Croatian Spring Vegetables Stew Recipes

Steps:

• Cut carrots into cubes, and kohlrabi into sticks. Use only white parts from cauliflower.
• Put oil in a pan, add sugar and cook it until sugar becomes brown. Add peas, carrots, kohlrabi and cauliflower, water and salt into pot and cook until vegetable is soft (usually 15-20 min.).
• Stew must be sticky but not too much. When adding water do not put too much, just to cover the vegetables. You can also use kohlrabi leaves to add into stew, but not too much. Kohlrabi must be small, not bigger than tennis ball, otherwise it will be too hard with wooden parts inside which is not good. You can also add potatoe.

Steps:

• Cut horse and beef meat into small pieces (not larger than 2x2 cm). Do the same with potato.
• Finely mince onion.
• Soak dried porcini mushrooms in cold water about 15 minutes, and than cut into small pieces.
• Cut pancetta into small pieces.
• Heat the lard and sauté onion until translucent. Add meat and continue to sauté (covered) 20 minutes. At that point meat will start to leave juices.
• Add paprika, salt, pepper, bay leaf, pancetta and thyme. Stir well and continue to sauté 5 minutes; now add wine, stir and sauté until alcohol evaporates.
• Add potato and water to cover meat and potato. Add mushrooms. Stir and cook on easy fire about 120 minutes.
• If you need to add more salt do it, but do not add additional pepper or hot paprika. If you want it hot, do it at the beginning.
• The stew must be soup-like. You eat it only with spoon. All ingredients must be soft and easy to eat.

Steps:

• Fill a bowl with water and add lemon juice. Trim artichokes, quarter them and place in the water as you go along.
• Heat oil over medium heat in a large, heavy, lidded skillet or Dutch oven and add onions and celery. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, stir for about a minute until you can smell the fragrance of the garlic, and add fennel and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, for 5 to 8 minutes more, until the fennel has softened.
• Drain artichoke hearts and add to the pan. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add water and salt to taste and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until all of the vegetables are very tender and fragrant. Stir in chopped fennel fronds and/or mint and simmer for a few more minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve hot or warm, on its own as a side, tossed with pasta or as a topping for grains.