This post is also available in: Croatian
WHETHER YOU ARE PLANNING TO WATCH EXHIBITION IN THE CITY OR TO TAKE A WALK ALONG RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN ITS SURROUNDINGS – SISAK IS WELL WORTH OF INVESTIGATION
‘There is no sincerer love than the love of food’, this is a conclusion brought a long time ago by the English dramatist, novelist, critic and publicist George Bernard Shaw.
In the spirit of this profoundly true and tried saying, this spring numerous places will open the doors of long forgotten smells and tastes from the old chest of traditional Croatian dishes. This is a great move if you consider the fact that interest for good culinary tradition has never been higher among tourist visitors, and even among domestic population.
This trend is also reflected in the fact that growingly popular culinary blogs, web portals and magazines have started to show great interest and affection for the revival and publishing of long forgotten recipes, many of which end up as most popular recipes of the month on respective web sites.
Following these tourist trends which promote the traditional gastronomy as the key element of tourist offer, city of Sisak went towards the revitalisation of its most tasteful inheritance – the revival of culinary tradition!
DO NOT MISS THE OPENING OF OLD TOWN FORTRESS AND EXHIBITION OF TRADITIONAL DISHES FROM SISAK COUNTY
When?
Exhibition ‘In search for the best cuisine – authentic Sisak county dishes’; 23rd of May 2016 in 7pm.
This is a unique exhibition based on the field research about preparation methods of traditional and indigenous dishes from Sisak area. It will explain and present old recipes to its visitors in a fun and educative way, taking them back to past times.
Organisers explained that, to enrich the restaurant offer, they brought these old recipes back into daylight. They are determined to prevent them, and their tastes and smells, from being forgotten.
And for people who decide to visit, we recommend not to miss the essential feature of this area – Nature park Lonjsko polje with its restaurant offer, where traditional dishes are prepared using the original old recipes.
Further on, we bring you recommendations for places that offer authentic cuisine in Nature park Lonjsko polje. Did you know there is a theme pathway in this area designed to be a reminder of the old way of life? It stretches through north part of Lonjsko polje and its life giving surroundings, vineyard hills of Moslavina and river Sava.
Its purpose is to emphasize differences between past and present, because most pathways that once led over the fields do not exist any more, bridges over rivers have decayed over time, main river channels are regulated, but river branches and seducing places near Lonja are kept. It connects two areas in a new way and tells romantic stories from the past, making the way to replicas of frontiersmen’s watchtowers where service men spent most of their lives.
HOTSPOTS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RURAL HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILY FARMS IN SISAK AREA
‘Traditions – Čigoč’ runs a restaurant with 80 seating places. Experience the ambience surrounded by massive oak tables and chairs and try different traditional dishes from Posavina.
‘Traditions – Čigoč’ offers ready made dishes like roe deer goulash, fish paprikash and ‘posavski lonac’. With each dish we recommend a specialty called ‘Čigočica’, which is home made bread stuffed with domestic cheese and cream.
‘Traditions – Čigoč’ also prepares top class dishes baked in ‘peka’ and different sorts of local fishes among which we recommend carp and perch fish prepared in a special way. http://www.tradicije-cigoc.hr/
‘Pansion Tišina’ in Lonja is a lovely traditional restaurant surrounded by the most beautiful part of Nature park Lonjsko polje – Lonja river. There are many activities one can enjoy in the vicinity of the restaurant. It is possible to walk around, to visit Nature park Lonjsko polje, or to go fishing. Six very attractive bicycle routes (total 310 kilometers of pathways) connect the Posavina corridor of Lonjsko polje with river Una and Moslavina. Bicycle routes in Nature park Lonjsko polje are easy and pleasant to ride, especially fitted for family tourism and recreation.
