Mind-blowing fritula, deconstructed sarma and other delights at Fuliranje

by croatiaweek
December 10, 2022
in Food & Wine

Zagreb’s most popular Advent event – Fuliranje – has retuned this year to Strossmayer Square and its street food offering is bigger and better than ever.

At Fuliranje foodies can enjoy a number of favourite Croatian dishes made with a street food twist, like sarma, bakalar and fritule.

We have singled out some tasty treats you should check out.

Picnic mingle&fun

With few new and exciting additions to the menu Picnic has managed once again to stir our imagination, and that goes well beyond having the most impressive Nutcracker statue on Strossmayer Square.

Picnic’s deconstructed sarma takes the most popular winter dish to the next level. Sarma is disassembled just to be resurrected as a perfectly balanced composition of smoked ragu, homemade pickled cabbage, homemade pickled cucumbers, potato foam, parsley oil with a sourdough focaccia cracker.

Deconstructed sarma (Picnic)

The other must-try from our long Picnic list reimagines another winter treat that is traditionally eaten in Croatia on Christmas Eve. Crispy from the outside, rich in flavour and strong in taste, their Bakalar (cod) Strudel may well become our favourite Christmas snack.

Bakalar strudel (Picnic)

Picnic also captured our tastebuds with their soft beef cheeks, slow-cooked for over 16 hours, in a bun topped with a refreshing coleslaw salad with apple, bbq-mayo sauce, scallions and crispy cheese chips.

Soft cheeks (Picnic)

Picnic means business when it comes to presenting us with exciting food and reimagining traditional dishes.

We are excited to taste their version of Skradin risotto, one of Croatia’s traditional culinary staples prepared by the men of Skradin and whose cooking time is endless. Skradin risotto will be prepared in front of the Picnic house by one of the four connoisseurs of this traditional recipe – Dalibor Anić – on Sunday 11 December and Sunday 18 December at 1:30 p.m.

The number of portions is limited so make sure you get there on time and grab your plate.

Picnic’s HO, HO, HOcktails are all about making holidays warm and cozy – Hendrick’s Gin Old Pilot’s Spirits gin combined with home made apple juice, dried apples, persian rose and spices is our favorite winter cocktail.

Institut za kobasice by Mate Janković

Popular Croatian chef Mate Janković’s take on the classic sausage in a bun is something worth trying as he punches up the Christmas favourite with quality ingredients.

All in a tasty, soft brioche bun, you can try a number of different sausages like Kranjska with cheese, Debreceners, Frankfurters with veal meat, Bavarian and a tasty turkey wurst option with French salad. They all come with different toppings and sauces.

Frankfurter (Institut za Kobasice by Mate Janković)

Bavarian (Institut za Kobasice by Mate Janković)

Our pick is the Kranjska with cheese topped with coleslaw, their own special pickled beetroot, crispy fried onions and honey-mustard sauce.

Kranjska with cheese (Institut za Kobasice by Mate Janković)

Beg’s Plant Based Street Food

If you want to try something new and different, or meat is not your thing, then check out Beg’s Plant Based.

Beg’s has a couple of novelties this year at Fuliranje, namely the first plant based sausage in Croatia and the first plant based sarma.

(Beg’s K’baja Grande)

Beg’s Purple Haze sarmice, which derives its name from the haze the red cabbage gives the dish, features three cabbage rolls, which they have pickled themselves, filled with plant based meat with a reduced sauce and a tasty creamy potato mash. Perfect for a cold winter’s day.

Beg’s Purple Haze sarmice

Purple Monkey

At this Asian street food-influenced house you can try a range of tasty bao buns.

They have three different options, including Gua Bao Sai Kok Bun, which is filled with homemade sausage made according to the original recipe from Laos, fresh ginger, lemongrass, stewed Chinese cabbage and carrots, Gua Bao Curry Chicken and their hit Gua Bao Katsu Prawns.

Gua Bao Sai Kok Bun (Purple Monkey)

Gua Bao Curry Chicken (Purple Monkey)

Gua Bao Katsu Prawns (Purple Monkey)

Le Kolač

Le Kolač maintains its reputation as Fuliranje’s best sweet house, with their giant apple pie fritula – a perfectly soothing pleasure bomb – nice and crusty on the outside, with a soft and creamy surprise inside, coated with delicate chocolate or caramel, that tastes of winter at grandmas and perfectly rounds off the Advent experience.