CREAMY BEAN SOUP
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Ingredients:
400 g dried bacon
400 g white beans
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 sprig celery leaves
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 liter water
1 bunch parsley
2 slices rye bread
2 g butter
4 cloves garlic
salt, pepper
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Preparation:
Add the tomato puree, celery leaves, and drained beans to the sautéed bacon cubes and cook until it comes to a boil. Add the remaining water and return to the heat. Mix in the flour and vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and let it simmer briefly. Towards the end of cooking, add the chopped parsley.

Rub the slices of bread with garlic, cut them into cubes, and fry in butter until golden brown. Add the bread cubes to the hot soup and serve!

The soup can also be served as a main dish if you add sliced sausage.

KRAFNE
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Sastojci:
1 kg glatkog brašna
40-50 g kvasca
5 žutanjaka
80 g šećera
80 g maslaca
0,05 l ruma
1 vanili šećer
0,5 l mlijeka
sol, korica limuna
ulje za prženje
šećer u prahu
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Priprema:
Ugrijano brašno razmrvite s maslacem, dodajte šećer, žutanjke, sol, koricu limuna, kvasac te s toplim mlijekom izradite tijesto kuhačom. Kad se  tijesto diglo, razvaljajte ga na debljinu 1 cm i kalupom ili čašom izrezujte okrugle oblike . Ostavite ih pokrivene da se dižu oko sat vremena u toploj kuhinji. Zagrijte ulje u loncu te pržite krafne pod poklopcem 3-5 minuta na jednoj strani, a zatim okrenite i pržite bez poklopca na drugoj strani. Po želji ih možete puniti marmeladom ili nekim drugim punjenjem. Mi preporučamo pekmez od marelice.
Posipajte šećerom u prahu i poslužite tople!

ASPIC
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Ingredients:
1 kg pork meat (feet, ears, skin, tail, tongue, snout, cartilage, ...)
1 onion
100 g parsley root
200 g celery root
3 carrots
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
Salt
2-3 bay leaves
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Preparation:
Wash the meat well and place it in cold water with added salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Bring to a gentle boil, and once the water boils, skim off the foam from the top to ensure clear aspic. After an hour, add the chopped root vegetables in larger pieces. Simmer together for about 3 hours, or until the meat starts separating from the bones.
Once the meat is cooked, remove it to cool, and strain the liquid through a cheesecloth.
Clean the meat from bones, cut into smaller pieces, and arrange with vegetables on the bottom of a dish.
Pour the lukewarm strained liquid over the meat and vegetables, and leave in a cool place until set (preferably overnight).

Recipe Author: Damir Crleni

PUMPKIN GIBANICA

Ingredients:
250 g buckwheat flour
250 g wheat flour
250 g pumpkin seed flour
6 tablespoons oil
salt, lukewarm water
...
100 g pumpkin seeds
300 g pumpkin
1200 g fresh cheese (cottage cheese or farmer's cheese)
200 ml sour cream
50 g butter
1.5 eggs
50 g dried raisins
salt
50 g granulated sugar

Preparation:
For the dough, knead buckwheat, pumpkin seed, and wheat flour with oil, salt, and lukewarm water. Divide the dough into three parts. Meanwhile, prepare the filling with fresh cheese, grated pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, eggs, and raisins (previously soaked slightly) with added sugar and salt to taste.

Roll out the first part of the dough that has rested a bit into the shape of a baking dish. Place it on the bottom, which you've greased with butter, and add half of the filling. Then roll out the second part of the dough and place it over the filling. Spread the second part of the filling over the dough and finish with the third part of the dough. Prick it lightly with a fork to release any trapped air and brush it with sour cream.

Bake at 180°C (356°F) for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

You can decorate the gibnica with pumpkin seeds and serve!

Bon appétit!

Dumplings with Sour Cream

The recipe for this dish was provided by the Restaurant Bernarda from Varaždinske Toplice.

Ingredients:

• 400 g sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 50 g lard
• 200 g flour
• 50 g semolina
• 50 ml pumpkin oil
• Salt and pepper

Preparation: In a bowl, mix 300 g of sour cream, 2 eggs, lard, spices, semolina, and gradually add flour. Use a spoon to mix the dough, which should not be too firm. Leave it covered to rest for a while. In boiling salted water, form dumplings with a spoon and cook them for 10-15 minutes, depending on their size. Carefully remove the dumplings onto a plate and serve with a sauce made from 100 g of sour cream and pumpkin oil.

This dish can be served as an appetizer or a side dish. Enjoy!

