Istrian cuisine
What is Istrian cuisine? Is it composed of dishes that were eaten by Istrian field labourers in the distant past? Or those once served in patrician houses? Or is it the food that is today served on Istrian tables? The wealth of this cuisine is not at all negligable. Istria’s turbulent past has certainly left a trace on its cuisine. Various traditions are interwoven in the local cuisine, which is based on nature (aromatic spices, wild growing plants, vegetables, seafood...) but there is also the influence of Franconian and German feudal rule, Roman dishes, and the cuisine that from the 7th century appeared with the settling of the Slavs. However, all dishes that were brought to these areas bear a characteristic stamp. The main feature of Istrian food, generally speaking, would be: predominance of boiled over roast food, a lot of spices and wild growing plants, plenty of fish, vinegar that is always wine vinegar, and oil that is always olive oil, whereas wine is an important ingredient in cooking. ..
The preparation of food has always been characterized by exceptional imagination, since- with few ingredients a great amount of love, effort and above all culinary imagination must be put in to make the dish even more appealing.
