BRAMBORAK

Ingredients:
2 kg potatoes
0.9 liters of milk
500 g all-purpose flour
3 eggs
15 g salt
10 g Vegeta seasoning
1 g pepper
2 cloves of garlic
200 ml frying oil

Preparation:
Peel and grate the potatoes, then pour milk over them to prevent browning.
Mix gently and add eggs, grated garlic, spices, and flour to bind the mixture together.
Optionally, you can add a bit of marjoram for additional flavor.
Cook in a frying pan with heated oil until golden yellow on both sides.

Bramborak is typically served as a dinner dish, accompanied by yogurt, sour cream, or milk, depending on personal preference.
It pairs well with Old Czech beer or the craft beer line 5th Element from Daruvar Brewery.
Bramborak is simple but leaves a lasting impression with its delicious flavors.

ŠTRUKLI IN SOUP
Recipe courtesy of Restaurant Villa Zelenjak-Ventek from Kumrovec.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg all-purpose flour

• 60 ml water

• 10 g salt

• 2 eggs

• 1.5 kg fresh cheese

• 200 ml sour cream

• 2 eggs

• 8 g salt

• 1 onion

• Parsley leaves

• Ground red paprika

• Sour cream

Preparation:

1. Mix the dough from the flour, water, salt, and 2 eggs. Let the dough rest for half an hour.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by mixing the fresh cheese, sour cream, eggs, and a bit of salt.
3. Cover the kitchen table with a clean tablecloth and dust it with flour. Brush the dough with oil, roll it out, and then carefully stretch it over the edges of the table. Fill the dough with the cheese mixture and roll it up. Cut the štrukli into 5-7 cm pieces for cooking.
4. Place the štrukli into boiling salted water and cook for about 10 minutes.
5. In the meantime, sauté the onion, chopped parsley, and ground paprika, then add some of the cooking liquid from the štrukli. Return the mixture to the soup and cook for another 2 minutes.
6. Whisk sour cream and sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Recipe provided by the Magdalena Restaurant from Krapinske Toplice.

CINFIT DUCK LEG
with white bean purée, toasted hazelnuts, and sautéed spinach
.
Ingredients:
1 duck leg
Oil
Young spinach
Butter
Onion
White beans
Hazelnuts
Salt, pepper, thyme
.
Preparation:
Season the duck leg with salt and marinate for 24 hours. Then, cook it in oil at around 95°C (203°F) for about 2 hours. Let it cool and keep it in its own fat.
Blanch the young spinach leaves and sauté them in butter with a touch of smoked salt. Sauté the onion in duck fat, add the cooked white beans, and season with pepper and thyme. Toast the hazelnuts briefly in a hot pan and sprinkle them over the dish. Garnish with fresh herbs. Enjoy your meal!

The recipe for this dish was provided to us by the Purga Restaurant in Zlatar Bistrica.

CORN SOUP
.
Ingredients:
Young corn
Cooking cream
Bacon
Mlinci (Croatian flatbread)
Parsley
Salt, pepper, nutmeg
.
Preparation:
Cook the young corn. Once the corn is cooked, pass it through a fine sieve along with the cooking water. Add the cooking cream to the strained mixture and adjust the flavor with salt and pepper.
Thin strips of bacon can be crisped up on a grill or in a pan, and the mlinci should be boiled, dried, and then crisped in hot fat. Serve the soup in deep bowls, topping it with the crispy bacon and mlinci. Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy this warm corn soup!

Enjoy your meal!

Recipe provided by Restaurant Minerva, Varaždinske Toplice

STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST IN A HAZELNUT CRUST

Ingredients:
180 g chicken fillet
30 g Gouda cheese
60 g fresh bell peppers
50 g zucchini
50 g tomatoes
50 g hazelnuts (finely ground)
80 ml sunflower oil
20 g all-purpose flour
20 g butter
Salt, pepper (to taste)
150 g cheese gnocchi

Filling Ingredients:
40 g ham
20 g fresh mushrooms
20 g pickled cucumbers
1 egg
Onion

Cheese Gnocchi Ingredients:
100 g fresh cheese
50 g all-purpose flour
20 g butter
1 egg

Preparation:

Filling Preparation:
Sauté the onion until soft. Add diced ham, sliced mushrooms, and chopped pickled cucumbers. Bind the filling with a beaten egg.