ETHNO VILLAGE OLD LONJA
Ethno village Old Lonja – http://www.etnoselo-staralonja.com/o-nama/ – after you have finished with activities in nature you can enjoy the traditional cuisine of this farm in beautiful Lonja. The owners words well describe the atmosphere of the place: ‘Lonjsko polje is easy to love, you just need to come here and feel it, smell flowers in the field, pass through the streets of Posavina, have a swim at sandy beaches of river Sava, wake up in dew covered mornings, feel the smell of fish roasted in traditional way, admire the horses in sunset and many more things indescribable with words’.
Lonjsko polje is a cure for the soul of modern urbanised human who has long ago forgotten what it means to be relaxed or how have our bygone ancestors lived. It is a great choice for anyone who wants to experience something different, something more beautiful, something to remember for the rest of your life, something that becomes a reason to always come back to Lonjsko polje and Ethno village Old Lonja.
Photo: Etno selo Stara Lonja
Family farm Veselić – culinary offer of this lovely farm includes specialties prepared exclusively from ecologically grown organic ingredients. They also organise different educational workshops about organic agriculture, environmental protection and sustainable development, all accompanied by presentation and tasting of domestic products – organic jams, marmalades and juices. Visitors can also enjoy the atmosphere of village celebration with a glass of wine and good old tambura – indigenous instrument similar to mandolin.
Photo;OPG Veselić
The offer of rural households is really impressive, so we invite you to explore it additionally by clicking on this link and get there as soon as possible with your family and friends. This is a dream destination for cuisine lovers and nature lovers. Numerous households offer an ideal ratio of service and price while the service is available throughout the summer.
If you want to stay in the city of Sisak, you have a big choice of restaurants where you can enjoy your meal in beautiful ambience, whether it is the yard of Old town fortress or the shore of river Kupa or carefully arranged gardens in the city center. We invite you to taste the dishes which were served to the emperor Franjo 1st during his visit to Sisak.
Or you can explore all the attractions of charming roman architecture. You can find them, among other things, on this link: http://www.sisakturist.com/hr/stranica/znamenitosti/46. It is also a great idea to visit the city market of Sisak where you can find a variety of seasonal products of all colors and shapes. Here you can get acquainted with the offer of this region and be a part of local events and happenings. Sisak is really a beautiful and harmonious small city which constantly vibrates with life and energy of its inhabitants and thanks to their creativity and hard work, they learned how to be excellent hosts to their visitors and ever growing number of hikers.
Photo: Gradska tržnica Sisak
In the end we bring you some practical recipes and traditional method of drying fish:
Recipe: Carp fish on ‘rašlje’
Ingredients:
1-1,5 kg carp fish
Salt
Red paprika
Preparation:
Clean and wash the fish. Cut the carp on the back so you get a big leaf, add salt and leave for a while to absorb. Rub the inner side with red paprika. From willow tree wood make ‘rašlje’ and stick the carp laterally on top of it. Stick the bottom of rašlje into the ground near the pile of cinders and turn from time to time so the fish gets done from both sides.
Last but not the least – read something about tradition of fish smoking on the attics of Lonjsko polje:
Smoked fish – forgotten delicacy of Lonjsko polje (by Vladimir Pajtlar)
In past times, residents of Lonjsko polje have dried fish on their attics. These were times when the fish was abundant, so not all the catch could be consumed immediately. And refrigeration was not yet available.
Best fishes for drying and smoking are carp, pike and bream fish, between 1,5 and 2 kilograms. Fish should be cut along the back, salt should be added and the fish put in brine for 5 days. After that fish should hang in the attic in cold and airy space. It should drain there for a day. Next day fish should be smoked for maximum of 2 hours. Dry willow tree branches should be used to make the smoke. Fish should be smoked every other day until it has been smoked for a total of five times. After that it should stay on the attic for at least ten days. The color of fish should become dark red. Before preparation skin must be removed. Dried fish can be eaten raw or fried on some fat. Bon appetit!
For more information about the culinary customs, culinary exhibition and places for good food visit the official pages of Sisak Tourist board. Welcome!
Photo credit: SISAK TOURIST BOARD
This post is also available in: Croatian
