Today we’re off to sunny Croatia—a country where the Mediterranean meets the Balkans, and every region boasts its own culinary traditions. We’re cooking two iconic dishes: Dalmatian braised beef and black cuttlefish risotto with seafood.
🍖 Pašticada
A legendary Dalmatian dish—beef marinated in vinegar and wine, then slow-cooked to impossible tenderness in a thick, spiced sauce with prunes. Served with gnocchi or homemade pasta, the sauce turns dark, sweet-sour, and incredibly aromatic.
Ingredients:
• Beef (rump or chuck) — 1 kg whole piece
• Bacon or pancetta — 100 g
• Carrots — 2 medium
• Parsley root or parsnip — 1
• Yellow onion — 2 large
• Garlic — 4 cloves
• Pitted prunes — 100 g
• Dry red wine — 300 ml
• Red wine vinegar — 100 ml
• Tomato paste — 2 tbsp
• Beef stock — 400 ml
• Bay leaves — 2
• Cloves — 4 buds
• Nutmeg — pinch of grated
• Fresh rosemary — 2 sprigs
• Olive oil — 3 tbsp
• Salt, black pepper — to taste
• Sugar — 1 tsp
Instructions:
Step 1. Marinating the meat
Rinse the beef, pat dry with paper towels. Make 8–10 deep incisions with a sharp knife (3–4 cm deep). Cut the bacon into thin strips (0.5 cm thick, 5–6 cm long) and lard the meat, inserting the strips into the incisions. Place the meat in a deep bowl, pour over the wine and vinegar mixture, add 2 crushed garlic cloves, bay leaves, and cloves. Cover with cling film and marinate in the fridge for at least 12 hours, preferably 24, turning every 6 hours. The meat should darken and absorb the aromas.
Step 2. Prepping the vegetables and searing the meat
Peel the carrots and parsley root, slice into 1 cm rounds. Slice the onion into 0.5 cm half-rings. Finely chop the remaining garlic. Remove the meat from the marinade (keep the marinade!) and pat dry with paper towels. In a thick-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over high heat. Sear the meat on all sides until deep golden-brown (3–4 minutes per side). The meat should develop a caramelized crust and emit a nutty aroma. Transfer to a plate.
Step 3. Sautéing the vegetables and building the sauce base
In the same pot, without rinsing off the meat juices, sauté the onion over medium heat until translucent (5 minutes). Add the carrots, parsley root, and garlic, cook for another 5 minutes, stirring. The vegetables should soften slightly and start to brown at the edges. Add the tomato paste, stir, and cook for 2 minutes—the paste should darken and take on a brick-red hue. Pour in the reserved marinade, bring to a boil, and reduce for 3 minutes over high heat. The liquid should reduce by a third, and the vinegar smell should mellow.
Step 4. Braising the meat
Return the meat to the pot, add the prunes, rosemary, nutmeg, sugar, salt, and pepper. Pour in the stock—the liquid should cover two-thirds of the meat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 3–3.5 hours. Every 40 minutes, turn the meat and check the liquid level—top up with hot water if needed. The meat is done when a fork slides in effortlessly and the fibers separate easily.
Step 5. Finishing the sauce
Carefully remove the meat onto a platter and cover with foil. Discard the rosemary sprigs and bay leaves from the sauce. Blend the vegetables and prunes in the pot until smooth (consistency of thin sour cream). If the sauce is too thick, add 50–100 ml of stock. If too thin, reduce over medium heat for 5–7 minutes uncovered. Taste and adjust the balance of salt, sugar, and acidity. The sauce should be velvety, dark brown, with a pronounced sweet-sour note.
Step 6. Serving
Slice the meat across the grain into 1.5 cm pieces. Arrange on a warmed platter and generously drizzle with hot sauce. Traditionally served with boiled potato gnocchi or homemade pasta, sprinkled with grated Parmesan. Garnish with fresh parsley.