Cheese Gnocchi Preparation:
Mix fresh cheese with butter, flour, and egg to form a dough. Shape into gnocchi and cook in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Chicken Roll Preparation:
Flatten the chicken fillets with a meat mallet and season with salt and pepper.
Fill with the prepared filling and roll into tight roulades.
Coat the roulades in flour, then egg, and finally in ground hazelnuts.
Fry the roulades in hot sunflower oil until golden brown.

Serving Suggestion:
Serve the fried chicken rolls with freshly prepared cheese gnocchi and sautéed vegetables like bell peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes for a complete meal.

Recipe provided by the Bernarda Restaurant from Varaždinske Toplice.

POPPY SEED COOKIES
.
Ingredients:
200 g room temperature butter
100 g powdered sugar
10 g pure vanilla paste
1 tablespoon honey
250 g flour
150 g ground blue poppy seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation:
.
Mix the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the honey and vanilla paste. Then, gently fold in the flour, poppy seeds, and cinnamon. Form the dough and roll it out to a thickness of 5 mm. Use cookie cutters to cut out circular or other shapes.
Preheat the oven to 175°C. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, preferably on parchment paper.
Let them cool, then sandwich them with homemade jam of your choice (we used apricot).

Recipe provided by Restaurant Gondola from Sotina.

LUCINI SALENJACI
.
Ingredients:
200 g pork fat
300 g flour
20 g fresh yeast
100 ml milk
100 ml wine
2 egg yolks
½ teaspoon salt
100 g plum jam
Powdered sugar
.
Preparation:

Dissolve the yeast in a little milk and, once it rises, add flour, egg yolks, 2-3 tablespoons of warm water, salt, and a little white wine. Knead the dough until bubbles start to form on the surface. Then cover and leave to rise.

In the meantime, clean the fat of veins and skin by scraping with a knife. Once the dough has risen, roll it out and spread the fat over it. Fold the left and right sides, then the top and bottom, to completely enclose the fat within the dough. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes, and repeat the entire process three times.

Finally, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm, cut into squares, spread with jam, fold over, and bake at 220°C (428°F) for about 35-40 minutes. Serve dusted with powdered sugar.

Recipe provided by La'Gus restaurant from Turčin.

PEAR IN RED WINE
.
Ingredients:
4 medium pears
500 ml red wine
50 g sugar
1 lemon
1 vanilla sugar
3-4 cloves
.
Preparation:
In a suitable pot, combine the red wine and all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Peel the pears and cook them in the wine. After about twenty minutes, remove from heat and let sit for 2 hours. Remove the pears from the wine, cut them in half, place them on a plate, and drizzle lightly with the wine. You can serve this dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

PUMPKIN SEED SPREAD
Recipe by: Damir Crleni

Ingredients:

• 150 g pumpkin seeds
• 1 small onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp pumpkin oil
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• Salt, pepper

Preparation:
Toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry pan for a short time, salt them, and allow them to cool slightly. Grind two-thirds of the seeds finely, and chop the remaining seeds into small pieces. Finely chop the onion and garlic.

Combine all the ingredients, add the pumpkin oil and a teaspoon of white vinegar. Mix everything well and adjust the seasoning to taste. Let it rest in the fridge for an hour or two to allow the flavors to meld together.

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

SARMA

Ingredients:

• 1 head of sauerkraut
• 500 g mixed minced meat
• 80 g rice
• 100 g fatty bacon
• 80 g onion
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oil or lard
• A little flour
• Ground paprika for thickening
• Smoked meat

Preparation:

1. Mix the minced meat with the rice, salt, and pepper. Finely chop the onion and garlic, and briefly sauté them in oil until softened (first the onion, then add the garlic).
2. Chop the fatty bacon and add it to the meat mixture. Combine everything well, preferably with your hands.
3. Take about a tablespoon of the meat mixture and shape it into a roll, placing it on the upper part of a sauerkraut leaf and wrapping it.
4. While rolling the sarma, tuck in the leftover edges of the cabbage leaves.
5. Slice the remaining sauerkraut and place half of it on the bottom of the pot where you will cook the sarma. Then, layer the sarmas (not too tightly so they can "puff up") and add smoked meat. Add another layer of sarmas and then the rest of the sliced sauerkraut.
6. Pour water over everything and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours.
7. In the end, make a thickening with flour, lard, and paprika, and add it to the pot.
8. Serve with mashed potatoes as a side dish.