KVARNER GULF CROATIA
Framed by gray-green mountains and dotted with arid ocher-colored islands, the Kvarner Gulf is one of the most starkly beautiful stretches of the Croatian Adriatic coastline. Its gin-clear seas yield an astounding variety of fish and crustaceans, although it is the famously succulent Kvarner scampi that occupy center stage in the local cuisine.
The Kvarner Gulf has been an essential stop-off for well-heeled visitors since the late 19th century when Austrian dukes and duchesses descended on the region’s coastal towns to enjoy the mild winters. A sense of the belle époque still lives on in resorts like Opatija, where palm-fringed promenades are set against a backdrop of Art Nouveau hotels and vacation villas. A rather different atmosphere, however, prevails on islands such as Cres and Lošinj, where stone-built fishing villages huddle beside rocky coves, the neighboring scrubby maquis shrubland singing with cicadas. The vibrant city of Rijeka is the fulcrum around which the life of the Gulf revolves: a busy ferry and fishing port whose central market fills daily with the beckoning glisten of fresh fish, octopus, and squid. Indeed, it is this diverse array of seafood that most characterizes the local diet. One culinary treasure particularly associated with the Gulf is the Kvarner scampi, a succulent crustacean that is highly valued on restaurant tables throughout Croatia. The local scampi are Mediterranean cousins of the large prawn known as the Norway lobster. Blessed with a silty seabed perfect for burrowing, the Kvarner is one of the few parts of the Mediterranean where the scampi flourish in large numbers. In northern European countries, the fleshy tails of the scampi are frequently removed and fried in bread crumbs, although here in Croatia the creature is served whole and unpeeled and is eaten with the fingers – prying open the shells and scooping out the white meat is all part of the ritual. Indeed, locals who have grown up eating scampi will suck the shells dry and then bite open the animal’s pincers in the hope of finding a final sliver of succulent flesh. One recipe on almost every local restaurant menu, a culinary classic here and indeed all down Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, is skampi na buzari – a simple but sensuous combination of scampi, garlic, tomato, and white wine. Eating the sauce-covered scampi is a fantastically messy process – so don’t refuse your waiter’s offer of a bib, unless you want a Dalmatianstyle polka-dot pattern all over your favorite shirt.
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