Jan 09 2008
Food and Wine 1 - Primošten Chicken & Babić Wine
Storm-surges of competing empires eroded Croatia into its present form and left their influences on bordering regions as they receded. They gave Croatia, a small country of about four and a half million people, a remarkable variation of traditions. This variety is reflected in the country’s food and wine.
At least every month, from Julie’s kitchen and Shane’s cellar, a food dish and wine from one of the regions will be presented.
Croatian food doesn’t receive nearly the attention it should. From the game-meat stews of Continental Croatia, through the decadent truffle-laced dishes of Istria, to the fresh seafood of the Adriatic; each region produces a mouth-watering array of culinary delights. Lo-cal, not always, but definitely healthy; it must be remembered that Rudolph Steiner, the great-grandfather of organic farming, was born in the north, and his ideals are still practiced all over the country.
Most people do not think of Croatia as a class wine producing country. But it has more than 700 registered wines and at least a dozen premium varietals.
Primošten Chicken
12 chicken thigh pieces (without drum sticks) – can also use a combination of thighs and chicken breasts
Flour for coating chicken prior to frying
Vegetable oil for frying – approx. 6 tablespoons
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons pumpkin oil (not essential but adds great flavour)
150g prosciutto or bacon
4 onions – medium - diced
6 garlic cloves – finely chopped
Salt, pepper and crushed chili to taste
3 tablespoons tomato paste
800g chopped tomatos - 2 tins
1 tablespoon vegeta (chicken stock cubes)
80ml prosek (sherry)
3 tablespoons capers
600g peas
400g potatoes – diced
Parsley
Serves 6 people
Wash chicken pieces – dry off with paper towels.
Sprinkle chicken with vegeta and flour, fry in hot oil until brown on all sides.
Remove from pan and set aside on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Quickly fry in a separate large pot, olive oil, pumpkin oil, prosciutto, onions, garlic and crushed chili to taste.
Add chicken pieces to pot, sprinkle with extra vegeta, and pour in prosek diluted with a little water.
Add capers, peas, salt, pepper and potatoes, continue cooking until meat is tender.
Add more tomato’s and water if necessary (sauce should almost cover entire contents in pot).
Add parsley.
Babić Wine
Man’s ability to create beauty with only limited resources and an abundance of perseverance is represented in a picture of the vineyards of Primošten hung in the foyer of the United Nations in New York City. Each vine sits in its own patch of fertile earth within a framework of stone walls covering the surrounding hills. Hundreds of years of effort by the local women of this seaside town produced this inspiring quilt. Enjoy Babić, the wine which is the result of their toil.
Year – 2002
Winery – Vinoplod Vinarija, Šibenik
Colour – Garnet red with hints of orange
Bouquet – Understated musty barn
Palate – This wine is thin and light bodied, possibly due to the quantities of rain at the end of the 2002 season in Dalmatia. Austere would be a good description for its high acidity and medium tannin levels. Overall, disappointingly, this bottle was not typical of the highly berried-with-hint-of-earth-bouqueted, dry, full-bodied wines of this variety. Cellaring may round out the wine, but not likely.
