[VIDEO] Croatian Recipes: Čobanac – Stew

Čobanac, or stew, is a great winter dish (photo: Lily15 under CC)

A fantastic winter dish, Čobanac, or Shepherd’s stew, is a specialty from the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia.

It is a traditional meat stew usually prepared in a cauldron on an open fire. Here is a recipe you can make at home on the stove.

Ingredients

Beef shank – 500 g (boneless)
Pork shoulder-blade – 500 g
Veal shoulder-blade – 500 g
Mustard – 1 tablespoon
Garlic – 15 g (granules)
Bay leaf – 4
Mineral water – 200 ml
Onion – 1.5 kg
Garlic – 5 cloves
Sweet paprika powder – 1 tablespoon
Ground hot paprika – 1 tablespoon
Pepperoni – 1 (hot)
Tomato puree – 1 L
Gherkins – 100 g
Red wine – 300 ml
Eggs – 2
Flour – 300 g
Oil
Salt, pepper

Čobanac to feed an army (photo credit: Davor Javorovic/PIXSELL)

Instructions

1. Dice the 3 different meats into 3 separate bowls to be marinated separately. Add to the meat garlic (granules), mustard, bay leaf, oil, salt, pepper, mineral water and mix. Let rest in fridge for 2 hours

2. Dice and puree the onions and start to fry in oil in a pot. Add garlic, salt and stir and cook for 15 minutes

3. Then add the meat in order of toughness. First add the beef and cook for 15 minutes, then add the pork, then cook further for 10 minutes before adding the veal and cooking all together for 15 minutes

4. Then add the red wine, the gherkins, the sweet and hot ground paprika and the pepperoni. Mix all together

5. Then add the tomato puree, add some water and leave to cook on a medium heat for roughly an hour

6. In a separate bowl sieve the flour, add beaten eggs, a tablespoon of salt, approximately 150 ml of water and stir all together to form a mixture. Let it rest for a while

7. Dip a tablespoon in the hot Čobanac mixture and then scoop a bit (1/3 tablespoon size) and add to the Čobanac. Keep scooping bits of the mixture until its used up

8. Cook for another 10 minutes and the dish is ready

Dobar tek!

Watch the video recipe below courtesy of Fini Recpeti: