The recipe for this dish was provided by the Minerva restaurant from Varaždinske Toplice.

STUFFED TURKEY ROLL WRAPPED IN BACON

Ingredients:
800 g turkey fillet
200 g bacon
20 g salt
10 g white pepper
40 g carrots
40 g fresh zucchini
40 g fresh bell pepper
20 g leek
50 g Edam cheese
40 g butter
4 dl olive oil

Preparation:
Shape the turkey fillet into 4 steaks, thin them out, and season with salt. Cut the carrots, zucchini, leek, and bell pepper into thin strips. Heat the olive oil and add the prepared vegetables and Edam cheese, then lightly sauté. Add the butter, season with salt and pepper. Cool the sautéed vegetables, and slice the smoked bacon into thin slices. Place the bacon slices on aluminum foil, then put the shaped turkey steak on top, and spread with the prepared vegetable stuffing. Roll tightly in aluminum foil, and place the prepared rolls in the oven at 180°C for 20 minutes. Serve with braised barley with nettle and enjoy this delicious lunch.

LENTEN

Ingredients:
2 liters of water
2-3 peeled potatoes
2-3 carrots
1 leek
1-2 tablespoons of oilSalt, pepper

Preparation: Clean and wash the vegetables, then cut them into cubes and place them in cold water to cook. Add salt and fat (oil) and simmer on low heat. Be careful not to overcook the vegetables. Season with pepper to taste and serve hot. Enjoy!

ELDELFLOWER FRITTERS
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Ingredients:
1 egg
125 g all-purpose flour
250 ml milk (or sparkling water)
a pinch of salt
1-2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
lard or oil for frying
.
Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, and heat the oil in a pan (a bit more than usual). Dip the elderflower blossoms in the mixture and place them in the hot oil, frying briefly on both sides. Keep the heat medium. Remove the elderflowers onto kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Then sprinkle with sugar (we always used granulated sugar, but powdered sugar works too) and serve warm.
You can prepare acacia flowers in the same way. ;)

CRACKLING PIE

Ingredients:
250 g of fatty ground cracklings
440 g of flour
240 g of sugar
Juice and zest of half a lemon
2 eggs
6 g of baking soda
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
200 g of homemade plum jam

Preparation: In the sifted flour, add the ground cracklings, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, lemon juice, and zest. Knead the dough and leave it in a cool place. Divide the dough in half, roll out the first layer, and place it in a greased baking tray. Spread the homemade plum jam on top and cover it with the second half of the dough. Bake until it turns a light golden color.

Once cooled, cut into squares and serve! Let us know how you liked the pie. :)

The recipe for this dish was provided to us by Restaurant Minerva from Varaždinske Toplice.

CHICKEN PAPRIKASH WITH HOMEMADE NOODLES

Ingredients:
2 heads of sliced red onion
1.2 kg diced chicken (thighs and drumsticks)
10 g ground sweet red paprika (you can add hot paprika to taste)
500 ml water
2 tablespoons sour cream
Oil for frying
Parsley for garnish
Pepper
Salt

Preparation: Pour enough oil into a pot to cover the bottom and heat it up. Add the sliced onion and sauté, stirring, over medium heat for about 5 minutes until it becomes translucent. Season the meat with salt and pepper on both sides, then place it in the pot and turn it after 5 minutes.

Season with ground sweet paprika and mix well. Pour in half of the water and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. When the water evaporates, add the remaining water. Cook until the liquid reduces for an additional 20 minutes. Towards the end of cooking, taste the paprikash and season with salt and pepper as needed, then add the sour cream.

Serve the paprikash with homemade noodles and garnish with parsley if desired. Enjoy your meal!

LISTARIĆI
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Ingredients:
250 g all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 level tablespoon lard
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon brandy or rum
2 heaping tablespoons sour cream
Salt
Grated lemon zest
Lard or oil for frying
.
Preparation:

Sift the flour and add salt and baking soda, then mix everything together. Add the egg, lard (or butter), sugar, brandy, sour cream, and lemon zest, and knead the dough. Form the dough into a ball, then flatten it into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.

Dust the work surface with flour, then roll out the dough thinly and cut it with a pastry wheel.

Fry the listarići in hot fat, turning them briefly on each side until they acquire color. The listarići will puff up slightly during frying, with the dough becoming somewhat hollow in spots.

Remove the listarići with a slotted spoon and drain excess fat on paper towels.

While still warm, dust the listarići with powdered sugar and serve.

CARROT BALLS
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Ingredients:
500 g peeled carrots
300 g sugar
1 lemon - juice and zest
1 orange - juice and zest
.
Preparation:
Wash and finely grate the carrots. Place them in a wide, shallow pan with a thick bottom, add the sugar, and cook over low heat until the water evaporates and the mixture thickens (about 1 hour). Then add the lemon juice, lemon zest, orange juice, and orange zest. Continue cooking until the mixture thickens further.

Allow the mixture to cool completely, then shape it into balls and, if desired, roll them in granulated sugar. Serve and see if your guests can guess the main ingredient.

From the cookbook "Mikeški jestvenik" – Strukovna škola and Industrijsko-obrtnička škola Virovitica

TOMATO CAKE

Ingredients:
16 tablespoons of sugar
16 tablespoons of oil
16 tablespoons of homemade cooked tomato juice
24 tablespoons of flour
1 egg
1 packet of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
.
Preparation:
Beat the egg and sugar until frothy, then gradually add all the other ingredients. Pour the mixture into a small greased baking pan and bake at 180°C (350°F) until it develops a nice golden color. Let it cool, then cut into squares.

The recipe for this dish was provided to us by the August Restaurant in Varaždin.

HORSERADISH SOUP
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Ingredients:
200 g horseradish
40 g butter
200 ml cooking cream
600 ml vegetable broth
10 g flour
Salt
Pepper
.
Preparation:
In a pot, heat the butter gently. Lower the heat and add the flour (briefly cook it as you would for a roux), then add the grated fresh horseradish and cook a bit more (be careful not to burn it). Pour in the previously prepared vegetable broth while continuously stirring. Cook everything together for 10 minutes. If desired, you can further blend the soup with an immersion blender or leave it with pieces of horseradish.
Season with salt and pepper as needed, and finally add the cooking cream.
When serving, you can add cubes of toasted bread to the soup and optionally garnish with milk foam.
You can make vegetable broth by boiling root vegetables in water with spices. Cook for about 45 minutes, then strain and cool.

OCTOPUS
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Ingredients:
1.5 kg octopus
100 ml olive oil
300 ml fish stock
150 ml Dalmatian prošek (sweet dessert wine)
2 red onions
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
150 ml white wine
250 ml water or fish stock
Parsley, basil, rosemary
Salt, pepper
.
Preparation:
Clean and chop the vegetables. Clean and wash the octopus, then cut it into small pieces. In a pot, heat 50 milliliters of olive oil and sauté parsley, basil, and rosemary over low heat. When the onions become translucent, add the chopped octopus and sauté until it releases its own liquid. Add the prošek and simmer until half of the liquid evaporates, then add the wine and continue simmering. Add water or fish stock, salt, and pepper, and simmer gently for 50-60 minutes until the octopus is cooked. Be careful not to overcook the octopus as it will become dry and tough and may fall apart into rings.

To serve as a side dish, you can add sliced potatoes that have been partially boiled in salted water and simmer together for the last half hour. Alternatively, this prepared octopus can be served with pasta, rice, or barley porridge.