Cooking
Istrian recipe: “NADEVA” BY AUNTIE MARTA
07/02/2012
A yellowy pastry-like side dish called "Nadeva" (an untranslatable word from the local dialect) was my favourite food at family gatherings at Auntie Marta’s, mostly at the end of summer celebration of Saint Bartholomew, the patron saint of her village of the same name (Sveti Bartol). I was not so bothered about eating any other festive foods as long as I had a few slices of this delicacy. Its smooth savoury cheese taste has been imprinted in my memory as long as I can remember.
After finding the recipe in an old notebook one winter night in London many years later and feeling cravings for the flavours of my childhood, I decided to try to make it. We ate it as a late night snack and the next day like dumplings with a thick soup. It’s also an excellent way of using up old bread.
INGREDIENTS
2 loafs of dried white bread without crust, made into breadcrumbs
100 g grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons of Vegeta (Croatian mix of herbs and spices, half crumbled chicken stock will do otherwise)
A pinch of baking powder
Some butter or margarine (approx 100g)
4 eggs
1 chicken stock (for cooking “Nadeva”)
HOW TO MAKE “NADEVA”
Crumble the bread into a bowl (auntie Marta insisted it had to be a yellow plastic salad bowl that she had used for the last 10 years). Put aside some breadcrumbs in case the “Nadeva” gets too soft and you need to add a little bit more at the very end.
Add parmesan cheese, Vegeta and baking powder to the breadcrumbs. Dig a well and add eggs one by one, beating them with a fork into the mixture, then add margarine or butter. With your hands combine the mixture together as if you were kneading bread.
Make 4 mini loaves and if they are too soft and sticky add more of the breadcrumbs that you left aside. Let them “mature” and expand for 20 min or so.
In the meantime boil a large saucepan of water and add chicken stock. When the water comes to the boil, put the loaves in and cook for 20-25 min turning them once or twice. Cut in slices and serve cold with roast meats, vegetables or thick soups. Or just as a snack!
After finding the recipe in an old notebook one winter night in London many years later and feeling cravings for the flavours of my childhood, I decided to try to make it. We ate it as a late night snack and the next day like dumplings with a thick soup. It’s also an excellent way of using up old bread.
INGREDIENTS
2 loafs of dried white bread without crust, made into breadcrumbs
100 g grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons of Vegeta (Croatian mix of herbs and spices, half crumbled chicken stock will do otherwise)
A pinch of baking powder
Some butter or margarine (approx 100g)
4 eggs
1 chicken stock (for cooking “Nadeva”)
HOW TO MAKE “NADEVA”
Crumble the bread into a bowl (auntie Marta insisted it had to be a yellow plastic salad bowl that she had used for the last 10 years). Put aside some breadcrumbs in case the “Nadeva” gets too soft and you need to add a little bit more at the very end.
Add parmesan cheese, Vegeta and baking powder to the breadcrumbs. Dig a well and add eggs one by one, beating them with a fork into the mixture, then add margarine or butter. With your hands combine the mixture together as if you were kneading bread.
Make 4 mini loaves and if they are too soft and sticky add more of the breadcrumbs that you left aside. Let them “mature” and expand for 20 min or so.
In the meantime boil a large saucepan of water and add chicken stock. When the water comes to the boil, put the loaves in and cook for 20-25 min turning them once or twice. Cut in slices and serve cold with roast meats, vegetables or thick soups. Or just as a snack!
The final mixture roughly resembles bread dough and it is quite easy to form 4-5 loaves out of it
“Nadeva” was always served with roast meats or the traditional sauerkraut stew