💡 Fact: Pašticada is the calling card of Dalmatia, especially the city of Dubrovnik. This dish was prepared for special occasions—weddings, christenings, and Sunday family lunches. The recipe is passed down through generations, and every family considers their version the only correct one. The key to success? Long marinating and slow cooking—the meat becomes so tender you can eat it with a spoon.
🦑 Crni Rižot (Black Risotto)
Croatia’s famous black risotto with cuttlefish—rice dyed deep black by cuttlefish ink, with tender pieces of seafood. The dish looks dramatic, and the taste is briny, with a sea breeze aroma and a touch of creaminess.
Ingredients:
• Cuttlefish or squid — 500 g cleaned bodies
• Risotto rice (arborio or carnaroli) — 300 g
• Cuttlefish ink — 3–4 packets of 4 g each (sold in supermarkets)
• Fish or vegetable stock — 1 liter
• Dry white wine — 150 ml
• Yellow onion — 1 medium
• Garlic — 3 cloves
• Tomato paste — 1 tbsp
• Olive oil — 4 tbsp
• Butter — 30 g
• Fresh parsley — small bunch
• Lemon — 1
• Salt, black pepper — to taste
Instructions:
Step 1. Prepping the seafood
Rinse the cuttlefish (or squid) under cold water, remove any remaining innards and chitinous plates. Slice the bodies into 1 cm rings, cut the tentacles (if any) into 3–4 cm segments. Pat dry with paper towels. Bring the stock to a boil in a separate pot, then reduce to a simmer—it should stay hot throughout cooking.
Step 2. Searing the seafood and aromatics
In a wide, deep skillet or sauté pan with a thick bottom, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over high heat. Add the cuttlefish and sear for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until it turns opaque and lightly browns. The meat should firm up and release juice. Transfer to a bowl. In the same pan, add the remaining olive oil and reduce the heat to medium. Dice the onion into 0.3 cm cubes, finely chop the garlic. Sauté the onion for 5 minutes until translucent, then add the garlic and tomato paste, cook for another 2 minutes. The mixture should become fragrant, and the paste should darken.
Step 3. Toasting the rice
Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat each grain with oil. Toast for 2–3 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The rice should turn translucent at the edges, emit a nutty aroma, but not brown. This step is critical: properly toasted rice will hold its structure and not turn mushy.
Step 4. Deglazing with wine and adding the ink
Pour in the wine and increase the heat to high. Stir until the wine nearly evaporates (2–3 minutes)—only a few spoonfuls of liquid should remain, and the alcohol smell should dissipate. Add the cuttlefish ink and stir thoroughly. The rice will instantly turn black. Return the seared cuttlefish to the pan and stir.
Step 5. Gradually adding the stock
Start adding the hot stock one ladle at a time (about 100–120 ml each). After each addition, stir and wait until the liquid is almost fully absorbed—the rice should stay moist but not swim in broth. This process takes 18–22 minutes. Keep the heat medium and stir every 1–2 minutes. The rice is done when the grains are al dente (soft on the outside, with a slight bite in the center), and the risotto has a creamy, flowing consistency. Taste a grain: it should be easy to bite but not hard.
Step 6. Mantecatura (final enrichment)
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the butter and 2 tbsp of finely chopped parsley. Vigorously stir in circular motions for 1–2 minutes—the risotto should become glossy, creamy, and ripple like a wave off the spoon. This is called all’onda (like a wave). Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and stir—the acidity will highlight the seafood flavor.
Step 7. Serving
Immediately spoon the risotto onto warmed plates, smoothing the surface with the back of a spoon. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining parsley. Serve with lemon wedges. Risotto can’t wait—eat it right away while it’s creamy and hot.
💡 Fact: Crni rižot is the pride of the Dalmatian coast, especially the islands of Hvar and Korčula. Cuttlefish ink has been used in Croatian cuisine for centuries: it doesn’t just color the dish but imparts a unique mineral, iodine-rich taste of the sea. In the past, fishermen cooked this dish right on their boats from the fresh catch. Today, crni rižot is a must-try for tourists, and locals joke that after eating it, your smile turns black—and that’s the sign of a great meal!