Marin Banović’s Masterclass

Throughout its history, Croatia was ravaged by various conquerors, yet at the same time they left behind a fascinating gastronomic legacy. The centuries-long presence of the Venetian Republic introduced pasta, risotto, and the use of olive oil, garlic and Mediterranean herbs. The Ottomans taught us to make sarma and grilled meats, while the Austrians brought breaded dishes, goulash, strudels, buhtle and doughnuts. There were also influences from Hungarians, Germans, Czechs, Slovaks and the French… Croatia can almost be “read” gastronomically through its geography: Istria and Dalmatia gravitate towards the Italian-Mediterranean culinary tradition; Zagreb and Hrvatsko Zagorje towards the Austrian and Central European tradition; and Slavonia and Baranja towards the Hungarian-Pannonian tradition, with strong Ottoman-Balkan influences.

Marin Banović, a culinary arts teacher at Biograd na Moru Secondary School and a graduate economist specialising in tourism management, began his workshop by discussing how different national cuisines have shaped our eating habits. Wanting to introduce the aspiring chefs – students of Ambroz Haračić Secondary School in Mali Lošinj – to some of the dishes and the rich flavours of his native Zadar County, he prepared a dessert at his masterclass that even most of their teachers had never heard of: Biogradski vodenjak. It was a tribute to the traditional homemakers of Biograd na Moru, who created a delicious pastry from just a few basic ingredients – flour, eggs, lard (Marin used President butter instead), sugar and a little milk.

While preparing vodenjak, he shared several essential tips with the students: the milk used to activate the yeast must be lukewarm, never too hot; the dough should always be left to rise three times; and a little salt (fleur de sel from Nin Saltworks), as well as some lemon zest and juice, should always be added to the dough. He demonstrated how to activate the yeast in milk, knead the dough and leave it to rise, before showing them the highly unusual technique that gives this dessert its name – wrapping the ball of dough in a cloth and immersing it in water. The dough remains submerged for about half an hour, until the ball rises to the surface. It is then easily separated from the cloth, shaped into small crescent rolls, coated in sugar and baked for around ten minutes at 180°C. The flavour of this traditional dessert is simply priceless.

The second dish Banović chose to introduce the students from Mali Lošinj to the cuisine of Zadar County was sea bass fillet with lemon sauce. It is a slightly more sophisticated take on one of Dalmatia’s favourite fish dishes, although the sophistication lies mainly in the preparation – filleting the fish and cutting the carrots, spring onions and courgettes into thin strips. The vegetable strips are wrapped in the sea bass fillet, secured with toothpicks, drizzled with a little oil and baked in the oven at 180°C for 10–15 minutes.

As a side dish, he prepared Swiss chard with potatoes, cooking the potatoes in their skins so that they retain a firmer texture. The finishing touch to this seafood trilogy was a lemon sauce made from egg yolk, lemon juice and white wine, complemented, of course, by fleur de sel from Nin Saltworks and a little white pepper. Why white pepper? Because it is the only kind that should be used in light-coloured sauces.

When talking about the gastronomy of his home region, Marin Banović makes no secret of his enthusiasm for the fact that every town and village has “something of its own”. In addition to vodenjak, Biograd na Moru has its čučka (a bean and pasta dish made with macaroni); Nin is known for šokol, a traditional cured-meat delicacy; Pag and Nin for their high-quality salt; Pakoštane for its olive oil; and Ravni Kotari for its extraordinary abundance of fruit and vegetables. Zadar and its surroundings are renowned for the Marasca cherry, while the waters of this part of the Adriatic are prized for their high-quality tuna. Novigrad is known for its mussels, while Bukovica, in the Zadar hinterland, is renowned for excellent lamb and kid goat meat, cooked in literally just one litre of water, which keeps the meat succulent and full of flavour.