Ingredients define the Adriatic as clearly as architecture does: scampi, truffles, olive oil, island lamb, blue fish, cheese, herbs and smoke.
We look at ingredients before trends: where they come from, when they are best, who still produces them well and which kitchens allow them to remain recognisable.
Kvarner scampi
Sweet, delicate langoustines associated with the deeper, colder waters of Kvarner.
Istrian white truffle
An autumn icon of the Mirna Valley and Motovun Forest.
Extra-virgin olive oil
A foundational Adriatic ingredient, increasingly treated with the precision of fine wine.
Island lamb
Herbs, salt air and sparse island pasture shape one of the coast’s most characteristic meats.
Blue fish
Sardine, anchovy and mackerel remain at the heart of everyday coastal cooking.
Pag cheese
Hard sheep’s-milk cheese shaped by salt, wind and the island’s aromatic vegetation.
Wild asparagus
A fleeting seasonal ingredient that changes spring menus across Istria and the coast.
Peka
A technique as much as a dish: slow cooking under an iron bell with embers and time.