Since time immemorial, Easter has been a favorite holiday in Gorski Kotar because it also symbolizes the beginning of a new annual cycle when nature wakes up from its winter hibernation. This is the time when the enchanting winter, cold kingdom of Gorski kotar grows into a true, green garden of paradise that will yield unique fruits of nature. The hypnotic power of nature and its bounties has woven the irresistible Goran traditional customs and historical-cultural heritage and permeated gastronomy, architecture, as well as every pore of Goran life.
Coexistence with nature and deep respect for its laws have given birth to many life wisdoms of Goran, which are very evident at Easter. For example, a holiday table is unthinkable without Gorski Kotar stuffing. Today it is a dish of indigenous recipes that is an integral part of rich Gorski kotar gastronomy, and it used to be a dish of the poor. Namely, the ingenious housewives created a generous dish with a little meat, which they fed to a large family. But when you come to Gorski kotar you will learn that each region has its own unique recipe and name for Gorski Kotar stuffing where gastronomic and traditional value is invaluable. Regardless, try dejunoške žeuod'c, nadiv, nadelo, žaludac, hrge, nadev… You will be delighted.
Blažica Sveticki, president of the Plodova gorja Association, one of the faithful guardians of the rich traditional customs of the Gorski Kotar region in her The cooks from Grandma's chest recorded several Easter customs. And we bring you only a fragment. Decorating eggs is part of the tradition. Red onions, tree bark, cooked violets, parsley, various herbs... were used during the decoration. Eggs were boiled in water with red onion skins, and coated with bacon for a better shine. Along with Goranian stuffing, boiled ham, eggs, horseradish and spring onions, the holiday table was decorated with desserts, Easter bread with raisins, walnut cake or carob cake.
Special attention was paid to the morning blessing of the meal. The youngest female member of the family carried a large basket to the early morning Mass celebration. The blessed food was eaten with a lighted candle. Care was taken of crumbs and food scraps that were not thrown away or given to animals but were burned or, in some places, thrown into the first furrow during spring plowing. After the Easter breakfast, various games were danced and played in front of the church, which included games with hard-boiled, decorated eggs, from donating to racing eggs, which is especially preserved in the Presidium. The game is played by hitting the eggs from top to top, and the one whose egg stays whole takes what he broke. Today, in addition to nurturing traditional Easter customs, numerous Mass celebrations are held in numerous, preserved sacral buildings throughout Gorski Kotar.
If you dare to spend your spring vacation in Gorski kotar, you will be greeted by a relaxing embrace of nature, unique traditional customs and irresistible tastes of Gorski Kotar cuisine. And one completely authentic experience that will inspire and deeply renew you. More information on traditional, Easter customs, and natural beauty can be found at Facebook pages of the Tourist Board of Gorski kotar.
We also bring you several unique Easter recipes immortalized by Blažica Sveticki in The cooks from Grandma's chest.
Easter stuffing in the Ravna Gora way
ingredients:
- 30 eggs
- 50-60 dag of bread without crust
- 50-60 dag of dried bacon and ham (a little one a little another)
- about 5 dag of the green part of the spring onion
- 1 tablespoon fat
- pepper, salt
- hose
<strong>Preparation: </strong>
Bread a day or two (without crust) cut into cubes. Dried meat cut into cubes briefly fry in fat and cool. Mix the eggs and pour over the bread. Add the meat and the sliced green part of the spring onion and spices. Mix everything well to combine and leave to stand for a while (half an hour). Soak the hose to loosen and fill the hose with the mixture or wrap in batter. Care should be taken not to overfill, not to cross 3/4 of the intestine because during cooking the intestine is compressed and the mixture increases. Put to boil in lukewarm water so that the hose is not squeezed immediately, but gradually. As the hose inflates, it needs to be pierced several times with a needle. During later cooking, the water may boil. Cook for two hours on low heat. If you have excess mixture you can put in the dough (it can be usually bread dough, milk bread or Easter cake), Put in a deep bowl, decorate with braids, shapes… (give imagination vent) and put the oven in a not too hot oven (approximately 160 degrees) for an hour and a half, depending on the oven. Check with a toothpick.
Stuffing in the dough
For dough:
- 500 g flour
- 25 g of fresh yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 250 ml of milk
- 100 ml of yogurt and / or sour milk
- 1 egg
- a bit of salt
- egg yolk with a little milk for coating
For the filling:
- part of the filling of the stuffing
- or if you work independently
- half a loaf of old bread
- 5 eggs
- fat-fried ham / bacon
- onions, spices
<strong>Preparation: </strong>
Make a hollow in the flour (on a board or in a larger bowl), put a little lukewarm milk, a teaspoon of sugar and crumbled yeast to froth. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, remaining milk and yogurt. Combine all ingredients and knead a soft dough. Leave covered to rise for an hour. Knead the risen dough and separate the part of the dough from which you will make a braid and decorations for the top of the dough (optional). Roll out the dough to a thickness of approximately 1 cm in the shape of a rectangle, put the filling in the middle of the longer part of the rectangle. Fold the filling on all sides with the dough and put it in the mold so that the folded part is at the bottom. Decorate the loaf and coat with egg yolk in which you have mixed a little milk. Bake over low heat, at 160 degrees, for an hour to an hour and a half (depending on the oven). Use a toothpick to test whether the filling is baked.
