Traditional Croatian foods part four: Gorski kotar and Lika

^{Photo credit: Maja Danica Pečanić for Croatian National Tourist Board}

^{Photo credit: Maja Danica Pečanić for Croatian National Tourist Board}

_{Cover photo credit: Maja Danica Pečanić for Croatian National Tourist Board}

These mountain regions have been under different influences throughout history, which are visible in their dishes...however they were primarily poor regions, but skilled housewives knew how to manage with what they had, so they prepared frog legs, snails, dormice, freshwater fish, forest mushrooms, forest fruits...Today Gorski kotar region is known for a variety of game dishes and the famous "goranski nadjev" (Gorski kotar stuffing), while potatoes make the basis of Lika cuisine, which is widely known for its lamb. 

Basa cheese – soft half fat cheese, original Lika product

Fažol s repom – stew made of beans and sour turnip

Frog legs – fried or breaded, frog legs are a famous speciality of Gorski kotar region

Gorski kotar stuffing (nadelo, budel, budla) – traditional Easter dish, pork belly stuffed with a mixture of bread cut into little cubes, ham or smoked pork neck, bacon, chopped spring onions and beaten eggs, briefly smoked and dried on air

Kalja – traditional dish from Lika region, cooked and smoked meat with sauerkraut

Knedle – potato dumplings stuffed with plums, apricots...

Kračica (ham hock) with sauerkraut – the bottom part of pig's leg above the foot, dried on smoke, can be cooked or roasted, served with sauerkraut

Lamb on the spit – whole lamb roasted on a spit

Lamb under peka – lamb baked with potatoes and vegetables under the baking lid (peka)

Lika-style casserole – lamb or mutton soup with various vegetables (potatoes, cabbage, carrots, celery, tomatoes, paprika, parsley...)

Lički uštipci – small donuts made of dough fried in hot oil, sprinkled with powdered sugar

Lovačke knedle (Hunter's dumplings) – dumplings made of bread, ham, onion, eggs, milk, flour and spices, usually served as a side dish with stews and various meat dishes

Masnica – a dish prepared from dough stuffed with melted seasoned pork fat

Police/pole (potato halves) – baked unpeeled potato halves, can be baked with slices of bacon

Povatica – strudel made of dough stuffed with braised minced red onions

Snails – they can be prepared in many ways: roasted on hot coals or in ashes, cooked in wine sauce, braised with onions...

Škripavac cheese ("Creaky" cheese) – soft full fat cheese which creaks when you chew it

Tounj cheese – smoked cheese that comes from the town of Tounj near Ogulin, prepared from fresh cow's milk

Trout from Gacka river – the river Gacka is especially famous for trout that can be simply baked on the grill, stuffed with various fillings or rolled in corn flour and baked in the oven

Wild game goulash/Hunter's goulash – goulash prepared with various vegetables and wild game meat (deer, bear, boar...)

Wild game pršut – dry-cured wild game ham, salted and dried on air