Istria

RECIPES AND STORIES FROM THE PEOPLE OF ISTRIA

PAOLA BACCHIA

Explore the culture and history of Istria – a gulf shared by Italy, Croatia and Slovenia— through the kitchens and recipes of its inhabitants.

Istria is the heart-shaped promontory at the northern crux of the Adriatic Sea, where rows of vines and olives grow in red fields. Here, the cuisine records a history of changing borders—a blend of the three countries (Italy, Croatia and Slovenia) that have shared Istria’s hills and coasts and valleys.

This book is a record of traditions, of these cultures and of Paolo’s family: recipes from her childhood, the region’s past, and her relatives and friends who still live beside the Adriatic coast. Among recipes for potato dumplings, baked antipasti, and strudels made with cherries, apricots, and plums, are memories of the region and the stories of the recipes’ authors: the Italian-Istrians who remained in the region after the 1940s, and those who left for new countries.

Istria is full of recipes inspired by home kitchens and memories of what grew in the owner’s gardens: hearty grain soups and seafood, crepes piled high and biscuits flavored with cinnamon. Istrian cuisine is a rich blend of Venice and Vienna, Hungary and the Balkans—food doesn’t have borders, and certainly not in this book’s recipes.

Paola Bacchia was born to Italian migrant parents and into their food culture. Her award-winning blog, Italy On My Mind, explores the connection between family memories and food through stories, photos and recipes. She returns to Italy every year to expand her knowledge of Italian food and traditions. Previously, she published Italian Street Food and Adriatico with Smith Street Books.

COOKING & ENTERTAINING

272 pages, 75 x 95” 150 color photographs HC: 978-1-92-241718-3 $35.00 Can: $47.00 October 5, 2021 Rights: US/Canada, Latin America, Asia SMITH STREET BOOKS

ISTRIA

I called him santolo Mario; he was my godfather and one of my father’s closest friends from Pola/Pula. I chat to his widow Gemma often, and we talk about the old days and how Mario loved to cook for the groups of istriani that would drop over for a game of cards. This was one of his favourite and most popular dishes; mussoli al forno or mussels baked in the oven with a crispy and delicious savoury topping of anchovies, garlic and parmesan cheese.

Mario’s baked mussels

(mussoli al forno)

2 dozen mussels (about 1 kg) 10g oil-preserved anchovies, nely chopped 2 tablespoons parsley leaves, nely chopped 1 clove garlic, nely chopped or crushed 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 small ripe tomato (about 80g), with some of the juice reserved ½ cup breadcrumbs ¼ cup (15g) grated parmesan cheese Scrub, debeard and wash the mussels in plenty of cold water. Place a large lidded frypan on high heat on the stove top. Place the drained mussels in the pan, put on the lid. Allow them to sit there for a minute, shaking the pan once or twice, then lift off the lid to check if any have opened. Using tongs, remove the ones that have steamed open the put the lid back on. Give the pan an occasional shake, then check again, removing the opened mussels. Do this for up to ve minutes. If any remain closed, discard them.

Discard one half mussel shell of each mussel and check the contents. Trim any beards that remain and gently prise the mussel from the shell if it is attached. Place all the opened mussels including the half shell on a lined baking tray.

Preheat the oven to 200C conventional.

To make the lling, place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir with a spoon to form a thick crumbly paste. Add some of the reserved liquid from the tomatoes, a few teaspoons should do, to bring the crumbs together. Spoon teaspoons of mixture on top of the mussels. Bake for 15 minutes or until the topping is golden. Let the mussels cool for a few minutes before serving. Mario’s baked mussels should be eaten directly off the shell, though some prefer to use a fork.

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LAND AND SEA