Sweet Easter bread
ingredients:
- 1 kg of plain flour 25 g of fresh yeast
- 3,5 dl of milk
- 150 g butter
- 6 egg yolks
- 200 g of sugar
- lemon peel
- 1 vanilla sugar
- 20 g of salt
- 1 dl of rum
- 100-150 g of raisins
- egg for coating
The dough can be shaped into various shapes and ingredients can be added as desired
<strong>Preparation: </strong>
All ingredients for sweet bread should be at room temperature before starting the preparation. At the beginning, fresh yeast should be stirred in 1,5 dl of lukewarm milk. Add half a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of flour to the milk to help the yeast activate. Sift flour and add salt. In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks with sugar, add vanilla sugar, lemon zest, rum and finally stir in melted butter at room temperature. Knead the dough with the addition of leavened yeast, the rest of the milk and the egg mixture. Knead well until you get a completely smooth mass. Then let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume. Knead the dough and if you want to add raisins, now is the time to add them to the dough. Then let it rise for half an hour. Make three equal balls of dough, put them on a baking sheet, leave covered to rise for another 20-30 minutes. Brush with beaten egg and cut a cross on top with a sharp knife. Bake at 170 degrees for approximately 40 minutes. In addition to the well-known traditional shapes, the dough for sweet bread can also be shaped into rabbits, braids or other shapes, and Easter eggs are often pressed into the dough as a symbol of Easter.
Mini leggings
Mini folders
Ingredients for dough:
- 50 dag mixed - half sharp and half smooth
- 10-15 dag of fat (or 15 dag of butter, margarine)
- 10 dag of powdered sugar
- 5 tablespoons sour cream (180 gr)
- 3 egg yolks
- half a teaspoon of baking soda or baking powder
- grated lemon zest,
- vanilla sugar
- little salt
for carob fillet (one loaf)
- 15 dag of carob ground
- 10 dag of sugar
- 2,5 dcl of hot milk
- 1 teaspoon rum
- 1 vanilla sugar
- a pinch of cinnamon
- 1 apple grated for juiciness
- 1 tablespoon jam
- 3 tablespoons semolina
- snow of one egg white
for walnut fillet (one loaf)
- 10 dag walnuts for 1 loaf of strudel (for 3 loaves 30 dag walnuts)
- 10 dag of sugar
- 1 dcl of hot milk to boil
- grated lemon peel
- 1 tablespoon rum
- 1 vanilla sugar
- snow of one egg white
- 1 grated small apple,
- 1 tablespoon jam
for poppy seed filling (one loaf)
- 10 dag of ground poppy seeds
- 1 dl of hot milk to boil
- 5 dag of sugar + 1 vanilla sugar
- 1 tablespoon rum
- a little butter
- raisins as desired
- grated apple
- snow of one egg white
- if the filling is still dry, add a little honey or jam if desired
Preparation (dough)
In sifted (40 dag, and leave 10 dag later to roll out the loaves) flour with baking soda (baking powder), add lard (or butter, margarine), egg yolks, sugar and other ingredients, and knead a pliable and smooth dough. Leave it either overnight in a cool place to stand or at least about 1 hour. Then divide the dough into three balls..for each filling (carob, poppy seeds and walnuts) If you want only one filling then increase the ingredients. The ingredients of each fillet are for one loaf. Roll out the dough which is divided into three balls. Roll out the first part of the dough on a floured surface and fill with the cooled filling. Wrap lightly in a roll like a roll. Prick each one with a fork in a few places. Bake at 180 ° C for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cooled. Note: The fat for cakes melts exclusively and especially from the belly, it is white as snow and odorless and is stored for cakes.
<strong>Preparation: </strong>
carob filling:
Pour boiling milk over the ground carob, sugar and grated lemon zest. Stir in the other ingredients. From the salted egg whites, beat the snow and lightly mix it into the cold filling.
poppy seed filling:
Boil the milk with the sugar and pour over the poppy seeds, add all the other ingredients and boil once more. Then add a little grated apple, jam, honey… Beat the salted egg whites and lightly mix it into the cold filling.
walnut filling:
All the same as with the poppy seed filling, just boil the walnuts and sugar and pour over the walnuts. Beat the salted egg whites and lightly stir in the cold filling. Note: Depending on how finely ground they are, poppy or carob can absorb more or less milk. If coarsely ground they absorb more milk. So, if the filling is firm, dry and not smeared on the dough, you need to add more milk and a little jam or grated apples for the freshness of the filling. Spread the cooled filling on the dough that we prick with a fork and fold it…
