What to Eat in Zadar | 15 Dishes That MUST Be Enjoyed | Part 1

However, due to the specific climate, geographical position and variety of the flora and fauna of the Zadar region, some foods and dishes have a particular influence on the local gastronomy. We, therefore, offer a short list of the best foods that you must taste in Zadar:

1. Dalmatian Lamb

This type of meat has a cultural status in Zadar. The first historical data on spit roasted lamb, the favored manner of roasting a whole young lamb dates back to over eight thousand years, and the word Dalmatia derives from the words delma or dalma which is an Illyrian word for sheep. Dalmatian lamb has acquired the European protected mark of origin. The specific taste and texture of the Dalmatian sheep breed pramenka meat are conditioned by the various, often extremely aromatic herbs grazed on the spacious pastures of the Zadar region. Besides spit roasted, lamb can also be grilled in Zadar as well as prepared under the baking lid. It can also be boiled in soup, stew and other dishes without the excessive use of spices that would only spoil its special taste. 

2. The Royal Scampi from the Velebit Region Sea

The spacious Velebit Channel is located deep into the Zadar hinterland, home of big groups of scampi. With its sweet and full sea taste, it surpasses the prized Scottish shrimp scampi and is extremely popular with both locals and tourists. In Zadar, it is most often prepared as buzara, just briefly cooked in olive oil, white wine and its own juices, but also in risottos, with pasta, grilled…

3. Pag Cheese

Hard cheese from sheep milk from the island of Pag is one of the most well-known food products in the world. It is consumed as an independent snack, an appetizer or a bite after a completed lunch, one that is enjoyed in company and a good glass of wine. Throughout history, sheep farming has been one of the most important activities of the entire vast Zadar region, on the mainland and on the islands. Thus, cheese production has a long tradition, but nowhere has cheesemaking been preserved to such an extent and with such quality as on the island of Pag. The specific smell and taste of this cheese originates from the particularly meager and highly aromatic pasture of Pag sheep.

4. Novigrad Mussels

The Novigrad Sea, a small but precious bay under the southern Velebit slopes and at a distance of about 30 kilometers from Zadar, and due to its richness in plankton and chlorophyll, it is ideal for growing mussel, and in recent decades, mussel cultivation. Not only by tradition but also according to research conducted by scientists at the University of Zadar, this shell is the most valuable in composition, the meatiest, and the most pleasant in the entire Adriatic. And it certainly surpasses mussels grown along the ocean coast in terms of taste and composition. Here we prepare mussel 'na buzaru', with pasta and risotto, breaded or even just fresh. 

5. Dishes “Under the Baking Lid”

The baking lid (cripnja, čripnja) is an ancient cooking tool that looks like a bell-shaped lid under which, on a suitable hearth, a plate (metal) with food is placed that needs to be thermally processed. Thus the external air is prevented from entering the baking area, and the food is simultaneously cooked and baked at a relatively high temperature in a hermetically sealed space in its own steam, flavors and aromas. This cooking aid and technique can also be defined as the oldest oven, the beginning of the development of food processing by baking. Meat such as lamb and veal, poultry, octopus and cuttlefish, and even cod are prepared under the baking lid.

To be continued...