Popular
in Trieste, jota is a winter staple in Friulian cuisine, as this comforting
stew of beans, potatoes, and tangy sauerkraut is ideal for warming up when
temperatures drop. The beans and sauerkraut, known locally as capuzi garbi, are
cooked with cumin, bay leaves, potatoes, and pancetta to make this thick soup.
Jota exemplifies the Austrian influence on food in Friuli
Especially
prominent in Trieste yet enjoyed throughout Friuli, gnocchi di prugne are plum-filled
potato dumplings popular in regions once ruled by the Austro-Hungarian
empire.
Also known as cialzons, cjarsons are a filled pasta resembling Italian ravioli.
I girini is a Friulian pasta made similarly
as Austrian spätzle.
A Friulian specialty inherited from the
Balkans, cevapčići are a cross between kebabs and sausages.
They’re made from mixed minced beef and lamb meat, seasoned with garlic, onion,
paprika, white wine, and olive oil. The latter of which helps the meat
remain tender while grilling. Cevapcici is served with ajvar
sauce for an authentic taste of the Balkans in Friuli.
Adored in Trieste and Gorizia, presnitz is
a coiled spiral of puff pastry dough filled with a mixture of
dried fruits, nuts, citrus peel, cinnamon, and rum. It’s baked and then
sprinkled with powdered sugar for a heartwarming dessert. Presnitz
originally hails from a Slovenian town just over the border from Italy called
Castagnevizza.
Goulash
Triestino originates
from Trieste, the capital of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, which was a part of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire, and as a result, the goulash is made with Hungarian paprika, among
other ingredients.
Paparot is a traditional Italian soup originating from the
Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.
Friuli is a multicultural melting pot of Slavs, Austrians and
Italians – the people of Friuli speak multiple languages, ranging from Venetian
dialects in the south, Slovene and Bavarian in the north and the native
Friulian dialect (as well as the official language of Italian).
Heavily influenced by nearby Austria, Slovenia and Croatia,
Friuli is a fascinating confluence of culinary scenes – goulash is served with
polenta, gnocchi are made with cherries and prunes and the most popular
regional dish is jota – a stew made with sauerkraut, beans, potatoes and
bacon.
The first time you see brovada in Friuli Venezia Giulia, you might well
mistake it for sauerkraut – although the two are different, it’s clear that brovada has its roots over the border in Austria. Whereas
sauerkraut uses cabbage, brovada takes thin slices of turnip (or whole
vegetables, as above) and macerates them in red wine vinegar and grape must,
before cooking it all down with oil, bay leaves and a nice chunk of fatty pork. Polenta has roots in the north and central Italy, as well as
neighboring countries, such as Switzerland, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Try Friuli-Venezia Giulia for prosciutto di San Daniele.
What is
Italian cuisine in Slovenia? Italian
cuisine has particularly influenced the cuisine of Slovenian Istria, given
the historical presence of local ethnic Italians (Istrian Italians),
influence that has eased after the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus.
You’ll find that the region has just as much in common with neighboring
Austria, Slovenia and nearby Croatia as it does with its homeland.
Centuries of Austrian rule have left an indelible mark on
Friulian cuisine, in surprising and unsurprising ways. Friulians have a
particular love for stereotypical Germanic cuisine – meat, potatoes and
sauerkraut, for example – that doesn’t really exist in other parts of Italy.
The western world remains obsessed by European coffee culture,
but that culture first started in Veneto and Friuli. Venice is widely regarded
as the first port to start importing coffee into Italy, but the Friulian city
of Trieste was just as important in the coffee trade – Vienna already had a
significant coffee-drinking culture by the mid-seventeenth century, and all
that coffee had to come through Trieste. The Austrian capital still has a
reputation for outstanding coffee, but as a result, so does Trieste – the city
is home to Illy Coffee, and the coffee bars are thriving hubs of activity throughout
the day. Try a cappuccino Triestino while
you’re there – it’s somewhat like a macchiato but
with whipped cream instead of milk!
Jota, however, is easily the most common soup – made from white
sauerkraut, potatoes, beans and pork sausage, it couldn’t be more Austrian if
it donned lederhosen and yodeled The Sound of Music from beginning to end. The thick texture and hearty
ingredients make it perfect fare for bracing the bitter winds and colder
temperature
Strucolo is Friuli’s take on the famous Austrian strudel, but they are
much more versatile than their Germanic cousins. Savory strucolo often comes as a first course and can contain almost
anything; ricotta, peas, spinach and veal mince are all common. Dried fruit and
chocolate are common in sweet strucolo, although if you’re anywhere around Trieste
you’ll likely find them stuffed with walnuts, breadcrumbs and raisins – a local
delicacy. If they’re not baked, strucolo are sometimes wrapped and boiled – once
cooked, they’re sliced and served with a good sprinkling of sugar and maybe
even some whipped cream for extra decadence. You'll also find plenty of
Friulian bakeries serving apple strudel; the quintessential dessert of the
region.
Brovada is very typical of Friuli, and another great example of
the region’s Austrian heritage. Turnips are cut into small slices or left whole
and macerated in red wine vinegar and grape must before being cooked down very
slowly in a pot with a splash of oil, bay leaves and a fatty piece of pork. The
result turns out very much like sauerkraut – the vinegar pickles the turnips
whilst they cook down, and the finished brovada is often served with muset – a large pork sausage made from pig snout that's
similar to cotechino.
Stews are common in Friuli Venezia Giulia, and gulasch is especially popular in the winter. Though we typically
associate gulasch (or goulash) with Hungary, Austria and Hungary have
only been independent since the end of World War One, so they have a huge
amount in common. Gulasch in Friuli is very similar to that you’d find further
north – big chunks of melt-in-the-mouth, slow-cooked beef with lots of hot
pepper and paprika. The Italian twist? Gulasch in Friuli is normally served with polenta –
a staple all across the north of Italy.
Mainland cuisine is
more characterized by the earlier Slavic and the more recent contacts with Hungarian and Turkish cuisine, using lard for cooking, and spices such as black pepper, paprika and garlic.[The coastal region bears the influences
of the Greek and Roman cuisine, as well as of the later Mediterranean, in particular Italian (especially Venetian). Coastal cuisines use olive oill, herbs and spices such as rosemary, sage, bay leaf, oregano, marjoram, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and lemon and orange rind. Peasant cooking
traditions are based on imaginative variations of several basic ingredients
(cereals, dairy products, meat, fish, vegetables, nuts) and cooking procedures
(stewing, grilling, roasting, baking), while bourgeois cuisine involves more
complicated procedures and use of selected herbs and spices. Charcuterie is part of the Croatian culinary tradition
in all regions. Food and recipes from other former Yugoslav countries are also popular in Croatia.
