Soparnik: Croatian food

Soparnik is a traditional Omis-style Croatian dish. It's made with chard and resembles a pie.

When you travel to a foreign country or a remote area of your own, do you look for places where you can try local cuisine? Do you appreciate trying different flavors, fragrances, and food preparation methods? I certainly do, and wherever I go, I try to eat mainly local cuisine. It's an excellent approach to learning about the location, people's habits, and daily life because cuisine is often a reflection of climate conditions, surroundings, and local customs. Soparnik is a traditional dish from the Poljica region (formerly known as the Poljička republic). It is located between the towns of Split, Sinj, and Omis. This dish is often made by locals, and appears on every celebration menu, and is extremely good.

This is the period when most of us are at home cooking. However, experimenting with new recipes can keep things interesting. Today, we're sharing a Croatian recipe called Soparnik. What's fantastic is that it only requires a couple of ingredients and is also good for vegetarians.

Ingredients for Soparnik

• Half a kg of all-purpose flour
• 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 250 ml of water
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 kg of chard (Blitva in Croatian)
• 1 onion
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• A bit of salt

Chard mixture for Soaprnik

The mixture of chard is the primary component. First, cut the chard by cutting it into strips, removing any hard sections. The chard doesn't require to be cooked in beforehand. Along with the parsley, you also add some green onions to the mixture. After that, you oil and salt the mixture.

Dough for Soparnik

Next, you make the dough. Mix the all-purpose flour, water, olive oil, and salt and divide into two parts. Then roll them both into a rounded form. Put the first piece on a flour-dusted baking tray. Then add the chard mixture and cover with the leftover dough.

Baking of Soparnik

Soparnik is baked for approximately 20 minutes at 200°C. Soparnik is baked in a fireplace on a sheet, with ashes on top. It is done when it turns golden brown. After removing from the oven, it is additionally coated with olive oil to which crushed garlic has been added.

If you ever find yourself in Split or the Poljica region for a holiday or business trip, make sure to find a place to taste this delicious meal. The taste of Soparnik will knock you off your feet!