Today we’re heading to Croatia — a country where Zagreb’s continental meat cuisine meets the treasures of the Dalmatian sea. Two iconic dishes, two different worlds on one plate.
The legendary Zagreb schnitzel — a tender veal cutlet stuffed with ham and cheese, fried in a golden, crisp breadcrumb coating. Slice it open and a stretchy cheese filling with pink ham reveals itself — Croatia’s answer to cordon bleu, but with its own history and character.
Ingredients (serves 2):
• Veal tenderloin (or boneless pork loin) — 2 steaks, 200 g each
• Cooked ham (good quality) — 4 thin slices
• Semi-hard cheese (Emmental, Gouda, or Gruyère) — 4 slices
• Wheat flour — 80 g
• Chicken eggs — 2
• Fine breadcrumbs — 150 g
• Vegetable oil (sunflower or rapeseed) — 300 ml for frying
• Salt — to taste
• Ground black pepper — to taste
• Lemon — 1, for serving
Preparation:
Step 1. Preparing the meat.
Slice each steak horizontally lengthwise, leaving about 1 cm uncut at the end, so that it opens like a book. Open up the meat and cover it with cling film. Pound with a meat mallet to an even thickness of 5–6 mm. The meat should become pliable, but not tear.
Step 2. Building the filling.
Lay 2 slices of ham on one half of the opened steak, then place 2 slices of cheese on top. The cheese and ham should not extend beyond the edges of the meat — leave a 1 cm border all around. Close with the other half of the meat and press the edges firmly together. You can secure the edges with toothpicks, but don’t forget to remove them before serving.
Step 3. Triple breading.
Prepare three deep plates: flour seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper in the first; eggs, lightly beaten with a fork until smooth, in the second; breadcrumbs in the third. Coat the stuffed steak in flour first, shaking off the excess. Then dip it into the egg and let the excess drip away. Finally, coat it in breadcrumbs, gently pressing the coating in with your palms. Repeat the egg and breadcrumb layers for a second coating — this gives it an especially crisp crust.
Step 4. Resting before frying.
Place the breaded steaks on a rack or a plate and refrigerate for 15–20 minutes. The coating will set and won’t come off during frying. The surface should look matte and even.
Step 5. Frying.
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or saucepan to 170–175 °C (test: a piece of bread dropped in should hiss and bubble within 2–3 seconds). Carefully lower the steak into the oil. Fry for 4–5 minutes on the first side, then turn and fry for another 3–4 minutes. The crust should become an even golden amber, and no pink liquid should emerge from the center when lightly pressed.
Step 6. Resting and draining the oil.
Transfer the finished odrezak to a rack set over a plate, or onto paper towels. Let it rest for 2–3 minutes — during that time, the cheese inside will settle slightly but remain stretchy. Remove the toothpicks, if used.
Step 7. Serving.
Serve on a warm plate, slicing the schnitzel in half diagonally to reveal the filling. Place a lemon wedge alongside for squeezing over it. The classic side dish is mashed potatoes or a simple fresh cabbage salad with a vinegar dressing. The crust should crackle beneath the knife, while melted cheese stretches from the cut.
💡 Fact: Zagrebački odrezak appeared in Zagreb restaurants in the 1950s and is often mistakenly confused with cordon bleu. Croatians insist that their version is an invention in its own right, and the difference lies in the details: the classic Zagreb version is made specifically with veal, while local semi-hard cheese gives the filling a different texture.
An iconic Dalmatian dish — large prawns (škampi) braised in a fragrant sauce of white wine, garlic, tomatoes, and olive oil. The sauce turns rich, lightly tart, and deeply redolent of the sea, while the prawns remain juicy and tender. It is served straight in the pan, with crusty bread for mopping it up.
Ingredients (serves 2):
• Large prawns (langoustines or tiger prawns, in their shells) — 500 g
• Extra-virgin olive oil — 60 ml
• Garlic — 5 cloves
• Dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc, Malvasia, or Pinot Grigio) — 200 ml
• Canned tomatoes (crushed, peeled) — 200 g
• Tomato paste — 1 tbsp.
• Fresh parsley — 1 large bunch (about 30 g)
• Breadcrumbs — 2 tbsp.
• Sea salt — to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper — to taste
• Dried chili pepper (flakes) — 0.5 tsp. (optional)
• Rustic white bread (ciabatta or baguette) — for serving
Preparation:
Step 1. Preparing the prawns.
If the prawns are frozen, thaw them completely in the refrigerator for 8–12 hours. Rinse under cold water. Using scissors, cut through the shell along the back of each prawn and remove the dark intestinal vein with a toothpick. Do not remove the shells — they will give the sauce its deep seafood flavor. Pat the prawns dry with paper towels. Their surface should be dry, without water droplets.
Step 2. Preparing the aromatic base.
Peel the garlic and slice it into thin 1–2 mm slices (don’t crush it through a press — you need actual slices that will remain visible in the sauce). Wash and dry the parsley. Finely chop the stems (into 3 mm dice) — they will go into the sauce. Roughly chop the leaves — they are for the final serving.
Step 3. Frying the garlic.
In a wide, deep frying pan (or a 28–30 cm saucepan), heat the olive oil over medium heat until it begins to shimmer lightly. Add the garlic and chili flakes. Fry, stirring constantly, for 60–90 seconds. The garlic should turn translucent and begin releasing its aroma, but under no circumstances should it brown — burnt garlic will make it bitter.
Step 4. Frying the prawns.
Turn the heat up high. Arrange the prawns in a single layer. Fry without touching them for 1.5–2 minutes, until the shells on the underside turn bright pink and lightly browned. Turn them over and fry for another 1 minute. At this stage, the prawns should not be fully cooked — they will finish in the sauce.
Step 5. Deglazing with wine and making the sauce.
Pour in the white wine. It should hiss vigorously and begin bubbling. Scrape all the caramelized bits from the bottom with a wooden spatula. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and chopped parsley stems. Stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Simmer uncovered for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should reduce by about a third and reach a thickness at which it slowly drips from the spoon, leaving a trail across the bottom.
Step 6. Thickening and the final simmer.
Stir in the breadcrumbs — a traditional Dalmatian trick for giving the sauce a velvety texture. Stir and simmer for another 2–3 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt and pepper. The sauce should be rich, slightly tart from the wine and tomatoes, with a distinct aroma of sea and garlic. By now, the prawns should be completely pink, firm but springy when pressed.
Step 7. Serving.
Remove the pan from the heat. Generously scatter with the chopped parsley leaves. Drizzle with fresh olive oil (1 tbsp.). Serve straight from the pan, set on a wooden board. Be sure to place thick slices (2 cm) of bread, toasted on a grill or in a toaster, alongside it — they are there to gather every last drop of sauce from the bottom. Buzara is eaten with your hands: peel the prawns and dip the bread.
💡 Fact: The word “buzara” comes from a Dalmatian dialect word meaning “fuss” or “commotion” — the dish is made quickly, in one vessel, without any unnecessary ceremony. Dalmatian fishermen have cooked buzara straight on their boats from the fresh catch for centuries, and to this day, the best buzara is said to be the kind where no more than an hour has passed from sea to pan.