Recipe by Damir Crleni

CORNMEAL ŽGANCI WITH PUMPKIN SEADS
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Ingredients:
Water
600 g homemade cornmeal
100 g lard
30 g pumpkin seeds
30 ml pumpkin oil
50 ml homemade cream
Salt
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Preparation:
In a pot, pour about 1.2 liters of water, adjusting based on whether you prefer firmer or softer žganci. Salt the water and bring it to a boil. Gradually stir in the cornmeal while mixing continuously. Reduce the heat and keep stirring with a wooden spoon until the žganci become firm.  Serve the žganci in a dish, topped with fried lard and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds. You can also drizzle with pumpkin oil and homemade thick cream. Enjoy!

The recipe for this dish was provided to us by the Trakošćan Hotel in Trakošćan.

BEAR'S GARLIC SOUP
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Ingredients:
100 g wild garlic
20 g butter
100 g potatoes
30 ml cooking cream
Salt
White pepper
Herbs
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Preparation:
Melt the butter and add the diced potatoes. Season with salt, then cover with water or broth and cook gently. Near the end of cooking, add the chopped wild garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Season to taste.
Blend the vegetables with an immersion blender, then stir in the cooking cream and bring to a boil. Adjust the soup’s thickness by adding more water or broth as needed.
Garnish the soup with cream, pumpkin oil, and toasted, seasoned bread cubes. You can also decorate it with milk foam. To prepare the foam, heat milk and pour it into a mixing bowl. Use an immersion blender to mix at a low speed for about one minute. For more foam, keep the blender just below the surface of the milk.

Enjoy your meal!

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

TOPLICA SOUP

Ingredients:

• 100g homemade smoked bacon
• 100g homemade smoked sausages
• 100g meat from a salted pork belly
• 300g fresh porcini mushrooms
• 50g pork fat
• 50g flour
• 200g onions
• 100g carrots
• 1 teaspoon ground red paprika
• 1 liter water or stock
• Salt
• Pepper
• Bay leaf

Preparation:

1. Cut the onion, carrots, sausages, bacon, salted pork belly meat, and porcini mushrooms into cubes.
2. Fry the onion until it softens and turns golden brown. Then, add the carrots, sausages, bacon, salted pork belly meat, mushrooms, bay leaf, and ground paprika. Stir everything together and fry for a few minutes.
3. Add the flour, mix well, and fry for another 2 minutes on low heat while gradually adding the stock or water.
4. Let the soup simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes, until the carrots are soft.
5. Add salt and pepper towards the end (the homemade salted meat, sausages, and bacon release salt as they cook, so be mindful of this when adding extra salt).
6. Due to its rich content and flavor, this soup can be served as a dish on its own.

Enjoy your Toplica Soup!

Here’s the English translation for the recipe:

Veal Rolls Stuffed with Pumpkin

Ingredients:

• 640 g veal leg
• 80 g pumpkin
• 50 g pumpkin seeds
• 30 g horseradish
• 0.2 g saffron
• 100 ml cooking cream
• 150 ml broth
• 40 g butter
• 30 g starch flour
• 30 ml oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Vegeta (optional)

Preparation:

1. Cut the veal leg into schnitzels, tenderize them well, and season.
2. Clean and slice the pumpkin thinly, then blanch it.
3. Lay the veal schnitzels with pumpkin slices and roll them into rolls.
4. Roast the pumpkin seeds and grind them into powder.
5. Sear the veal rolls in a pan, then add the broth to simmer.
6. Once cooked, coat the rolls with ground pumpkin seeds.
7. In the same pan, add horseradish and saffron to the broth. Once the mixture boils, add the cooking cream, season to taste, and thicken with butter and starch flour to create a creamy sauce.
8. Serve the veal rolls with gnocchi, potatoes, or mlinci.

Enjoy!

Steak Tartare
(Recipe provided by the Minerva restaurant in Varaždinske Toplice)

Ingredients:

• 200 g beef fillet (steak)
• 10 g salted anchovies
• 50 g mayonnaise
• 10 g pickles
• 30 g mustard
• 0.5 g chili peppers
• 0.5 g capers
• 20 g onion
• 0.5 g parsley
• 0.5 g salt
• Ground red paprika
• Worcester sauce
• Tabasco sauce
• Lemon juice
• Ketchup
• Butter
• Toasted bread

Preparation:

1. Marinate the beef in a mixture of mustard and oil for at least 48 hours.
2. After marinating, cut the meat into strips with a sharp knife, then finely chop the strips into minced meat. Continue chopping until it reaches your desired texture.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, lemon juice, finely chopped pickles, anchovies, capers, onion, parsley, chili peppers, Tabasco sauce, Worcester sauce, red paprika, and salt. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
4. Combine the minced beef with the prepared mixture and mix everything thoroughly.
5. Serve the steak tartare on an oval platter with butter or spread it on toasted bread.

Enjoy!