BREADEN CHICKEN
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Ingredients:
1 kg chicken pieces for breading
100 g all-purpose flour
2 eggs
150 g breadcrumbs
100 g butter
200 g rice
100 g peas
500 ml oil for frying
salt and pepper
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Preparation:

Salt the chicken pieces. In a plate, whisk the eggs with salt and pepper. Roll the pieces of chicken in flour, then in eggs, and finally in breadcrumbs. In preheated deep oil, place the breaded chicken pieces and fry on all sides until they turn golden yellow.
In a pot over low heat, melt the butter and add the rice. Salt it, add water and peas, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. The side dish is ready when the rice is cooked.

PLUM DUMPLINGS

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
2 eggs
800 g potatoes
300 g flour
4 tablespoons oil
100 g breadcrumbs
Cinnamon
Plums or other fruit
Sugar

Preparation:
Peel and cook the potatoes in lightly salted water. Drain and mash them well, then add the butter. Let it cool slightly.
Once cooled, add the eggs and flour to the potatoes. Knead the mixture until a smooth dough forms.
Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm and cut into larger squares.
Wrap the chosen fruit with a bit of sugar in the dough and form into dumplings.
Drop the dumplings into boiling water and cook until they float to the surface.
In a pan, heat the oil and add the breadcrumbs, lightly toasting them (add cinnamon if desired).
Add the cooked dumplings to the breadcrumbs and coat them well on all sides.

Enjoy!

PUMPKIN FLOUR SOUP
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Ingredients:
pumpkin flour
milk or cooking cream
broth
salt
pepper
pumpkin seeds
oil
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Preparation:
Make a roux with oil and pumpkin flour, then gradually add your choice of broth (vegetable or meat). Once it simmers a bit, add milk or cooking cream according to your preference. Season with salt and pepper as needed, and serve with chopped pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of pumpkin oil.

VANILLA CRESCENTS

Ingredients:

• 300 g all-purpose flour
• 200 g butter
• 160 g ground walnuts
• 70 g sugar
• 1 baking powder
• 1 vanilla sugar
• 1 egg
• Powdered vanilla sugar

Preparation:
Knead all the ingredients into a dough. Let the dough cool in the fridge for at least one hour. After chilling, form the dough into crescent shapes and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes at 180°C, depending on the size of the crescents. Once cooled, roll them in powdered vanilla sugar.

LINZERS

Ingredients:

• 200 g butter at room temperature
• 2 egg yolks
• 100 g ground almonds
• 100 g sugar
• 100 g all-purpose flour
• Jam

Preparation:
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and knead into a smooth dough (if it's too soft due to the butter, feel free to add a little more flour). Chill the dough in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes to firm up, making it easier to roll out. On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough to about half a centimeter in thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out the biscuits, ensuring that the top piece has a hole in the middle, which you can make with a cork or similar tool. Place the cookies on a tray and bake at 180°C for about 10 minutes. If they still seem too soft, leave them for a little longer. Once cooled, spread jam on the base cookies and sandwich with the top cookies. Optionally, dust with powdered sugar.

BROWNED FLOUR SOUP
Ingredients:
1 liter of water
30 g of flour
40 g of lard (or oil)
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste
 Preparation:
In fat, fry the flour until it turns light brown, then slowly add water, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the bay leaf, salt to taste, and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat.
You can enhance the soup by stirring in one beaten egg or adding croutons. You can also add a bit of paprika powder if you like.
Enjoy your meal!

Author of the recipe: Damir Crleni

PUMPKIN SEED SPREAD

Ingredients:
150 g pumpkin seeds
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons pumpkin seed oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
Salt, pepper

Preparation: Lightly toast the pumpkin seeds in a pan without oil, season with salt, and let them cool slightly. Finely grind two-thirds of the seeds, and finely chop the remaining seeds. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Mix all the ingredients, add the pumpkin seed oil and a teaspoon of vinegar. Combine everything well and season further to taste. Leave in the refrigerator for an hour or two to let the flavors meld.

Serve with small slices of bread as a cold appetizer or as a standalone dish, best enjoyed with a glass of homemade white wine.

Author: Damir Crleni

PUMPKIN BREAD
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Ingredients:
375 g pumpkin marinated with cardamom
500 g cornmeal
150 g rye flour
100 g pumpkin flour
100 g whole pumpkin seeds
500 ml water
40 g fresh yeast
50 ml warm water
60 ml pumpkin oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
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Preparation:
Heat 500 ml of water (it should not boil). In a mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal and pumpkin seeds, and pour the heated water over them. Mix well. Clean the pumpkin, cut it into 1x1 cm cubes, and marinate with cardamom and a bit of salt. In a separate bowl, dissolve the fresh yeast with a little sugar and let it rise in a warm place. Add the risen yeast, rye flour, pumpkin flour, pumpkin oil, salt, and remaining sugar to the cooled cornmeal mixture, along with the marinated pumpkin with cardamom. Grease a bread baking tin with oil. Transfer the dough to the tin and smooth it out with a wet spoon. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for about 20 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes.

Serve the bread warm or cooled. It can be enjoyed with cold cuts or on its own, or with a bit of butter, as it is a special treat by itself.

ŠURLICE WITH CUTTLEFISH AND FAVA BEANS

Ingredients:

• 600 g cuttlefish
• 300 g fava beans
• 250 g onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 80 ml olive oil
• 40 g parsley
• 150 g fresh tomatoes (or 25 g tomato concentrate)
• 50 ml white wine
• Salt, pepper
• Šurlice pasta

Preparation: Chop the onion finely and sauté it in two-thirds of the olive oil until golden yellow. Add the cleaned and diced cuttlefish and sauté until tender. Add minced garlic, parsley, diced tomatoes (or tomato concentrate), and white wine. Let it cook lightly, then add the cooked and drained fava beans. Bring everything to a boil, add the remaining olive oil, season, and combine the sauce with the cooked šurlice.

Serve warm and, if desired, sprinkle with grated cheese or aged sheep cheese.

Enjoy your meal!

PRETZELS

Ingredients:
500 g all-purpose flour
250 g butter
100 ml milk
1 fresh yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
Caraway seeds

Preparation: Gently heat the milk and mix it with the crumbled fresh yeast and a little sugar. Let it rise for 10-15 minutes. In the flour, add salt and softened butter, then add the yeast mixture. Knead the dough and roll it out to about half a centimeter thick, then cut out the pretzels using cookie cutters. Brush the pretzels with the beaten egg and sprinkle with caraway seeds.

Bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes, or until they achieve a nice golden color.

VARAŽDIN-STYLE MLINCI
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Ingredients:
800 g homemade mlinci
200 g dried ham (or cured meat similar to hamburger)
300 ml sour cream
200 ml heavy cream
800 g fresh cottage cheese
50 g butter
100 ml oil
100 g “Varaždinac” cheese (or a similar hard cheese)
Salt, pepper
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Preparation:
Sauté the diced ham in oil, add it to the pressed cottage cheese, season with salt and pepper, and mix it all with the sour cream until the mixture is smooth. Blanch the mlinci in boiling salted water, making sure they don’t tear. Cool them down and pat them dry. Grease the baking dish with butter and layer it with mlinci, followed by a layer of the cheese mixture. Sprinkle each layer of mlinci with a bit of oil, and top the final layer with grated cheese.
Pour the heavy cream over everything and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

These mlinci can be served as a warm appetizer or as a standalone dish.