Flour, water, salt, eggs, a little bit of oil. Just that—along with experienced hands. These are the flavors of our area.

Warm and fragrant, made from soft dough with a delicious filling, they are some of the most acclaimed autochthonous dishes of Croatian cuisine. Some of them are protected as items of intangible cultural heritage, but at their core, they are simple, rustic dishes.

Cows produced milk for cheese and cream, and hens produced eggs. People could always count on these products, and the hardworking housewives have perfected the art of making dough, a process that now looks so demanding and complicated, but which used to be an everyday household practice and a tradition passed down from generation to generation.

1. Beli žganci

A dish that our forefathers used to make, beli žganci, is a traditional dish of the Turopolje area, and if you ever visit Velika Gorica, make sure to try it. When it comes to beli žganci (English: white polenta), they are not by any means connected to corn polenta. The main ingredients are potatoes. You are going to be swept away by “beli žganci s tropom”.

2. Vrbovečka pera

Vrbovečka pera have a long production tradition, and the recipe is passed from generation to generation. The dish is special because it is made from leavened dough, and the filling is made exclusively from cheese, cream, eggs, salt and the addition of flour or semolina, without any other ingredients in the mixture. Vrbovečka pera always come in a round shape.

3. Plešivica copanjek

Copanjek is a thin pastry dish from Plešivica, made with fresh cow cheese and seasonal greens, and it is the autochthonous dish of the Jaska area. Its name comes from the verb “copati”, which means to knead fast and skillfully. So, let's “copati”!

4. Gibanica

Leavened strudel, the so-called gibanica, is a dessert with poppy or walnut served in these areas on special occasions such as Christmas, New Year's Eve or Easter. Learn how to make gibanica without a scale, what it means to pre-cool the dough and how to make it successfully every time...

5. Rudarska greblica 

Greblica is a textbook example of how something simple that used to be associated with poor miners can be so delicious and complex. The process of making this “tenki (English: thin) cake” is related to the history of mining in Rude because it used to be a customary meal for miners, and as time passed, it has grown into a savory dish named after grebalica (scraper), a traditional wooden tool. The accustomed way of making greblica is with cheese and walnuts as well as cheese and leaf vegetables such as spinach, chard or nettle. Miners do not acknowledge sweet variants of greblica. It is best to taste it during the event dedicated to it, Rudarska greblica Days, and you should also know that the Ministry of Culture has declared it intangible cultural heritage in 2007.

To be called Rudarska greblica, it has to meet certain elementary criteria. It has to be savory, filled only with cheese or cheese and its additions (walnut, wild carrot, green parts of scallion, nettle, spinach), and the dough cannot be thick and too much yeast must not be used.

Try our treats always made with homemade ingredients and hand made with a good amount of love.