Istria has been a republic in the middle ages and Istrians are proud of their rich history and cosmopolitan spirit. The peninsula was under the rule of Roman Empire, Venetian republic, Habsburg empire, Napoleon, Austrian rule and finally Yugoslav before it became a part of Croatia nowadays. It is one of the most visited places in Croatia. Similarities with Italian cuisine can be found in the culture of pasta making. Two types of Istrian pasta are especially popular: pljukanci (プユカンツィ）and fuži (フージ). During our cooking tour we visited the picturesque village ズミン where we made handmade fuzi pasta in Ferlin family agrotourism farm. They grow their own produce from asparagus to wine, and even the flour that we used to make pasta was stone milled on their farm. This is the recipe from the workshop.
Istria is, as we said considered to be the world capital of truffles, but for many years it was not so famous. Motovun forest is one of the 5 forests that grow truffles in the world- other are in Toscana and France. Besides this, it is said to be famous because 60% of Venice was built on Croatian trees. Truffle used to be called Devil’s potato as in the middle ages people could not explain its intense flavour and the unusual colour. Nowadays, it is popular belief in its aphrodisiacal effect. Immediately after harvesting, the fresh truffle is either directly used as a food ingredient, or it is being processed in order to produce high quality products such as a variety of spreads, cheeses, oils, sweets, etc. They grow under the oak trees and are usually found by trained animals- pigs still used in France and more commonly dogs, as they are not as aggressive as pigs when the found truffle is taken away from them, as Marko, our guide through truffle forest explained.
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