Trying traditional dishes is one of the best things about a holiday abroad for many. Peka is a traditional way of cooking meat or fish under a cast iron dome (the peka), covered with glowing embers.
You can cook it with almost any meat, except beef, because beef doesn't get tender enough under the peka. Veal is the preferred type of meat for the peka, and it is also the easiest to prepare. In addition, chicken and turkey are also very good options. If you prefer to prepare a fish dish, octopus is the best.
Here you can click, where to buy a peka
If you want to prepare a peka dish, or if you plan to eat peka in a restaurant, keep in mind that it takes about 2 hours to prepare. That is why it is best to ask at a restaurant well in advance when you can come and eat peka. Not everywhere they serve equally good peka, it is therefore advisable to ask the locals for advice. You can usually find the tastiest peka in a 'konoba' (a traditional tavern) rather than in a restaurant. If you have a grill house at your disposal, or an open grill place, and if you want to get started with the cast iron dome, start by lighting a large fire. It is best to combine wood and branches.
Choose birch wood or oak and olive branches or branches of a grape bush. You'll need a lot of hot, glowing embers, so be sure to collect a good pile of wood.
About an hour after lighting the wood, you'll have enough glowing embers to cover the dome. Place the bowl and dome on the embers and let them preheat for about 5 minutes. When the bowl is hot, you can fill it with your ingredients. Make sure you use a shallow dish (max 3cm deep) so that it can't retain too much moisture, you don't want to cook the meat. For 4 people you need about 1 kilo of veal. You can indicate at the butcher that you are going to prepare peka so that he or she can select the best meat for you. Make sure to include a few ribs for extra flavor.
This is what you need for a peka dish with veal for four people: 1 kilo of veal Lard (pork fat) Potatoes (the size of your bowl will determine how many potatoes will fit in it) 1 large onion and 4 garlic cloves 2 bay leaves Sunflower oil and olive oil Pepper and salt White wine Vegeta (Croatian spice mixture, available in any supermarket) possibly vegetable of your choice (carrot, tomato, bell pepper or drained eggplant or zucchini) Put a tablespoon of lard, a tablespoon of sunflower oil and a tablespoon of olive oil in the dish. Sprinkle salt, pepper and vegeta over the meat (note: vegeta also contains salt) and then place the meat in the dish. Place potato and onion pieces (quartered) between the meat and also add the garlic and bay leaf. Then the other vegetables can be added (if you want to add them).
Put the bowl back on the glowing embers as soon as possible so that it doesn't cool down too much. Make sure half of the embers are under the bowl and slide the other half to one side. These embers will be placed on top of the dome. Most peka sets consist of a bowl, dome and a ring. Place the ring on the dome, it ensures that the embers do not slide down.
Keep an eye on the embers for the next half hour and keep a small fire burning next to the peka so you can add extra embers if needed. After half an hour, you can carefully remove the dome and turn the meat over. If you think there is too much liquid in the bowl, scoop out a few spoonfuls of liquid.
Add two tablespoons of white wine to the remaining liquid in the dish. Let the liquid in the place where you have added the wine warm up slightly and then pour some of the liquid (with the wine) over the meat with a spoon. Put the dome back over the shell and add additional embers if needed. It now takes about half an hour for the meat to be cooked. You may occasionally take a quick look under the dome to see if the meat is cooking properly, but limit this as much as possible, as it can affect the temperature under the dome.
After about an hour in total, the meat should be cooked through. You can serve your peka dish with fresh bread, a salad and of course a glass of Croatian wine.
Enjoy your dinner
