One of the many reasons Gary and I love to travel is to experience the local food and culture of a country or region & our Croatian road trip certainly didn’t disappoint us.

I would probably say that Gary is the more adventurous of the two of us when it comes to food, although over the years of our travelling, there are not too many local delicacies that we would never wish to experience again.

Thankfully none of these was in Croatia.

Brodet is a seafood stew which is traditionally served with polenta and includes three different types of fish. I must admit this was my favourite dish of the trip & the flavours were fantastic.

Although this dish can be found at many places along the Dalmatian coast, we enjoyed this stew at the historical town of Trogir.

Cuttlefish risotto to you and I, this was one of Gary’s favourites. Quite a powerful looking dish and packs a punch on the flavours, certainly one for the seafood lovers. The black colour comes from the squid ink in the cuttlefish.

Gary chose this dish at a local Konoba in Zadar, and of course, enjoyed with a glass of Croatian wine.

With such a fantastic coastline, it really would be wrong not to try local fresh fish just simply grilled.

So, while in Dubrovnik I chose seabass, and it was wonderful, so flavoursome and served with fresh vegetables.

A dish recommended to us before left for Croatia was Čevapi, which are small skinless sausages made from minced beef and pork and are about the size of your finger.

This is quite a popular dish within the Balkan region & often served with flatbread.

Pašticada is a very traditional dish of the Dalmatia region and is not always available. The reason being is that the cooking process is very slow and thorough. The beef is marinated with specific ingredients overnight, then slow roasted to produce succulent flavours within in a rich sauce. The dish is traditionally served with gnocchi.

We were lucky to find this dish in a Konoba near our apartment in Dubrovnik.

A dish I really enjoyed in the sunshine of Zadar was just simply some fish skewers. Chunks of fresh fish & vegetables, grilled and served with blitva s krumpirom (Swiss chard, potatoes & garlic).

Accompanied by a crisp Croatian white wine.

Another favourite of Gary’s was stuffed squid, which he chose on a couple of occasions. Once again just simply served with fresh grilled vegetables & blitva s krumpirom (Swiss chard, potatoes & garlic).

Gary particularly enjoyed this dish at a tiny restaurant in Rovinj, which is on the Istrian coast.

Now I know this post is fairly seafood heavy and it isn’t surprising with having such a spectacular coast. However the Croatians love their meat as well. We visited one restaurant in Trogir that tempted us in, with the scent of a wood-burning grill.

Needless to say, we went for the carnivore’s option on that occasion, accompanied with Ajvar a Croatian red pepper sauce.

Now for the sweet toothed amongst us.

Palacinke are crêpe-like pancakes filled with a sweet filling of possibly jam or chocolate, we were told that the traditional filling in Croatia was walnut, so “When in Rome” and Gary kindly took one for the team….

While driving through the countryside and the coastal regions of Croatia, we often noticed outside Konobas, that lamb & pork was being spit roasted in ovens, ready to be enjoyed by hungry folk that evening.

Unfortunately, we didn’t quite get the chance to stop at one, due to our timing, but there is always next time.

Then you've got to get yourself to Croatia. Check out all our posts from our Croatian road trip to see what takes you fancy, or create your own adventure.

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