Venetian-Style Liver - a Testimony to the Common History of Zadar and Venice

This old dish, which historians of gastronomy and cuisine place in Antiquity, although simple, but hearty and delicious, testifies in at least two ways to the long history of this area and the eating habits that have remained in that history to this day.

Poor Man's Dish

Venetian-style liver is a typical dish of the poor, created out of pure necessity of using all parts of the domestic animal prepared for lunch, or more precisely for more meals and families that used to have, as a rule, many members. Basically, no part of the meat raw material was waste, but the best pieces of meat were intended for the noble and the rich, heads of families and strong able-bodied members of the tribe and family, dried or kept for festive occasions. But the offal also had to be used, which is why many dishes that are appreciated today were created in almost all parts of the world. A hard-working housewife from the past, we can only imagine, thought of how to make a great dish from veal, beef or lamb liver, which is especially popular in Dalmatia due to the rich tradition of sheep breeding, by adding a few drops of wine, red onion (kapula) to the fried liver, and easily accessible herbs, laurel and rosemary. Another similar dish was created because of the necessity of using entrails, Dolce Garbo, only in this dish other entrails like heart, lungs, and kidneys are used… everything that could be used.

How the Venetian Republic Bought Zadar

Another testimony that the Venetian-style liver has carried through centuries is the one of the long connections of Zadar and Dalmatia with Venice, the most important city on the west coast of the Adriatic. The Venetian Republic was an important naval power since the collapse of the Roman Empire, but Zadar, which was part of the Byzantium in the Middle Ages, but with a high level of autonomy, did not fit into Venetian pretensions to fully dominate the Adriatic and the sea routes. And Zadar, as the most important and capital city of Dalmatia of the time, controlled the Adriatic from the islands of Kvarner to the Kaštelan Bay. That is why the relationship between Zadar and Venice throughout the Middle Ages was marked by frequent wars throughout three centuries, the 12th, 13th and 14th. In the end, the Venetian Republic got hold of this important city "for a handful of ducats", buying it from the faltering Ladislaus of Naples, whose authority was acknowledged in Zadar. In the same way, the Venetians occupied other Dalmatian cities, but the highly developed Zadar was their most significant gain.

Giovanni Francesco Camocio: Zarra et Contado citta principale della Dalmatia posta sul mare adriatico loco Ihr.me Sri. Venetiani al pnte molestata aa Turchi; Venice, 1571    

The year was 1409, and the rule over Zadar lasted entire four centuries. Initially, the people of Zadar tried to resist the Venetians, but that resistance subsided due to a new danger - the Turkish invasions from the East. Under the Venetian rule and due to new and constant dangers, Zadar became a city-fortress where life was flourishing. Trade was thriving, crafts, health care, art, education and culture were booming and, logically, all goods, including cultural ones, were exchanged with the capital of the Republic, Venice. Certainly, there were bad periods for Zadar during those four centuries, but many positive achievements endured even after 1796, when Venice lost Zadar forever.

In such historical context and the exchange of cultural heritage, many dishes arrived in Zadar from Venice, both old and new, made from newly discovered foods from a new continent, America. But sour liver, a dish typical of the Veneto region, from where the recipe reached Zadar (although somewhat modified here), has a much longer history than local dishes made, for example, with tomatoes or potatoes, unknown foods in the Mediterranean until the discovery of America. However, it has long been a custom to serve Venetian-style liver with polenta, a porridge prepared from corn grits, i.e. from the newly arrived "American" food. That is why this dish is a kind of a hybrid that was created through the Old, Middle and New Ages. And as such we encountered it on today's tables as a recognizable dish of Dalmatian cuisine.

"Kod Stipe" Restaurant – the Place for Best Brunches (Marende) in Zadar

In Zadar, this dish can be eaten at several restaurants, especially those that specialize in good brunches (marende) and later daily meals. "Kod Stipe" Restaurant in Franko Lisica Street, run by Zadar caterer Stipe Rončević with his wife Dragica, who is also the head chef, and their son Šimun, also a chef, is one of the most famous such places. From the very opening, this restaurant has become an extremely visited place, especially for a large circle of "locals" - lovers of good and plentiful brunches, traditional dishes, that are either cooked or baked under the lid (peka). At “Kod Stipe” restaurant you can always find good beans with dried meat, stuffed peppers and excellent beef steaks in sauce with mashed potatoes, boiled meat and stews. The daily offer regularly includes 20 to 30 dishes, they bake bread every day, and the prices of dishes are not excessive, on the contrary. That is why "Kod Stipe" is regularly packed with local guests, the people of Zadar, so the biggest problem is finding a free table.

The head chef Dragica prepares Venetian-style liver according to a classic recipe. She fries the red onion leaves (kapula) on olive oil, then adds the lamb liver cut into bite-sized pieces, and then lets the liver simmer and release its juices. Towards the end of cooking, she adds a tablespoon or two of tomato concentrate, chopped parsley, drizzles it with red wine and a drop of vinegar (kvasina), and if necessary, a little water, with some salt and pepper at the end, because salt, as well as long cooking, hardens the liver. The result: a sour dish with a full, rounded taste, a thick sauce with pieces of delicious liver that invigorates in winter and even refreshes in summer, when this dish can be served cold.

Chef Dragica serves liver with the obligatory creamy polenta, which goes great with the sour sauce.

Here is our recommendation: if you arrive in Zadar, make sure to look for the "Kod Stipe" restaurant, even if you are not a fan of offal or sour liver (which is a mistake to start with), because you will be offered with a really large selection of dishes that we, the people of Zadar, enjoy every day.