, let the wine get cool.

3- In a bowl, mix the honey with nutmeg, cinnamon and baking soda.

4- When the wine is cold, strain it and add it to the honey bowl, mix everything well.

5- Add the flour and oil, mix and knead until everything is well integrated, make a ball with the dough and cover it with cling film.

Let it rest for 5 or 6 hours.

6- Take portions of the dough and with the help of a rolling pin flatten the dough on a flat surface.

Use cookie molds to cut the dough, also use some stamps to make some drawing on the surface of the cookie.

7- Line a tray with baking paper and place the cookies on it, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes, and then bake at the same temperature for 20 minutes, heat up and down.

8- You can decorate the cookies on the same or another day, the advantage is that these cookies can last for many months, so you won't lose them.

To decorate the cookies we are going to prepare the icing.

Put an egg white in a bowl and beat until it is white and you can make peaks with it and the peaks do not fall off.

Add the icing sugar little by little while stirring.

9- Add lemon juice and continue stirring.

10- Once the mixture is added, cover it with cling film, you can keep it in the fridge until you decide to decorate the cookies.

Croatian women traditionally use a pin to decorate, they dip it in the icing and then make some drawings on the biscuits.

You already have some cookies that you can use at Christmas even if you make them in summer!

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Croatia

Drap:
De Nightstallion, Elephantus, Neoneo13, Denelson83, Rainman, R-41, Minestrone, Lupo, Zscout370,MaGa (based on Decision of the Parliament) - http://www.sabor.hr/Default.aspx?sec=4317, Dominio público, Enlace

Empanada from Colombia

                                                                                Receta en Español

The empanada reached Colombia with the spanish conquest, the original empanadas came from Galicia, the recipe changed in Colombia to adapt to the local ingredients.

At the beginning the empanadas were cooked in the oven, later they were fried, due to the African influence. The original empanadas were made from wheat flour, this was later changed to precooked corn flour.

The empanadas were original from Grecia and the Persian Empire, this way of cooking allowed to move the food wrapped in bread. That's the meaning of 'empanar' to wrap in bread.

This way of cooking reached Spain with the arab invasion on the VIII century.

El most typical filling is made from meat and vegetables.

Ingredients:

- Oil.

- 1/2 kilo shredded meat.

- 6 tomatos.

- 3 onios.

- 1/2 kilo precooked corn flour.

- 1 fresh coriander.

- Garlic.

- chili.

- 6 medium potatos.

- Cumin.

- Thyme.

- Ground garlic.

- Saffron.

- Salt.

- Water

Method:

1- Put the meat in a casserole together with some water, salt, onion, persil, leek, carrot and bay leaves.

Keep the broth, you will use it later to moisten the empanadas.

2- Peel and cut potatos into little cubes, cook them in water with salt during 12 minutes.

3- Cut onions, tomatos and garlic into little cubes.

4- Sautée onions and garlic.

5- Add the spices, the shredded meat, potatos, tomatos and cook for several minutes until all the ingredients are well cooked. Let it get cool.

6- Now it is time to make the dough. To obtain the characteristic yellow we use some threads of saffron, let it infuse in hot water during at least 10 minutes.

7- Put the flour in a bowl , add salt and the infused water. 

knead until it is homogeneous, if needed use some broth to moisten the dough.

Take some cling film, put it on a surface , moisten it with some oil.

Take a portion of dough, put it on the cling film, flatten and put some filling in the middle.

Follow the process you see in the photos:

8 - Fry the empanadas in hot oil.

9 - The empanadas are accompanied by the ají, cut the tomato into little cubes, cut the onion into little pieces. Mix together with some oil, salt and chili.

Where to buy the ingredients

Here you have links to the precooked corn flour.

This is the one with yellow colour:

 

   

 This is the one with white colour:

 

  

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Colombia

Arroz con costra (arròs amb costra)

  Arroz con costra (arròs amb costra) is considered the most ancient recipe of rice from Spain. This recipe appeared in 1490 at the book 'Lybre de doctrina per ben servir, de tallar y el art de coch' from Ruperto Nola ,the cook of the king of Naples, this book was so successful that it was translated into spanish some years later.

This rice is typical from Elche and the regions of Vega Baja, Bajo Vinalopó. 

This is a strong dish, with chicken, rabbit, sausages, rice and chickpeas.

The costra is made from a layer of beaten eggs over the rice cooked in oven , it provides the rice with softeness and a special taste.

Dependig on the region the ingredients vary a little, the recipe I bring today is the variety from Elche.

It is better and traditional if you use a clay cooking pot.

Ingredients:

• A clay pot (I used one with 30 cm of diameter).
• 4 or 5 ripe tomatos.
• 6 or 7 litle white sausages.
• Red sausige.
• 1/2 blanquet (or white butifarra).
• 1/2 black butifarra.
• 5 or 6 tablespoons of cooked chickpeas.
• 250 grams of  chicken meat in little pieces and without the skin.
• 250 grams of rabbit meat in little pieces and without the skin.
• 2 and a half  cups of rice.
• Some saffron threads.
• 2 eggs per person plus one additional egg.
• Salt.
• Sugar.

 

Method:

 

1-  Put the tomatoes, oil, salt and sugar in a frying pan. Put the fire on a low heat and cook until the tomatoes are soft and the meat is clearly separated from the meat.

Pass the tomato through a ricer to gt rid of the skin and seeds.

 

2- Cut into slices black and white butifarras.

 

 

3- Put some oil in a large clay cooking pot, fry at medium heat the white butifarra 1 minute by every side, put aside.

 

 

4 - Fry at medium heat the black butifarra 1 minute by every side, put aside.

 

 

5- Cut white sausages in little pieces , add some salt and fry with the same oil until the meat is done.

Put aside.

 

 

6 - Cut red sausage in litle pieces, add salt and fry until the meat is done.

Put aside.

 

 

 

7 - Add salt to the chicken and rabbit, and fry until the meat is done.

 

 

8 - Add the tomato you made at step 1, add chickpeas and safron threads. Cook at medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes.

 

 

9 - Add water until de chicken and rabbit are covered, bear in mind that the quantity of rice that you will add later should be half of the quantity of water that you are adding now, cook at medium heat for half an hour.

 

 

10 - Add the rice, put on a high heat, once it reaches boiling point , put on a low heat and add all the sausages well spread all over the surface. Cook 12-13 minutes until there is no water and the rice is well done.

 

 

11- Meanwhile add salt to the eggs , beat them. Preheat oven at 220 ºC heat over and below.

 

 

 

 

 

12- Once the rice is done, add the eggs over the rice. Put the pot inside the oven at the same temperature for some minutes until you see the 'costra' , it is the eggs are done.

 

Where to buy the ingredients:

The white and black sausages can be bought at the butcher shop.

The blanquet, white and black butifarra from Alicante you can buy them in Madrid at Mantequería La Gloria , plaza Prosperidad 5. 

You can also use catalan butifarra , maybe it is easier to find out of Cataluña, in Madrid I found it at La Garriga, en Serrano 93 http://www.lagarrigacharcuteria.com/

 

 

 



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